The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

My thoughts on Covid-19...

We don't normally comment on world events, or our health, or politics or religion because opinions are almost always too divisive. And sure, of course we have an opinion on all of those things. But this blog is about our life and travels, so those things mentioned above are usually just noise and so we consider them unrelated.

But of course Covid and the reactions to it has affected almost everybody's life, including our own.

I made a comment yesterday that some people don't agree with. I stand by that comment, but I do so with some further explanation.

As our regular readers know, we will be returning to Canada later this month.

Canada's border is still closed and Canada still has a 14 day mandatory quarantine rule in effect for anybody entering the country for non essential reasons. As Canadian citizens, they have to let us in... but we also have to follow the rules.

Th 14 day quarantine rules state that when we cross the border, we must go directly (without stopping anywhere) to our designated place of quarantine where we must remain for 14 days while monitoring for any symptoms. We are not allowed off the property.

Not allowed off the property.

My opinion is that this is too strict. In other words, I don't agree with it. But, I have no choice but to follow the rules.

Regular readers know that we have done everything possible to minimize the risk to both ourselves and others while we have been traveling here in the U.S.. Of course we will continue to do the same when we cross the border to the north. And we think that we have been able to travel, get outside, get some exercise, and actually live without causing any harm to ourselves or others due to Covid.

Yesterday (and a couple of other times) I called the quarantine "house arrest".  And some people took offense to that. I was accused of not understanding my obligation to society. Well, I stand by my statement. If we were allowed out for a bike ride or a walk there would be ZERO risk to society. Zero. But we are not allowed off the property, so it actually is house arrest whether you are offended by the use of the term or not, it is what it is. You can call it whatever name you want, but if the conditions are the same, then it is the same thing.

Now, let's talk a little more about risk. I know I'm opening a can of worms here, but remember that this is MY opinion. You don't need to agree with it, and some of it even Ruth probably doesn't agree with me. The world is full of people disagreeing. But we can still love each other.

So... I'm a numbers guy. I always look at the odds, or probability. With regards to Covid, the risk seems to be mainly older, possibly unhealthy individuals. And when those people get the virus, a higher percentage of them will have a bad reaction and maybe some will die.

But a vast majority of  young and/or otherwise healthy people who get the virus will have anything from no symptoms at all, to a mild case with flu like symptoms that will go away in a couple of weeks. Yes, a very small percentage of them will also have a severe reaction, and may also die.

So, given those facts, I have never personally felt worried by it. But even then, we continue to exercise all precautions.

The news media loves to show the numbers. People dying by the thousands. And the Canadian news media (and the public in general) love to look at the fact that the U.S. numbers are so much higher than Canada's.

But lets look at the numbers a little closer.

There are approximately 10 times more people in the United States than there are in Canada. So you would expect that (all things being equal) there would be approximately 10 times more Covid cases in the U.S. than in Canada. Depending on where you look, Canada has had 108,000 and the U.S. has had 3.4 million... approximately 30 times more cases. However, keep in mind that the vast majority of those cases will be minor.

But, the U.S. has had less than twice as many "deaths per million". Yes, I know... that may rise in coming weeks. But, it's a more accurate statistic of the problem. There have been 414 deaths per million of population in the U.S., and 238 deaths per million of population in Canada.

Looking again at the risk, 414 deaths per million... that is 41 deaths per 100,000... or 4 deaths per 10,000.

So, you have a group of 2,500 people and 1 will die. In Canada, if you have a group of 4,000 people, 1 will die. The odds are not much different.

I think the odds of it being me are pretty low when you consider that the vast majority of those who have died have been older and/or unhealthy individuals.

In short, considering we stay away from people in general, I am not even remotely worried about catching or dying from this virus.

Because the numbers are hugely on my side.

Anyway, that's my personal feelings on the matter.

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77 comments:

  1. I agree Kevin, I'm marathon fit and don't fear catching the virus myself. I am fearful of unwittingly giving it to others though, my parents in particular who are both in at-risk categories. That's the mental challenge for me now: what actions should I take while trying to avoid being in a chain which results in someone's death or suffering. Trying to quantify that risk is difficult for me. So far I'm happy I've done the right thing (for me personally): self-isolation (house arrest) for two weeks followed by around 3 months lock down. It was and is no fun, but I'm hoping.it wl avoid life long regret. Cheers, Jay

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    1. Yes, our concern is more for other people than for ourselves and we will continue to take all the precautions necessary to prevent passing along the virus should we unknowingly have it.

      We have never had an issue with the 14 day quarantine other than we think it is a little too strict, as we have areas where we could go out and walk, hike, bike or kayak without meeting a soul, but we realize that not everyone in quarantine would follow the simple rule of staying away from people when out for a walk. I am sure that we will find our "house arrest" will go by quickly and at least at my Dad's we will have some space in order to get out and enjoy the fresh air.

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  2. I agree with the above comment. We self isolated and locked down when we returned from Mexico. We are over 70 and although pretty healthy and fit we are vulnerable. We were both very ill with "a Covid like" illness in Mexico in February. No fun and with lung involvement in my case. I am a non smoker with healthy lungs but I ended up with lungs filling up and on heavy duty antibiotics. Covid?..who knows. We are careful but anything we can do to stay healthy we do. Safe travels.

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    1. Thanks Kathy, and we have no problem doing our 14 days of quarantine. Our only issue was, they made it so strict that you can't even go out for a walk on a deserted back road. We understand that they have to make these blanket rules because it is too hard to monitor the people that can't seem to follow very simple rules.

      We will continue to take all the necessary precautions and do our quarantine time and then we will continue to take all the necessary precautions to protect ourselves but more so to protect those around us.

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  3. One element that you have left out and which isn't publicized too much is the fact that a large number of those who don't die or are hospitalized will have lifelong issues as a result of catching Covid-19. Jason above is right about healthy individuals may not die but may cause another persons death. You say there is no risk to leaving the house but there is. If you are an asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic person and you go for a bike ride and have an accident then you put those who help care for you at risk. There is no such thing as an activity that is entirely risk free... best of luck to you in your "house arrest"

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    1. Well sure, and that's all true. But you have to be realistic as well. I could just as easily fall down the stairs and break my legs while doing my indoor exercises.

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  4. In life, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Your fortnight in solitary is payback for all the Canadian winters you did not have to suffer.

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  5. Cindy and I both wear masks whenever we go into a store and as often as possible I try to use store pick-up. What bothers me a lot is the cavalier attitude a lot of the younger people , including our son, have toward the risk of spreading the virus. Even though there is a wear a mask order here in Salt Lake County, I am surprised how many people totally ignore it. I personally hate the attitude "I live in the United States and you can't force me to do anything I don't want to". But enough of my rant, I like reading about your travels.

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    1. We wear masks when we go in the store as well and we keep our shopping to a bare minimum and try to only go once a week if not more. Then we go in get what we need and get out. I do self checkout so that I am not near people and I get to do my own bagging. I have disinfectant wipes with me so that I can wipe down anything I touch or that someone else may and touched and only I go into the store, Kevin stays in the motorhome. It bugs us too that when people can't follow simple rules.

      We will get through our 14 day "house arrest" which we don't have an issue with, just the fact that we can't even go out on a back road for a good power walk, where we would not come in contact with anyone, but rules are made and we have to follow them and we will.

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    2. you may want to check on that one. In BC we were allowed to walk if we were in an area where there were few others. Since we live in a rural area it was O
      K.

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    3. Trust us Paul, we have checked on that! The mandatory 14 day quarantine is a Federal directive, and provinces can't just go and change it to suit themselves. The directive came out on March 25th, 2020. You may not leave your property during that time unless it is for a medical reason. This may have been before that directive was in place that people could go out for a walk but certainly not after unless they have a nice big property.

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  6. We have a friend that fell from a roof, broke his back and other internal injuries. A few days later he passed away. On the death certificate it said Covid, now that is wrong ! A pure lie ! Cheryl, North Carolina

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    1. I've heard of that happening her in Canada too. Doctors telling nurses to wrote covif in the death cert. Instead of stroke or heart attack. There's something more going on I think!

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    2. Yep, that is just wrong for sure! Kevin watched a video last night about some guy interviewing a lady higher up in the medical field that said it doesn't matter how you died, whether it was in a car crash or a drowning that if they test you and you had COVID then you died of COVID. That is how skewed the numbers can get!

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    3. In some cases it is pretty hard to tell, if someone is positive and dies of pnemonia, it could be either.

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    4. We aren't talking about the difference of dying from pneumonia or COVID here, we are talking about accidents or not being able to get surgery in due course and COVID being written on the death certificate.

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    5. It's all about the almighty dollar. Hospitals are tagged with more money to "fight the virus" if the death is due to the virus. We've heard of this over and over and over. Someone that passed away from leukemia was listed as dying from the virus. Now there is the scandal in Florida where labs were reporting only positive test results and none of the negative test results, which, you guessed it.... resulted in skewed results. This is the stupidity the world has been reduced to.

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    6. We don't doubt it for a minute! It is so hard to get the REAL facts when there are so much discrepancies at play. :-(

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  7. Can of worms considered opened! For me, I'm a healthy robust, active over 50 year old, I don't smoke, never had issues with my lungs, and eat very healthy. Having said that, I did have the virus in March. It was early March and we really didn't know (Skyler and I) that we had it, but it was confirmed and we were put on the "list". Now, our symptoms were considered "mild" but it was an horrible time. Headache, cough like crazy and really like a flu X 10. I can't imagine what it's like to have it worse, or be on a ventilator! I wear a mask when I'm inside somewhere that there are people. Not because I'm afraid of getting it again, but I'm concerned that I may give it to someone that is immune compromised, or someone that is elderly. Anyone basically that could not bounce back from this as I did. I sleep better at night knowing that I have done what I could not to spread this awful pandemic. My friend just got back from a week in Washington (he's a US citizen but permanent resident of Canada so he can cross the border) and had to quarantine for 14 days. It was hell for him but he did it for the reasons I note above. He was watched (he swore people drove by the house) and the RCMP called him a few times to make sure he was staying home. 14 days is not alot to ask really. My opinion of course...

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    1. Kayrn-Lee, we never had a problem with the 14 day quarantine that is in place. We do agree with that, it is how strict that they have made it. We have wonderful back roads that we could go out and do a good power walk on for an hour and we wouldn't come in contact with a single soul, unfortunately they can't have rules that are on a one by one basis as it would be just too hard to monitor and unfortunately there are too many people that just wouldn't follow those rules. We have no desire to to pass along the virus unkowningly. There are others though that feel the rules do not apply to them and therefore they have had to make them this strict and we understand that, we may not agree with it but we understand that and we were never ever not going to do the quarantine time.

      I hope that you and Skyler are doing better now. :-)

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  8. Sadly there is too much "Me" over the "We" in today's day and age. As a full time care giver of my father who is on dialysis I am more than willing to make the minor sacrifices needed to help insure his, and others health. Not because it's easy, but out of love of others.
    I too deplore the cavalier attitude that many of the so called "lower risk" people take, but it is a reflection of the "me" over the "we". But do agree there will likely be long term complications for those who "survive" only to be impaired later on in life with health complications like decreased lung capacity. I applaud my neighbor to the north Canada for giving this the seriousness it warrants. While also am concerned that here in my country of the US so many just can't be bothered with the sacrifice needed to get this issue addressed. After the sacrifices of the so called greatest generation of WWII I think I can handle staying at home as much as possible, washing my hands, and wearing a mask for the benefit of my fellow mankind members.

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    1. I think that many people have misunderstood Kevin's thought process in this post. We have never said we don't agree with the 14 day quarantine, just how strict that they have made it. Not once have we not intended to do the quarantine, we just felt that some leeway should be given to going out and getting in some good physical activity where you won't come in contact with others. We totally understand that this is not possible as there are too many people out there that can't follow simple rules or think the rules don't apply to them and it is much too hard for the government to monitor everyone in quarantine to make sure the rules are being followed, so they have had to make them that strict. :-(

      Right now, we are basically following the same rules you are, we stay in Sherman except to go out for our daily exercise where we do not stop and talk with people, we keep our distance if we are on the same path, we wash our hands, we don't touch or use anything that is public unless absolutely necessary, we don't even use the public benches or picnic tables. We wear our masks when shopping and only I go in to shop and we shop only when absolutely necessary. I carry wipes with us and use them whenever they are needed. We are taking all the possible precautions that we can because we do care about other people and once our quarantine time is up we will continue to do these same things.

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  9. This harsh lock down is the fault of people unwilling to follow the basic be careful rules. They just refuse to social distance and wear a mask. If people could be trusted to be careful, then "house arrest" wouldn't be required. Again, it is the selfish few that make it hard on everybody else. Look at the beaches.

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    1. We totally agree with you! When the 14 day quarantine first started it was self imposed and people crossing the border were told to go immediately to their quarantine location without stopping but for so many of them their first stop was at a Walmart and then for fuel. Perhaps if those people hadn't of done that, these rules may not have been so harsh! :-(

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  10. Once you get to Ottawa, are you planning to quarantine in Ruth's dad's house---or in Sherman!?

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    1. Ruth's dad's house. The main reason we didn't go to Saskatchewan in April was because we would have had to do the quarantine in the motorhome. That, I could not do.

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    2. I agree! Maybe have the kids drop off a stair stepper or exercise bike so you stay in good aerobic shape during "Isolation with Kevin and Ruth!"

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    3. Ha, that's a good name for the blog once we cross the border, lol!

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  11. The fact is that everyone returning or travelling between provinces can't be individually evaluated. There aren't enough people to study each person or trace your history.
    Here, on PEI, all of the Covid cases have been linked to travel outside the province, and the latest are from essential workers not subject to house arrest. So the quarantine has merit. We are now, in NB and PEI dealing with Quebec residents travelling through to get to the Magdalen Islands, and not following instructions to travel directly. Having followed your blog for 6-7 months, I know your story, but there is no guarantee that you won't have exposure the day before you cross the border. It's an inconvenience at worst, but the result of the choice you made not to return. Taking on the responsibility of house arrest is a small price to pay for living as a Canadian, where health care for a few weeks in a hospital is not fun, but won't force you into bankruptcy.

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    1. You are totally right and that is why they have to have the rules as strict as they are and we understand that, we just don't agree with it. We never had a problem with the imposed 14 day quarantine time just the strictness of the rules.

      You are correct there is no guarantee that we won't be exposed to the virus the day before crossing the border even though we take more than the necessary precautions when we are out and about but there is also no guarantee that we won't be exposed to the virus the day after our quarantine is over. We will be in a more populated area by then than we have during the majority of our travels through States these past few months. And again as I mentioned we never had a problem with the 14 day quarantine time, just not being able to have the ability to go out on a deserted road for an hour or so to get some good healthy exercise.

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  12. I do wish you continued health so you can get back on the road again and I can enjoy your blog! ��

    I guess I see a different side and understand why the Canadian government might be so strict. They can’t make a case by case assessment and must develop a policy that covers everyone. Not everyone is as careful as you, or as lucky to be able to live so well. So they have to develop a policy that covers the careless slob that has probably been hanging out in nightclubs by the beach with a maximum chance of exposure. At least Canada has developed a policy instead of ....well, don’t get me started about the failings of the current US administration.

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    1. Yes, and we totally understand and agree with their policy, it was just with the strictness that they have made with it. As you said we understand that they can't make a case by case assesment or enforce it on a one on one basis, all we did was state that we didn't agree with it but blanket rules needed to be made because there are so many people that can't follow simple rules or think that the rules aren't made for them that have ruined it for those of us that are very considerate of others and put their health and safety above our own.

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  13. I like your channel for travel facts.........I like it better when you stay on that subject. your opinions are yours and I respect that.

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    1. Thank you for your comment JJW. We will be back on to our normal programming today. :-)

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  14. Good on you for sharing your opinions Kevin like you say we’re all different and shouldn’t be condemned when being considerate of others. I’m guessing you have plenty of things lined up to do in house arrest (love that term lol). I started creating printed photo albums and working on a family tree things I never had time to do when travelling.

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    1. Thank you Chatter Ann, especially when it is only our opinion on the strictness of the 14 day quarantine time, not on the quarantine itself! By the reactions of some, you would think that we wouldn't be considerate enough to do the quarantine time which is not the case at all.

      Yes, we have quite a few things lined up for our time as well as after the "house arrest" is over, we are sure the time will fly by. :-)

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  15. 1) You are a special case, fulltiming and no home, little to no contact with people. In fact, I don't think you have had any close contact with anyone other than Denise and Bob.
    2) The rules are the rules and in large populations they need to be observed and that's obvious in large cities such as Miami, Dallas, New York, etc.
    3) How many exceptions do you make?
    4) How many people have enough education and common sense to follow simple rules?

    Follow the rules, pass the 14 days and you have paid your dues. End of story.

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    1. There are other fulltimers out there too, it isn't just us and unfortunately it was some of them that ruined it for the rest of us. When it wasn't mandatory to do the 14-day quarantine, people were being told at the border to go straight home and self-isolate with no stopping but many were stopping at the first Walmart to stock up and they got caught and that's when the mandatory 14-day quarantine started. :-(

      We have never had an issue with the 14 day quarantine time and we were always willing to do it, it was just our opinion that they made it a little too strict. Unfortunately I guess they had to make it this strict because there would always be the ones that could not follow the simple rule of staying away from people, if they were to go out and get their daily exercise. Anyways, we will do our time and I am sure we can find ways to get our exercise in and before we know it our time will be done. :-)

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  16. I totally and I mean totally agree with you. Thank you for sharing and clarifying the numbers.

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  17. I also thought of quarantine as house arrest -- so don't let a few negative comments make you back down. We got nailed not only when we got off the plane in the U.S. -- but when we got off the boat in London. We'd been on a cruise where no one was allowed off the past month, basically quarantining us all. I'm guessing we were one of the very few places in the world that had an Easter service with no restrictions because of it.

    Do I think this has been overkill -- and lots of businesses are going to pay with it with their 'lives?' Yes. Do I think a bunch of people got free loans, that shouldn't have? Yes. (Jeff Koons is one example.) But all I can do is speak up when I can -- and live the way I should. You and Ruth have been doing terrific, in that respect. No worries.

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    1. Yeah, you can't get any more isolated than being on a ship with the same people for a whole month. We also had friends in the same situation as you, who knows they may even have been on the same ship as you! She said it was the best place to have spent time, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

      We do think that this virus will be around for a long time yet, and at some point in time the world has to try and get back to some kind of normalcy, how they will do that will remain to be seen but I don't think we can all continue on like we have been for the last 4 months or so. Times are interesting that is for sure.

      As for us, we have been taking all the necessary precautions and sometimes even more to protect not only ourselves but those we meet (and that is very few) along the way and we will continue to do the same even when our quarantine time is over.

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  18. And I know you will do your 14 days of quarantine. Because even overkill has to be done sometimes, to keep the rest of your world quiet.

    We did it.

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  19. Well, thanks for the numbers... I chuckled when I read the house arrest both times you mentioned it. However, at the age of 5, I was stricken with "Whopping Cough" so for the last 54 years each and every time I caught a cold, it immediately went to my tonsils and down to my lungs where, of course, I struggled to fight because my lungs were seriously damaged from that horrible case of Whopping Cough. I remember coughing all spring, summer and through the holidays. I double mask as in I use a disposal mask under my cloth mask and I avoid going out to stores as much as I can. I've learned to shop online, and at this time, its pretty easy for me to mask and gown and glove and head out early to the grocery stores before most get out of bed in the mornings. I'm stocking up this summer to be prepared for this winter when I know for sure... things will be a lot worse than before. My prayers are that this winter the snowbirds stay home and hunker down. Today, I am healthy, but a lung X-ray shows lots of damage from a childhood illness. I want to live, I have children and grandchildren, I have a lot of life left in me, please... don't take my life away because you feel and believe your okay and healthy... You can be a carrier and not even know it... I've never the mumps, chicken pox or measles... but I am a carrier of all of them... So, please - know this... you can still carry this illness and walking or riding around you can still breathe the germs into the air that someone like me or others even masked still has to use for their breaths of air...

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    1. We are in no way trying to say that we aren't concerned about other people's health. The whole gist on the post was to say that we just think the 14 day quarantine rules are a little too strict. We have absolutely no problem doing our quarantine time, we just think that an allowance should be made to go out safely and have a hour or two of good physical activity in an area where you aren't going to be in direct contact with other people. We have done our upmost to make sure that we keeping safe and healthy and in turn be considerate of those around us so that we do not unknowingly pass on the virus, and we will continue to be very careful even when our quarantine time is over.

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  20. No additional comments except that I agree with you Kevin. I do find it interesting all those who are assuming you have no concern about passing it on to someone else because of the opinion you have...

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  21. For the numbers guys of which I am too...where I live (northern Canada)...if you have no comorbidities (i.e. healthy), then, when hopping into your car/motorhome, you have a 40 times more of a chance of becoming a vehicle fatality than of becoming a Covid fatality. This conclusion is based on the Covid death rate in my province of approx 160 per 4.4 million residients. It's also based on a vehicle fatality rate (2017) of 7 deaths per 100,000 residents. Statistically I live in a good area...and it's a good area for those with compromised health conditions...and I sincerely hope it stays that way.

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    1. We have also looked at those numbers and thought the same thing. Having said that we are still being extra careful and taking all the precautions necessary so that we ourselves don't catch the virus or unknowingly pass the virus on to others.

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  22. I am so excited for you to leave the USA. I have been following your blog for a short time but the only reason recently is to see if you made it out before “we” have to pay for your month on a ventilator. All of your posts about empty highways and parks were such a slap in the face to us, who are quarantining as requested. You both are so selfish. Don’t even try to say that you could not have caused risk to others. US citizens stayed home and some pompous Canadians blogged about it being no big deal and here we are.... riding our bikes, getting our tank repaired in Amarillo, getting gas & groceries, and we aren’t infecting anyone...never mind as I do not believe either of you are intelligent enough to understand scientific research, much less care about others.

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    1. Another example of someone who doesn't understand math.

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    2. Totally agree with you Kevin, you cannot fix stupid. Virtually zero chance of spreading (or catching) anything outdoors. Enjoy your remaining time in the USA!

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    3. Wow. That's somebody that the brainwashing did a great job on! Just way too many sheople...

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  23. Governor Abbott placed Texas on lockdown March 26 except for essential services of healthcare, groceries, and a small handful of other businesses, like car repair. That is exactly the point. We do not get to say-hey, I think it’s safe out here so I will ignore this. Do you really not understand how inconsiderate you were by being outside, camping, enjoying nature, driving through a very large number of small Texas towns when the citizens who actually pay for the very roads you were driving on, are stuck inside our homes? The question is not the infection rate in the middle of a pasture near Childress-it is abiding by the Governor’s orders. From Portugal to Panama and Islands in between, cruisers are not allowed off of their boats to walk on the beach! I am very familiar with the numbers or math as you refer, probably more than you. My daughter works in Houston Medical Center currently with COVID patients. Living in Fort Bend County we educate ourselves constantly on this pandemic. While I have enjoyed your photography in the past it became infuriating as you meandered through Texas with no regard for the rules we were asked to abide by, for the good of our state. And yes, you spent time near our 3, 80+ yr old parents that we worry about daily...and could not go visit.

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    1. Yesterday, you were all about the risk... today, you say it's not about risk, it's about Governor orders.

      Yesterday, you proved you're no good at math, and today you show that you have a problem with comprehension.

      I don't know why I'm bothering, but here it goes...

      There NEVER was a Governor order for ANYBODY to quarantine in Texas except the original order for those who arrive by air from New York or New Orleans, or by land from anywhere in Louisiana. (That order was later expanded to include California, Louisiana, Washington, Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan, and Miami, Florida). If you think there was a general quarantine order, then please provide me with a link to the Governor's directive that says so. If you can't, then recognize that you were wrong.

      There were some regional directives that came from the county level. Perhaps your home was under a regional directive, but it was not at the state level.

      And, your date is wrong. The original "stay at home" directive from the Governor came out March 19th, and it was expanded on March 31st (the day we entered Texas from Mexico).

      Now, let's look at the wording of the Governor's stay at home directive...

      This Executive Order does not prohibit people from accessing essential services or engaging in essential daily activities, such as going to the grocery store or gas station, providing or obtaining other essential services, hunting or fishing, or engaging in physical activity like jogging or bicycling , so long as the necessary precautions are maintained to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and to minimize in-person contact with people who are not in the same household.

      And keep in mind that Texas State Parks didn't close for camping until April 7th. Because we were in a park at the time they announced the closures, we were allowed to stay until April 9th.

      Also, you have to remember that while we were transiting Texas, our home was in fact our motorhome. We took every precaution that people in actual houses were supposed to take. We even made the effort to park a full two weeks at a remote ranch where we wouldn't be near anybody to wait things out and see how things were going to change for us to enter a different state on our way north.

      You say that you have "educated" yourself, but it is not showing in your posts here. Please, at least make a little effort to get your facts straight.

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    2. Pretty sure that person stopped reading after the first few lines, but at least you had your say. I agree that being in the Motorhome, really social distancing like you have been doing and basically only accessing shops when needed certainly doesn't harm anyone else. Having met you a few times, I know that you are as concerned as the rest of us. Don't worry about the trolls, it is the internet... :)

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    3. Thanks Karyn-Lee, and we honestly don't really care what this person had to say, we know that what we have been doing since the time we crossed the border back at the end of March as all been within the laws/mandates of every state and counties that we have been in and passed through. We have taken all the precautions necessary to keep ourselves safe and anyone we have been in contact with safe. If this person has a problem with that, then it is their problem. Kevin just wanted to set them straight as to what the exact rules were at the time.

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  24. once you have a friend with it who ends up in hospital on a ventilator you generally take it seriously. The big problem is not only dying of it, its th3 fact that it seems to have long term effects on your health that could impair the rest of you life. You can minimize your odds, but my friends got it and they said they were isolating in their RV. He may not make it, but his wife is not as sick. You still have to get food and I guess that is when they got infected. Getting on a plane right now is a very bad idea especially since they started selling center seats. Its enough to make me cancel my flight if its still bad in November. The other consideration is availability of hospital beds and the cost involved.

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    1. Pretty sure that we are taking it seriously Paul. Maybe your friend wasn't.

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    2. They were, all it takes is to accidently come in close contact with an asymptomatic person who is infected. They both cant believe they got it as they were in their RV and only going out when they needed to buy food. Even if you are wearing a mask there are always others who are not. The WHO is now saying it can linger in the air. The lesson is you can lower your odds, but there are no guarantees.The problem with this on is people spread it who have no idea they have it. When 30% of the people they are testing in places like Florida are showing positive it makes your odds of avoiding it a lot less.

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  25. BTW the 14 day is not so bad. It goes fast, just find a spot where you can get groceries delivered. It may seem overdone, but when you look at the stats in Canada even compared to the states immediately next door, the difference is marked, so obviously we are doing something right. For example we had about 20 new cases yesterday, Washington state had over 500.

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    1. Of course.

      Again, the only part we disagree with is the lack of exercise. We never said we wouldn't do it... only that we didn't agree with the terms.

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    2. well check with the powers that be, in BC if we lived in a rural area we were allowed to go for a walk.

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    3. This is a Ferderal act not a provincial one. This article is from April but it was the one that was put into place as of midnight on March 25/26, 2020. https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/health-safety/travel-health-notices/221

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  26. we phoned and were told it was ok, so go figure. mind you it was around march 20th

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    1. So it was before the Federal government made it mandatory, you can't do that now!

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  27. also we mentioned it was to walk the dog which was true.

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    1. I believe with this Quarantine Act in place you can't even take your dog out for a walk unless it is on your own property.

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  28. THANK YOU!!!! For someone finally being a voice of reason. We are of exactly the same mind and do ignore the haters. The numbers don't lie. We lose more people to winter flu, cancer and heart attacks than have died from this ridiculous (man made) virus. The last time I checked canada was a democracy but somewhere along the way I blinked and it is now a dictatorship. We become full time in just a few short weeks. We aren't allowed to properly say goodbye to family on the east coast and in the US because of all this stupidity. People have stopped thinking for themselves and questioning all these numbers and whether there is truth behind it or not. We ask people all the time and don't know anyone that knows anyone that has contracted the virus. The health worker that lives next door to us, when my husband asked her if the hospital had now gotten quieter than before her comment was "well we stepped up". In other words.... the party line.

    Glad you've been able to continue your travels. I wish now we had done things sooner and weren't stuck where we are. We're still going to do our trip across canada at the end of August with some alterations but it will be the last time.

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    1. Thank you so much for your feedback. We have always said that if you follow the guidelines set out before us then you should have very little risk of catching the virus or passing it on unknowingly. We will continue on doing what we have be to doing to protect ourselves and others but we will also continue on to live our lives.

      We really hope that you will enjoy your life on the road and that everything will go well for your trip across Canada. Traveling in an RV really does make so much easier in these crazy times, at least we think it does. :-)

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