As one enters Plaza Renon now one must have his temperature taken. They just point a little gizmo at your forehead and presto it's done. Wish I had one of them things at home. Much simpler and quicker than the mouth thermometer, but who knows, maybe it's not really accurate. Window dressing? I wonder what would happen if one had a fever. You'd have to go home, I guess.
There's no major outbreak of coronavirus at this point in Bali, or indeed in Indonesia, and there could be a couple explanations for that. It could be, as I reported recently, that the virus does not thrive in hot tropical climates, as researchers have theorized. Or it could be that many people have it and simply have not seen a doctor. For many here, seeing a doctor is financially unfeasible. They simply don't have the money. And, as one might imagine, there is no billion dollar public health program set up for detection and further action.
At the same time, it may be that I am more at risk than ever, given my risk factors of age and autoimmune disease, because yesterday I had for teeth pulled from my mouth. It was supposed to have been two, but the dentist added two more just for fun. The result is that now I cannot eat, nor will I be able to eat anything of significance for the next two-plus weeks. No teeth to chew food with. Apparently, I will be on a diet of soups and liquids. Haven't figured out yet how that's gonna work. But anyway, it would seem to me that extractions and poor diet would open one to a greater risk of infection and illness. I will also, no doubt, be losing weight as I suck down vegetable juice and oatmeal. This is not gonna be fun.
Of course, Nyepi is also upon us--a day wherein we will all be stuck in our own abodes anyway and therefore not exposed to germs in the public realm. Hey, maybe that's the cure! Nyepi for all. It will be a disappointing day, however, in the sense that I have in the past used it as a day to pig out on all my favorite treats, watch movies, read a book while munching. It just won't be the same with vegetable juice. In addition, the local government has made the usual threat of shutting down internet access on Nyepi, which may or may not happen in fact. Thankfully, it never has in the past. But if the internet were actually shut down, what then? Meditate?
Oh, wait. That's what one is supposed to do on Nyepi.
There's no major outbreak of coronavirus at this point in Bali, or indeed in Indonesia, and there could be a couple explanations for that. It could be, as I reported recently, that the virus does not thrive in hot tropical climates, as researchers have theorized. Or it could be that many people have it and simply have not seen a doctor. For many here, seeing a doctor is financially unfeasible. They simply don't have the money. And, as one might imagine, there is no billion dollar public health program set up for detection and further action.
At the same time, it may be that I am more at risk than ever, given my risk factors of age and autoimmune disease, because yesterday I had for teeth pulled from my mouth. It was supposed to have been two, but the dentist added two more just for fun. The result is that now I cannot eat, nor will I be able to eat anything of significance for the next two-plus weeks. No teeth to chew food with. Apparently, I will be on a diet of soups and liquids. Haven't figured out yet how that's gonna work. But anyway, it would seem to me that extractions and poor diet would open one to a greater risk of infection and illness. I will also, no doubt, be losing weight as I suck down vegetable juice and oatmeal. This is not gonna be fun.
Of course, Nyepi is also upon us--a day wherein we will all be stuck in our own abodes anyway and therefore not exposed to germs in the public realm. Hey, maybe that's the cure! Nyepi for all. It will be a disappointing day, however, in the sense that I have in the past used it as a day to pig out on all my favorite treats, watch movies, read a book while munching. It just won't be the same with vegetable juice. In addition, the local government has made the usual threat of shutting down internet access on Nyepi, which may or may not happen in fact. Thankfully, it never has in the past. But if the internet were actually shut down, what then? Meditate?
Oh, wait. That's what one is supposed to do on Nyepi.
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