Yesterday, I put the word out to friends and acquaintances who live or are staying at home in Oaxaca to give me their insights, observations and experiences about life there during the COVID-19 virus outbreak. These are first-person accounts and important to me to stay informed since I’m sequestered with my son in Huntington Beach, California. I thought you’d be interested, too.
From Kay Michaels, owner of Oaxaca Eats walking food tours:
Walked with the dogs this morning down Alcala almost to the Zocalo. Alcala has few people but there was some kind of gathering at Santa Domingo. Turned up Independencia and glanced over to a PACKED zocalo. I saw tents set up. Looked kinda of like when the teacher’s strike. Headed back up Garcia Vigil with less folks.
Decided to hit Chedraui for a few items and that was a mistake even at 10am. When I came in and grabbed my cart, I immediately wiped it down. This was met with laughs from a Oaxqueno family of three, but I don’t care. Better safe than sorry. The shelves are bare of rice but full of toilet paper. Pasta was picked over and sauce almost gone. People have begun panic buying. No anti-bacterial gel or alcohol. There were few people working the check out and no baggers so the lines were long. I, and another guera, were the only ones wearing masks besides the checkers who had masks and gloves on. People were not practicing social distancing and I had to maneuver my cart to try to keep them away.
Boulenc has closed their restaurant and only the bakery is open. They are only allowing a few people in at a time. Destilado has closed. Riviere Gran Cafe right next door has closed. I think the governor will impose new restrictions to restaurants tomorrow. We’ll see.
Meanwhile, you might have seen the big gathering for Dia de la Samaritana [Good Samaritan Day] out in Teotitlan del Valle. It was large. And, I was sad to see the photos. It was cancelled here in Oaxaca. Some people get it, some don’t, as everywhere in the world.
Los Angeles Times reports on Mexico President Lopez Obrador’s response to the corona virus. It isn’t good. It’s beginning to look a lot like the Trumpet. And, we thought AMLO cared!
If you are in Oaxaca now, please, especially take good care.
Seeking first person accounts of your experiences now in Oaxaca. Send me an email: norma.schafer@icloud.com
