2 Retire In Panama? NEWSLETTER
Volume 13 December 21, 2020
This week's COVID...
...update is how I am helping to keep readers updated on how "under control" COVID-19 is in Panama. This is the update as of December 16th from Karyn Saunders.Thank you so much Karyn for continuing to keep ex-pats aware of the statistics:
Panama has 199,947 total cases + 2960 new, 3439 total deaths + 28 new, 183 in ICU, 1370 are hospitalized, 29,908 active, 166,600 have recovered + 1745 new, resulting in a death rate of 1.7%.
1,100,074 total tests, 13,981 new, 21% positive rate. Panama is #15 in cases/million in the world,#73 in tests/million, and #21 in deaths per/million.
On December 15th, the government imposed the following measures to keep the COVID spread to a minimum during the upcoming holidays:
1) Curfew has been implemented from 7pm through 5am daily from December 18th through January 4th.
2) Access to and from the beaches and the interior will be restricted from December 23rd through January 4th.
3) Sanitary fences (checkpoints) at locations of Chorrera, Divisa, LaVilla, Chagres, and Vigui, will be implemented from December 23rd through January 4th to monitor travel between provinces.
4) Total lockdown from 7pm December 25th to 5am on December 28th.
5) Total lockdown from 7pm January 1st to 5am on January 4th.
6) Only one person from a family will be allowed into a supermarket, with the exception that a minor or a person with a disability may enter with that person.
7) There is a prohibition on the sale of alcoholic beverages during the hours of 7pm to 5am from December 18 through January 4.
My special offer this week...
...is the gift of reading. I am such a fan of Kindle Unlimited because of the sheer volume of my reading. If you are in need a late gift for someone who loves to read click through the link below to save up to 40% on unlimited reading. Prepaid plans of Kindle Unlimited allow the reader to have access to thousands of titles including "2 Retire In Panama?". Kindle Unlimited Special Offer
Jen and I are anxiously...
...awaiting the magic of the holiday season. We will be traveling later in the week to spend the holidays with family and friends. It is our wish that all of you have a blessed Christmas, be it with family, friends, a combination, or just your bubble. The governments around the world want us to all stay in and protect each other from the spread of the virus. I try to be non-judgemental of the government and others who criticize decisions which are made to protect the people who are under their care. We are traveling with a great deal of caution. We will get a COVID test prior to departure in order to protect our hosts. Before we return we will have a negative test to be allowed return to Panama. The best way to stop the spread is good common sence. We are both healthy and not likely to get the virus but we may be around others who are not so lucky. Mask wearing and social distancing is the best way to protect loved ones. Our prayer for all of you is that you all have a safe, happy, and HEALTHY holiday season. And of course, we wish you all a prosperous New Year.
One of the resources...
...that I often shuffle to the back burner is my Youtube channel. Perhaps it doesn't get a lot of my attention because I consider myself electronically challenged. I produced several videos for my friend and fellow author Mesu Andrews. Mesu writes Biblical Fiction and she produces a newsletter where she featured my videos from our adventure in Israel. I also produced a video trailer of my book, which puts pictures with some of the written words. There are a multitude of other videos on the channel including some video of our Panama Canal passage. Check it out and subscribe to the channel to get notice of any future video posts.
Last Sunday Coronado Bible Church...
resumed "normal" Sunday services. It was a bit different because Pastor Jon and Sue returned from the States after a short vacation only to find out they had been exposed to COVID. To minimize possible exposure they self quarantined and delivered the service from their home much the same as the services of the past few months. With the new lockdown requirements between now and the end of the year, it is unlikly that we will be allowed to have another normal service until the second week in January. Parishioners are asked to register in advance for Sunday service to be sure we have adequate seating. We have plenty of room to set up socially distanced seats. If we have a big crowd an additional service will be scheduled. Protocol of the Panamanian government requires that each attendee have a temperature check, and present their Cedula/Passport so if someone discovers that they have been infected, others who were in attendance can be contacted.
Please remember...
...that the book which was inspired by all our adventures in Panama is still available. You can get a copy of it by clicking the link here, or the link on the blog. It is exclusively available on Amazon or Kindle. Kindle Unlimited subscribers read it free.
Lyn Gilbert (pictured below) and her husband Ty are our travel buddies. Often you will find them along on our adventures in the book. It was Lyn's mom who gratiously edited it. It is Lyn and Ty who are always in search of another "end of the road". As soon as the travel restrictions are lifted we will be off on another adventure together.
Blessings from paradise,
Greg 