General Info

[Goferring]

Now I am perusing this site for a good recuperation spot for 2021.2.

Needs.

1. Ease of exit from Europe. Turkey and Turkish Airways seem best.

2. Ease of paperwork. Somewhere that wants $$$ and is not made change the rules every day.

3. Cash hungry women.

1 and 2 are the problems, big problems, not just for Europeans. Any country relaxing restrictions over the next months would be flooded.

I'm not European but I'd preference Cebu over MNL: big enough but not so big that everyone is paranoid; direct flights and other international transit options should the SHTF. Not to mention a metric shit tonne of girls out of work and seeking cash. Many more in the wider Visayas areas that would happily accept a bus fare and suck any residual toxins from your body.

I've also noticed a few AirBNB and Agoda adds highlighting that they are accepting tenants with no Covid or vaccination paperwork. I'm not sure if this is a good thing (signs of opening up) or a bad one (lack of containment).

Good luck with the recovery. Long term chronic diseases can deflate both body and soul.

Cheers.

[PedroMorales]

Glad to hear you are getting better. Have you been advised of any long-term affects? I've heard of some having symptoms for a loooong time but my info is 4th and 5th hand conjecture.

Hope you are fighting fit soon..

A friend is dropping me in an oximeter today so I can measure my oxygen. More to the point, I sleep round the clock but am always tired and want to sleep again. I wake from a deep sleep but am not refreshed. I am going to have a full check up when this is over. I did not not conjunctivitis or anything, just like an awful does of the clap for 3-5 days and a persistent cough that is now gone. The cough like that of a very sick baby, with the diagrphagm coughed out of me, like I have been badly bruised all along it.

Now I am perusing this site for a good recuperation spot for 2021.2.

Needs.

1. Ease of exit from Europe. Turkey and Turkish Airways seem best.

2. Ease of paperwork. Somewhere that wants $$$ and is not made change the rules every day.

3. Cash hungry women.

1 and 2 are the problems, big problems, not just for Europeans. Any country relaxing restrictions over the next months would be flooded.

[Albert9989]

At same time I noticed many vaccinations going on in many places, many of my chatmates told me that they are fully vaccinated.

In Manila but also in Cebu, and Palawan, Puerto princesa but even some isolated villages fully vaccinated.

They talk about sinovac and also AstraZeneca.

That's good to hear, they try really to strongly improve the vaccination level which is the only way we have now to fight this virus, even if not the best.

[Goferring]

I live in a suburb, lots of green, space etc. I live alone, eat well / healthily and live a clean life. Moderate drinker. Non smoker, don't mix much. Yet here I am, having to factor in covid risks going forward. Thanks for the informed comments. Food for thought.

Glad to hear you are getting better. Have you been advised of any long-term affects? I've heard of some having symptoms for a loooong time but my info is 4th and 5th hand conjecture.

Hope you are fighting fit soon. 👍128077;129310;.

[WestCoast1]

Six days since the last one. See pics. Delta cases up, from 450 to 627 (39% increase). Deaths up from 9 to 13 (44% increase).

[WestCoast1]

Thanks Westie for the frequent informative updates. The situation in Manila that you have been illuminating helps some of us keep our Philippines wanderlust under control. Some of your mall photos look like Robinson's Place in Ermita,

Welcome. That was Robinson's Ermita. In the grocery store about 2:30 pm, I counted 9 checkout lanes open, 3 of which had customers (1 customer each). Just prior to last weekend's ECQ lockdown it was a madhouse just an hour after opening. Still have to have a mask when in public, and also a face shield to enter the mall. However since the shield mandate was dropped a few weeks ago, many businesses dropped it also. Can now go into 7-11 or MiniMart with just a mask. I only take the shield with me now if I am specifically going to a mall.

http://br.mobile.reuters.com/video/2...Channel=117763

EDSA without congestion is hard to imagine.

Roxas, Makati Ave. They are pretty dead even at normal rush hour times during ECQ. Good catch on the drone footage.

Must say that when Filipino are told to stay home, they STAY HOME.

[Soapy Smith]

ECQ update.

And a link to this article: "Drone footage captures Manila under lockdown".

https://www.yahoo.com/news/drone-foo...053331400.html

Thanks Westie for the frequent informative updates. The situation in Manila that you have been illuminating helps some of us keep our Philippines wanderlust under control. Some of your mall photos look like Robinson's Place in Ermita, but I thought you were staying in Makati.

I couldn't get the yahoo link to the EDSA drone footage to work. I think Yahoo may have taken the story down. I found the same footage on Reuters and other outlets:

http://br.mobile.reuters.com/video/2...Channel=117763

EDSA without congestion is hard to imagine.

[PedroMorales]

I live in a suburb, lots of green, space etc. I live alone, eat well / healthily and live a clean life. Moderate drinker. Non smoker, don't mix much. Yet here I am, having to factor in covid risks going forward. Thanks for the informed comments. Food for thought.

[Papae Noel]

Pedro, Get well soon! Hope you were able to stay out of the hospital. You are in Europe?

[WestCoast1]

ECQ update.

Well, its a bit of a ghost town again in Manila. Some street pics, mall pics. Also we gots us an alcohol ban, and all food is take-out only. The grocery store and maybe 10 other stores (food, pharmacy) are open in the mall. Even the mall's flagship department store is closed for the duration (Aug 6-20, if not extended). Street pics taken at dusk, mall pics taken 3-ish pm. Curfew 8 pm, so get your evening honey to your place early (if they allow guests). If your place doesn't allow guests (other than your registered main squeeze), you need another hotel. More hotels are showing now as Quarantine on Agoda. Even the ST hotels are now allowing only 1 person per rented room (ie Sogo, VC), even if online they are renting rooms for multiple persons (see pic).

And a link to this article: "Drone footage captures Manila under lockdown".

https://www.yahoo.com/news/drone-foo...053331400.html

[Bushes]

I am almost out of Covid. The coughing has died down and is not as incessant. My appetite is returning but I am still sleeping maybe 14 hours a day in spasms. Some of the advice here has been helpful. Although I will have better short term resistance to a recurrence, I am not more vulnerable to be re-infected.

The lesson I draw is covid cannot be avoided if one interacts socially at all. I will probably have to get the jabs and hope for the best. Travel throughout Europe is too problematic right now and even considering going beyond Europe with no good cause makes no sense Local providers seem the way to go but they are over priced and not of LBFM quality. Tough times.

So assume you are not in PI. Definitely suggest visit to a covid hospital and get an xray. Let the professionals monitor. Many get worse suddenly.

Current recommendations are getting shots even for recovered people.

[PedroMorales]

I am almost out of Covid. The coughing has died down and is not as incessant. My appetite is returning but I am still sleeping maybe 14 hours a day in spasms. Some of the advice here has been helpful. Although I will have better short term resistance to a recurrence, I am not more vulnerable to be re-infected.

The lesson I draw is covid cannot be avoided if one interacts socially at all. I will probably have to get the jabs and hope for the best. Travel throughout Europe is too problematic right now and even considering going beyond Europe with no good cause makes no sense Local providers seem the way to go but they are over priced and not of LBFM quality. Tough times.

[TravelingMan3]

Got any you. S Military Retirees in here? I'm coming up on my 20 and looking to gather some info.

I'm retired Military Medically Retired currently live in Sosua Dominican Republic what Information are you looking for. To be honest I'm going to go to Thailand over the PI but if I can help I'd be glad to.

[WestCoast1]

Another look. 2 weeks ago I posted the first pic, a BioSurveillance Report from the Phils Genome Center (July 24). My empahsis at the time was the Delta variant. The DHO releases this each week. Here we are 2 weeks later, with the latest numbers for the variants. Here is a breakdown of what has happened in 2 weeks, percentage-wise. Guessing this is one reason they are so concerned about Delta. Somebody check my math:

Alpha cases up 18%, deaths up 5%.

Beta cases up 17%, deaths up 14%.

Delta cases up 278% (119 and 450 cases), deaths up 125% (4 and 9 deaths).

Gamma cases and deaths, no change.

P3 cases up 18%, deaths no change.

[Pinga 98]

Yesterday's test came back positive.

Pedro: Hope you have an Oxymeter (it is a cheap device) to monitor your oxyzen. If the level falls rapidly, time to go to hospital. I hope it does not come to that. But many affected don't feel trouble breathing until it is too late.

We all wish you luck!