Day 1 of Lock Down

The Cypriot Government has turned the island into something of a bubble to try and contain the spread of Corona virus - the extent of the measures is somewhat unclear but basically only residents with a certificate saying they are clear of the virus will be allowed in and then they will go into mandatory quarantine.  The Mall, bars and restaurants (save those who are offering a takeaway service) are closed for a couple of weeks but there also seem to be a whole raft of other shops not now opening and no events indoors with more than 75 people.  Hotels and other tourist accommodation have to close by Saturday for a month and tourists are supposed to be off the island by Saturday but there don't appear to be any flights save for the one John was due to go out on and because that is not cancelled he can't seem to get a refund.

We are more than happy to stay at home as much as possible.  There is loads we can do and now is as good a time as any to do it.  Glykkis remains open apparently so no excuse not to do any DIY.  We did need to go and do a bit of shopping so went off down to Paps in Polis which was quiet and civilised with well stocked shelves and no panic buying - I even managed to get not one but two livers for the cats so they will be fine for a while yet.

At the checkouts they were cleaning the floors with some very strong disinfectant - so strong that I joked that if the virus didn't destroy your lungs then this stuff would!  This is not meant to be flippant I am just trying to paint a picture - apparently in Mum's Paps they are making shoppers sanitise their hands and wear gloves and enforcing it - good on them.

I filled up Kenny with fuel - just to be on the safe side in case we have to shoot down to Paphos for any reason.  Jacob was wearing gloves to serve me - he took out a wad of notes to give me change and it occurred to me that money is filthy as the best of times but when he put his hand to his mouth to stifle a cough he did so into the cash he was holding and then offered me my change!!!  I accepted it gingerly!!

So that was it on our first day - we did some shopping so that we are pretty well stocked for a couple of weeks.  I came home and made a chili so that we have hot food on the go which will last us a couple of days at least and the cats have food.  We have been in touch with Mum who is fine and was still able to see her doctor regarding recent blood tests.

Jane and John are between a rock and a hard place.  As tourists they are supposed to be off the island by Saturday but their return flight is actually scheduled after the clamp down and at present is still being advertised as flying - they aren't sure what to do for the best.