As of mid-May 2020, I still cannot give a complete picture of the situation of course. As you hear from the media and news, we will have to live with Corona for some time. (and no, not the Corona beer, the joke is obvious for Mexico but an old one meanwhile).
In terms of reservations, I had a very low March and would have been available to my partners in Playa del Carmen for tours on a daily basis or for short-term bookings. In mid-March came the restrictions in Germany that I joined here in Mexico, i.e. social distance and the later recommendations for community masks and the plea for distance when shopping, for example.
Travels were then canceled and tourism in Quintana Roo drove towards zero and therefore I have been self-isolating since mid-March. I am in good health and all friends and acquaintances on site are at least not affected by health.
I hope, of course, that nobody will be affected by SARS-CoV2 and if you go through an infection, then please without symptoms and lasting effects. Unfortunately, the scientists and doctors still don’t know enough to say why the course of the disease is so aggressive in some and why it is not recognizable in others. So for me it is important to be overly cautious and not risk anything. As a cave diver, I can assess risks well and this is just so high that I am very conservative at first.
What’s next? The first news comes to light from sick people who had the first follow-up examinations after a few weeks. This gives the doctors important insights into the extent to which damage is reversible. The lungs would be particularly important for us divers. If you are interested, please contact me directly so that we can exchange information on the latest developments and research results. There is so much going on that I can’t really record it here in a timely manner.
I will definitely use the time to work on my general fitness (walking twice a day is a good start) as well as working on strategies, how I will have to adapt future excursions and courses to the new situation. I follow the guidelines of my training association, consultation with diving doctors and general doctors in Germany, as well as organizations such as the European Committee for Diving Medicine, DAN or the GTUEM as minimum standards.
Many speak of the fact that in these times of retreat you also find time to calm down a bit, maybe realign yourself and find a better start afterwards. I have adapted my lifestyle to an almost vegan diet over the years and I also try to pollute the environment as little as possible with plastic and other garbage. With this in mind, I wish everyone to think, search for new approaches, find new hobbies (because many hobbies will no longer be feasible, such as attending sports or music events), pick up on old ideas and dreams and the time finally found to take advantage of this direction.
In this sense, please stay healthy and until soon.