Covid

[MR]

The rush seems to have subsided a bit here - still many on tourist visas trying to avoid paying the overstay penalty but no one's managed it yet! And thanks to facebook(!), the word got around v.quickly about booking low-cost connecting flights so everyone's wary now - and it's not just Singapore that was stopping them, many didn't even get out of Saigon! I just renewed my "permitted to stay 6 months" visa exemption but now it's only valid for 3 months. We asked why and they said "Covid" - as though no further explanation needed. We're trying to extend via family connections but it's not such a big deal because I could go back to Oz a bit earlier than planned and clean the place up before Linh and Sunny hopefully arrive a month later (more than 2 years empty - yuk!).

[PamMcD]

He had 3 forms to fill in and he had a PCR at the airport I think.  The flight was packed, I hate that, it is more Closterphobic.  When he arrived in Singers he has to quarantine for 7 days, but as he is still working from home it is no problem.

[MR]

Dunno what "pop" is, but it must be good if you all went from having Covid to not having it!!!  Good luck to Simon - tell him to be careful at the airport on arrival as there are literally hundreds of expats who left Vietnam yesterday after free tourist visa extensions were discontinued, and a lot of them booked flights with Scoot and now can't get past Singapore (airport) because Scoot doesn't have some paperwork to use the airport despite (I thought) being a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. Maybe I got that bit wrong. Anyway, lots of angry/disappointed expats were given just one week to leave Vietnam and are now stuck in Singapore airport!

[PamMcD]

We are covid free here and tomorrow Simon leaves for his long journey back to Singapore.  I will miss his terribly, but mainly because I won't have anyone to play pop with.

[MR]

Good luck with the lateral flow test, Pam. Let us know how it goes. On the subject of Covid I have to say I'm alarmed at what appears to be complete mismanagement of the Omicron variant's arrival downunder - to the point that I feel we are much safer staying here in Vietnam where (apart from a few noisy expats complaining online about their loss of freedom), they fully accept that the way to stay safe when an airborne virus is attacking everyone in sight is to get vaxxed, stay home, stay covered, stay apart and stay clean. In Australia and other so-called "advanced economies" the governments seem to have bowed to the biggest noise, ie anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, anti-anything at all'ers - now already revealing a growing tragedy that should have been obvious from the outset even to "blind Freddie"!

[PamMcD]

My daughter Rosie went to a large gathering on Xmas day where there was someone who had tested positive for covid.  On the Tuesday after Xmas we all went over to Wythenshawe to my other daughters.  We played games etc and the best of these games was Happy Families, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife - but I digress.  Simon drove back and Rosie sat next to him and we had the windows closed.  A couple of days later she tested positive, 2 days after that I tested positive while Simon was negative.  Because he has to fly back to Singapore he went for a PCR test which was positive.   So here we are not really poorly at all but unable to mix with our fellow humans.  I just had an awful head, sore throat and a dry cough.  I will be testing with lateral flow tomorrow and Simon has had to postpone his flight, if we are OK it will be party time with Happy Families being the game of choice.  I tell you all this because I think the vaccines are wonderful, I could have been more ill than I was so I think we had the Omicrom.