Locked In and Locked Down

This week is a bit of a different format because my life is looking quite different this week. As of Saturday, March 27, Santiago is in complete lockdown. This means not being able to leave the house except for about three hours a day, depending on the day, and only to walk. So, how did Chile get here? How is it that a year after the first cases were reported, I am playing fetch with my dog in a corridor and having to order everything online?

How We Got Here

Chile first started recording cases in February 2020. Much like the rest of the world, the unknowns about the virus outweighed the facts. Most of the initial cases were concentrated in Santiago's capital, with only minor outbreaks in other regions. This lead to the country acting much slower in establishing lockdowns, unlike our neighbors Peru and Argentina. While Chile did implement a nighttime curfew, it did not do much to combat the day's interactions. Quarantines and reopenings would eventually be established in a governmental program called Paso-A-Paso (Step-By-Step). The idea was great in theory but discriminated against the neighborhoods in the lower-income areas, leaving them in quarantines with the wealthier areas remaining open. By May 2020, all of Santiago was placed under quarantine, and it has remained in various levels of closure ever since.

Since I arrived in December 2020, I have lived in some level of the Paso-A-Paso program. This means that movie theatres have been opened at various times, then closed, then curfew was 11 PM, then 10 PM, markets have been opened and closed…you get the idea. Nothing has been consistent. Thankfully the US Embassy in Chile sends out changes via email, which keeps me up to date. Currently, Santiago is in Phase One, the most restrictive phase of all.

Phase 1 & What It Means

As defined by the Chilean government, “The Paso-A-Paso Plan is a gradual strategy to face the pandemic according to the health situation of each particular area. These are five stages or gradual steps, ranging from Quarantine to Advanced Opening, with specific restrictions and obligations. The advance or retreat from one particular step to another is subject to epidemiological indicators, healthcare network and traceability”.

Phase One does not allow:

The face-to-face classes of schools and nursery schools.
The travel to a secondary residence and other regions.
Social gatherings of all kinds, except for funerals.
The opening of restaurants and cafes.
The face-to-face sale in supermarkets of non-essential items: home decoration, household appliances (including televisions and video games), appliances, toys, clothing, books and stationery, and sporting goods.
The operation of pubs, discos and similar places.
The operation of gyms and sports establishments open to the public.
The departure of ELEAM (retirement home) residents and/or visits to ELEAM residents
The operation of Clubs for the Elderly and Day Centers.

Phase One does allow:

Your home's departure to make purchases or specific and essential procedures with an individual permit that you can obtain from the police (two a week and only from Monday to Friday).
The ability to leave during curfew (10 p.m. and 5 a.m.) with a permit due to a medical emergency or the death of a direct relative.
Work in an essential service, which cannot be performed remotely, and you have a collective travel permit or a single collective permit, which you must present with a copy of the employment contract or a labor certificate that indicates the functions that you perform.
Outdoor activities (sports, walks) every day, but only from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. from Monday to Friday and from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays, without the need for permission. Only individual activities or with people from the same residence, and without using a car or public transport. During these hours, you cannot carry out activities that require permission.
If you are over 75 years old, on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, you can go for a walk once a day, for 60 minutes, between 09:00 and 11:00 hours or between 16:00 and 18:00.

Note: There is only one time a day that I can give Bourbon a walk right now. Thank goodness I worked so hard in the first two weeks on potty training! I have been increasing his playtime to counter the increased indoor time and utilizing the long hallway. He is becoming a huge fan of fetch in the corridor.

How Chile Compares

Overall, Chile ranks among the top 10 countries in the world with the worse Covid outbreaks. So far in Chile, there have been 977,243 cases and 22,754 deaths recorded. The initial wave of infections came in May 2020, and the second wave is currently taking place. The second wave has daily cases that surpass the initial wave, which hints at the regression into Phase one for Santiago. Even though over 40% of the population has received the vaccine, the number of cases continues to climb. Hospitals are at or near capacity, with 95% of all beds being full countrywide.

The vaccine rollout has been done on a calendar basis - with non-residents being the last group on the list. Every two weeks, a calendar is put out by the Chilean government that gives a date and who can be vaccinated on that date. On your designated date, you can show up at any vaccination center and receive the vaccine. Since non-residents are last and the calendar is just now allowing anyone 57 or older to walk in and receive the vaccine, I know I have a ways to go.

It’s easy to get fatigued with this never-ending pandemic and the constant state of change it is putting us all in. Before coming to Chile, I had not experienced the anxiety that comes with not knowing if you can or can not leave your house tomorrow. It is a different experience altogether than the United States. I am grateful that the government has ramped up delivery orders on all things (groceries, flowers, dog food, etc.) so being at home is not as bad as it could be. At least this time, we all have access to toilet paper.

Same But Different

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