En route back to Paw Paw we stopped in at a few pharmacies, in the hope of sourcing Elaine’s new medication at a more reasonable price, but learnt that it was only the hospitals that dispensed this particular medication. A subsequent followup, with help from our agent, however, revealed that it’s only the private hospitals on the island that dispense the medication. Feedback from the private hospital in Penang, Malaysia, had it at roughly $400USD cheaper, which could provide an option for a bulk purchase before setting sail across the Indian Ocean, but we’re hoping that our further research into reputable international online pharmacies may prove more fruitful.
Setting logistics aside, Roy produced a delicious Pad Thai for dinner, following which we enjoyed a movie.
It was, however, the daily statistics on the COVID-19 situation in Thailand that was rather alarming to say the least and just as perturbing for Phuket Island.
18 new cases of local infections were recorded on Thursday for Phuket Island, excluding two Sandbox arrivals who had tested positive. It was the trend of the past week, though, that raised the alarm bells for us, this after 1 or 2 cases per day since our arrival on the island, with many days were no cases were reported; 16 July - 7 new cases, 17 July - 11 new cases, 18 July - 1 new case, 19 July - 3 new cases, 20 July - 6 new cases, 21 July - 10 new cases and 22 July - 18 new cases, all of which excludes the 20 positive Sandbox cases from 1 - 21 July, comprising 18 who had tested positive after being on the island for more than a week and 2 who tested positive on arrival at the airport, which, for some bizarre reason, is being excluded from the daily figures.
Additionally, several venues were closed for sanitation, including the Phuket Airport Office Building, the Phuket City Municipality Office and the Splash Jungle Water Park.
The statistics and trends for Thailand as a whole were even worse, with 14,575 new COVID-19 cases, 143,744 in hospital care, 114 deaths and 3,984 in ICU with 900 on ventilators recorded for yesterday, another daily record. Over the past week the numbers have also continued to sore, even under stricter lockdown measures; 17 July - 10,082 & 141 deaths, 18 July - 11,397 & 101 deaths , 19 July - 11,784 & 81 deaths , 20 July - 11,305 & 80 deaths , 21 July - 13,002 & 108 deaths , 22 July - 13,655 & 87 deaths and yesterday - 14,575 & 114 deaths. Unfortunately the vaccination rates are dismal too; on average, over the past week, only 211,844 people had been vaccinated, equating to roughly 22 doses per 100 people. At this rate, Thailand will only be able to vaccinate 70% of the population by August 2022, assuming, of course, that the country overcomes the gross shortage of suitable vaccines it is currently experiencing.
For us, this all means we have no choice, but to continue shielding as we have been doing since March last year and that means enjoying our anchorage off Ao Po Grand marina until the weather improves, allowing us to enjoy some sailing and explore the less touristy islands within Phuket Province.
With the wind still blowing today, though, albeit a reasonably sunny day, we remained onboard and, although Roy was up early, Elaine enjoyed a nice sleep-in. Then while she spent her day updating medical notes and medical insurance claims again, as well as looking at alternative routes for our Indian Ocean passage, Roy continued his efforts on the enhancements to the Anchor Plus application, which are coming along nicely, thanks to the help from his able translators, Ronnie, off Campechano and Bas, off TiSento. Testing the Siri commands, though, was turning into a bit of a laugh, so we gave up!
Our day ended with a video call from Justine, who decided to take a break from her vacuuming chore while we took a break from the terrible movie we were watching; it was the perfect interlude with a few good chuckles!
