The Corona Diaries - I am a Crazy Man

Over the past few days I’ve been called a lot of things, including crazy, foolhardy, stupid, careless and my own personal favorite, “a total dumbass”. The list is growing. I have to admit that all these adjectives could aptly apply to me on most any given day, but the reason the recent derogatory onslaught has come my way, is because I want to go home… to China.

I’ve been traveling in India for the past three weeks. I left my home in Guangxi Province on January 22 when the severity of the Novel Wuhan Corona Virus was just becoming known. I wore a face mask on a high speed train to Kunming and during my flight to Calcutta. At the time I thought it was probably overkill but I’d promised my wife I’d wear the mask so I did. Since then I’ve watched, along with the rest of the world, as the number of infections and deaths have increased daily. The death toll today passed 900 and continues to multiply. This particular new corona virus strain has proven very contagious, much more so than SARS. Fortunately it appears far less lethal, at least so far, still… 900 souls have perished.

At 62 I’m certainly not the healthiest person in the world, but I’m not what I would call “weak” by any means. I regularly walk 10 kilometers or more in a day, hauling all my photography equipment around with me. That said, I am overweight, I suffer from kidney disease and diabetes and my immune system is much more susceptible than most. So then, you may be asking why in the world am I even considering going back right now, when most anyone who can is trying to get out? Well, can you remember that old Facebook relationship status… “It’s complicated”?

Next - Cancellations and the Fallout 

12:17 PM - February 9th, 2020 - Kolkata