Corona Daily 177: Bonnets, Gloves and Glasses

“How do I look?” She asked first adjusting her bonnet, and then putting the glasses on. “I found these old glasses in the garage. I think my granny wore them. So thick and ugly. I can’t see much. But they should do, shouldn’t they? How do I look?” She asked again.

The older lady stared at the image in the mirror and said, “Looks ok. But I think you will need to apply some makeup, a little more. Like last time. Even with the glasses you look too young.”

The lady in the bonnet took out her i-phone 12. On the screen, she opened her photo and using an app, began rapidly altering her image. This, this, this…. Would I look older with thicker eyebrows?”

The two ladies left the house two hours later.  “I will wear the glasses once we reach”, said the lady in the bonnet. On the car GPS she set the Orange County convention center as the destination. The center is only some ten miles from Orlando’s Disney World. The newspaper reports don’t mention their names, just ages – 34 and 44.

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The Canadian newspapers, on the other hand, are not shy of mentioning the names of Rodney Baker, 55, president and CEO of a Canadian casino company, and his 32-year-old Russian wife, Ekaterina Baker, an aspiring actress. The Bakers first flew from Vancouver to Whitehorse, a good four-hour flight. Canadian law required them to self -isolate for 14 days. However, they took a charter flight to Beaver creek, a small community of about 100 people near the Alaska border.

Yukon’s rural communities are a priority group because they are more vulnerable to Covid-19. They are so remotely located; they have little access to health services or a hospital. The government has organized mobile vaccination clinics especially for the Yukon residents.

Rodney and Ekaterina Baker went to one such mobile clinic.

“Both of us work at a motel nearby.” Ekaterina gave the name of the motel and a charming smile. Both were given the Moderna vaccine.

They then began asking for a ride to the airport from passing cars.  “Airport?” people wondered. Why would anyone wish to go to the small airport in this lockdown time? An enforcement unit person called the airport and asked them to check who the couple was. A mobile clinic member called the motel, who said no such people work there. The couple was charged $2300 penalty.

“We didn’t anticipate anyone would go to this length to effectively deceive the team to get vaccinated.” The government official said.

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Let me continue with the story at the beginning of this article, which happened on 17 February with the two unnamed ladies. On reaching the center, the 33-year-old put on her granny glasses. At the counter, they showed their appointment letters and the CDC cards.

“Your driving licence, please”, the man at the counter said.

“When we got the first shot, nobody asked us for a licence.” Said the lady making her voice as trembling as possible. “You see the CDC card shows we have had our first shot. We have come for the second.”

The staff member insisted on seeing both the driving licences. He then called his manager. This center was allowed to vaccinate only people older than 65. The geriatric disguise still couldn’t beat the ages on the driving licences.

Trespass warnings were issued against them. Since the ladies were not charged, their names can’t be disclosed. By the way, they were denied the second shot they had come for.

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Newspapers in the USA and Europe are full of such stories. Vaccines are a scarce commodity, and hundreds of people are using every available trick in the book to getting vaccinated at the expense of someone more in need.

But then, they are simply following the example of their nation. The world’s richest countries have reserved one billion more doses than their citizens need. Africa, as a result, may not receive any vaccines this year.

Ravi