Gathering to Panama City | Elder Poulter | Quarantined

Elders Doxey & Poulter in Bella Vista, Arraijan

NOTE: These are notes from calls with Elder Doxey while in quarantine, awaiting departure from Panama.

Question: So you were asked to close down the San Blas Zone for a time, and get all the missionaries near the airport. This is unprecedented. Where are you now?
Elder Doxey: I am a Zone Leader in Arraijan, (where I served before) but I am now with Elder Poulter, who was in the MTC with me. We worked together for a few short days here, and then we got the quarantine order and had to stay in. It is great to be with Elder Poulter again. He is a great missionary.

Bella Vista, Arraijan

Church Members in Bella Vista, Arraijan

Question: Tell us what you know about being evacuated or not—Sister Garrett has been posting updates on the parents Facebook page, but that is all we know.

Elder Doxey: We don’t know all the details, but we do know the Panamanian police have started setting up roadblocks on major roads to “catch” people that should not be out during a government mandated quarantine. The rumor is that the fines are very real, and very costly.

I have heard of fines being in the $100,000 range, if you are caught without your passport…or you could be thrown in jail. This fact is making it hard for the President and Sister Garrett to gather up the missionaries—especially from far distances.

Question: What determines who can be out during the quarantine period?
Elder Doxey: It has something to do with the last digit of your passport number, your gender, and for natives, their ID number. Certain ID numbers and genders are allowed to be out to run essential errands, but others are not allowed. This makes it tricky for missionaries, because the last digit of our passport numbers are typically different, yet we need to be together. If you are a gringo and stand out as “a foreigner” you are even more vulnerable.

The Tocumen International Airport is closed to commercial traffic, and all foreigners have been asked to go home. Some of their countries are not allowing them home just yet, so it is thorny situation.

I’ve been told the mission is trying to arrange “Humanitarian” flights out of Panama on military planes. The whole situation is fluid. We’re told we will be evacuated back to our home countries, and then reassigned after a 14 day quarantine period. I think a group flew out this week. Our military flight could be next. We just have to be ready to go if we get the call to be there at the military airport.

UPDATE: A couple days later, Elder Doxey answered these questions…

Question: What’s new?
Elder Doxey: We learned today we will be flying out tomorrow on a military plane. I think the schedule is to fly over Cuba and land in Virginia. We will be there for a bit, then go to Minneapolis, and then on to Salt Lake. I don’t have a phone so I will see you in the parking garage of the airport.