Things are moving quickly. Too quickly. I am going to do my best to recap the past two days (March 13th-14th) from my vantage point here in the Midwest. I am hoping that this can be a place to present facts, both the positive and negative. Yesterday brought the first big closures for schools and large social gatherings. Regulations are currently state-by-state, but the schools in our state have been moved to "virtual classrooms" (not meeting in person) for a minimum of two weeks. Speculation currently has the general population believing it could be as long as the rest of the semester with most graduations being in May or June, also very likely being cancelled. My husband is a teacher in the area, so I am relieved that he can now teach from home during this time of contagion uncertainty. I have been impressed as community members have rallied to provide child-care to people who can not/have not been released from work at this time. There is also a network that has sprung up here to provide extra food stamps and separate means for getting food to children and families who usually get their main meal at school or are disadvantaged in other ways. People ARE inherently good and kind. I am excited to create a positive online presence here where we can find community in the chaos.
My husband and I both had our last doctors' visits for awhile on the 11th and 12th and our providers allowed us to check in via an app they created to go straight to the patient's phone, which cuts down on community spread of this virus. It was eerie to drive by ghost town playgrounds and school yards with so few vehicles on the road. It is encouraging to realize that people are taking this seriously, despite the surreal oddity of it all. When we returned home, my husband set up his virtual classroom, which required a lot less time, effort, and glitter than his in-person teaching space!
After I was officially mandated to isolation, we spent the better part of March 12th collecting extra supplies in the way of foods, paper goods, sanitation products, and daily necessities with the help of my mother. She is also an excellent contingency planner and lives close to us. The importance of community help cannot be understated at this point. We set up a special room in our home to be used if one of us gets sick that is fully stocked with the supplies, although they currently are available to both of us as neither of us has exhibited any symptoms of COVID-19.
After stocking, cataloging, and storing supplies in this room, we decided to become as informed as possible about what is happening locally, nationally, and globally. Depending on your location in the USA, different states declared a "state of emergency," including ours. One day later, President Trump declared a "national state of emergency." You know something is off when you exclaim over the headline about Trump waiving student debt interest before the state of national emergency that is in the same by-line. Silver lining? Disney decided to hop on the positive vibes bandwagon releasing both the most recent Star Wars movie and Frozen II early "during this difficult time." We see you Disney, and thank you for your consideration. We ended our evening by cleaning and disinfecting our entire home, which took us about three hours all told.
After that, we counted and catalogued all of my emergency supplies that could be called into use as a Type 1 diabetic. I feel like I could be giving the Container Store some tips at this point...
There is so much that goes into managing Type 1 diabetes. And it is only one of a few autoimmune diseases that I personally have. To think that I might not have access to the life-saving medicine that I have been using for the last 22 years is absolutely terrifying. So we counted. And recounted. And recounted. And finally boxed it up in a way that made us feel we had prepared to the absolute best of our ability. And that is all we can do right now. Prepare.
Today we jumped into a new routine that feels like we might be on a stay-cation. My husband and I wake up, get clean and hydrated and do a workout before anything else.
Today was an hour of zumba in our living room to a youtube video that really got us sweating! In the next post, I will be linking some of the free, at-home fitness services that we are enjoying. After zumba we stretched it out with Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. Lather, rinse, repeat. No, really. We were sweaty, so showered again and got some enriching food before taking some time to pray and meditate intentionally together. After that, we checked in remotely with family as we are exceptionally worried about my brother and his fiancee, who are traveling back to the USA from another country. We also contacted our local officials about the possibility of absentee ballots this late into the primary election season. I am hoping that there will be a just and understandable way to help all citizens get representation for their opinions in this election. It clearly matters as much as ever now.
Here is where we get to the news headlines. Some of the major travel developments started with cruise lines suspending travel indefinitely...then bans were put on air travel to and from certain countries for certain people and goods. Although President Trump addressed the nation to assuage fears about the outbreak and clarify policy changes surrounding issues such as travel, the White House had to immediately send out clarifications about his "clarifications" because...well...they were actually not correct and many of us are still confused about who is allowed to go where and when if not already in quarantine. President Trump is still refusing to be tested for the COVID-19 virus and so any personnel who are near him are screened for symptoms of a fever. Nancy Pelosi pushed through a relief program for the country to help with some of the vacuum that the president created with his inaction on the issue. Most of the public agrees that the main reason American citizens started to take this seriously is a direct result of Tom Hanks and his wife testing positive for COVID-19 while in Australia. I mean, you can get to Tom Hanks, nobody is untouchable, right? Trevor Noah made a good point that very likely the only reason we actually know that Tom Hanks has COVID-19 is due to the fact that he was in Australia where test kits are much more readily accessible. There is an overwhelming shortage here in the United States and it is suspected that hundreds of thousands of people are walking around with the virus, or as carriers, and have no idea.
Cultural events in our country have also been cancelled, postponed, or indefinitely halted. As gatherings have been restricted to no more than 100-250 people depending on the state, religious services and sporting events (arguably the same thing for many people) fall into this category. The MLS (Major League Soccer) season has been suspended for a minimum of 30 days. The NCAA canceled both men's and women's basketball tournaments meaning there will be no March Madness this year. In addition, The NHL, MLB, and NBA have all postponed training and any season activity. In England, the EPL (English Premier League) has suspended games with the news that the Arsenal manager has tested positive for the virus. Large events like SXSW, Coachella, all Broadway performances, concerts, and many stores are closed or cancelled. Anyone wanting to have a jam session over skype or zoom, please hit me up! I would love to play with you remotely. Or we can take a note from our friends in Italy who are singing from balconies and creating harmonies with one another.
Economically, this whole situation is hitting both large and small businesses alike. Since people are less likely to venture out due to social distancing (to be talked about in the next update), there are fewer sales locally. Meanwhile, the stock market continues to have trading suspended as it makes a nosedive for the time being. Personally feeling vindicated in my choices with a simple S&P 500 right now, but also, someday I will have to pay the interest on my student loans again...so the feeling may not last forever.
If you have made it through all of this, I commend you. It was painful to gather and sift through all of the uncertain (and frequently scary) information. However, there are some tremendous positives in the news right now too as result of this situation. Humanity is banding together in new and inspiring ways every day. Free therapy is being offered through the platform "Talkspace" for individuals and in group sessions, all with licensed counselors. If you (or someone you know) is/are feeling scared, lonely, or anxious, consider using the tools that this wonderful service is offering to people via a virtual platform for talk therapy and also psychiatry (if you need medication). UHaul is offering free transportation and storage for a minimum of one month if you or a loved one needs assistance with your current living situation to get better care. Spectrum is also stepping in to help students by providing free internet for at least one month while students are expected to participate in remote, virtual learning environments. As previously mentioned, communities are rallying to create "what do you need, what can you give" networks. Consider joining one in your area or start one if you do not find one right away. These groups are designed to help the most people possible while limiting exposure at the same time. Well done, humans.
People are good, and we are in this together as one world. Prepare, don't panic.
-Allison
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