Pandemic of 2020
Pandemic of 2020
In January inWu Han China a virus started and it was named Covid-19 or Corona virus. It killed thousands of people in China and rapidly spread all over the world. This was a new virus so no one really knows how to treat it. It took over 3 months for the Chinese to get it under control to where fewer people were dying. It spread to Italy, where it’s caused schools to shut down, restaurants, churches, any mass gathering to stop. As of March we are experiencing this here in the US. I have never experienced anything like this in my lifetime. It’s scary not knowing you has the virus and not knowing if you get it will you be able to get help since the country is overrun with the virus. Hospitals and their staff are working 24/7 to help people survive this.
Here in the mountains, schools, libraries, restaurants are closed. Take out or delivery is the only option. Grocery stores are running low on basic supplies. We only go out if necessary for work or provisions. Most of the roads are quiet with fewer cars on them. Parks have closed, weddings and funerals postponed or canceled. It’s a very stressful time for everyone and we’re all just taking things day by day as things can change rapidly.
It’s weird to see people wearing face masks and gloves like we usually see in China. Our typical routines are not possible until this is over.
Read this quote online and it sums up what’s going on at the moment.
“So where do we even begin today? What do we do when it feels like we are all doomed, and the future will only be worse, and we can’t remember anything that ever helped us come through? Well, we have shards of truth, and we can gather them up, bits of broken mosaic tile that shine.” — Anne Lamott
The first death of a teenager hopefully will drive home the message for young people that they are as vulnerable as the rest of us. I had my first nightmare where I’m with people who’ve contracted the virus and I’m scared, nervous and wonder what will happen next.
Our county officials have issued a stay at home declaration. We are encouraged to stay home if possible and we can go out for essentials like dr visits, grocery store, bank, work if you are an essential business, like grocery stores, anyone serving food, health workers, EMTs, things like that. I voluntarily agreed to stay at home due to the fact that there is little for me to do with reduced hours and I’ve had a cough for 4 months and one of the VPs “tattled” to my boss’s boss so I’m foregoing a salary for two weeks and hopefully it will die down enough that I can go back to work. I’m looking for another job because I’m afraid every time I cough or sneeze, the germaphobic VP will tattle on me again.
Our county has had it’s first death due to Covid-19. It was an elderly person. We haven’t hit peak yet, but I’ll be glad when life can return to some kind of normalcy.
It’s been almost a month and there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel yet. Gas is under $2/gal, any restaurant is drive thru only and lots of women can’t get their hair cut or colored so soon we’ll know their true colors. I work on Mondays and Tuesdays and get a check every other week for 12 hrs. I wear a mask at work to calm the fear of the VP that is the germaphobe.
It’s been over a month and things are starting to ease up. We still have a week of lockdown and maybe things will slowly come back to a “new” normal. Everyone at work must wear a mask in common areas, which I feel they should have been doing that all along. I’m getting antsy to have a normal routine again. I miss having a 3 day work week, meeting my friend for lunch, going to Goodwill on the weekends.
The cats are going nuts a little too. They will have it rough when we go back to our former schedules. So many people will need therapy after this is over due to PTSD symptoms. Most people in my lifetime have never had to experience something like this. Young people and children are going to have it worst.
Parts of the US have starting lifting restrictions. I feel that there will be a lot of people who don’t wear masks or following the social distancing guidelines and in a few weeks, we’ll be back in a lockdown situation and it’ll be for a longer time.
The economists are saying that it may be years before we recover economically from this. This is worse than the great depression in the 1920’s. A lot of people are still out of work and some are unable to get food, pay their rent, bills anything and the government has done 3 stimulus deals to help, but it may be months before anyone sees their money. We’re still waiting on ours to come and it may be August before we do. Luckily we have plenty of food and jobs so we’re not in desperate times for us, but it could get worse than the first time around.
I had a doctor’s appointment and was surprised that most of the patients waiting were not wearing masks. The staff was wearing masks and gloves and took your temperature before you entered the office. Our Secretary of Health has a catchy way to remind everyone how to stay safe in public. Remember the 3 Ws: wear a face covering, wait 6 feet apart, and wash your hands.
I was talking to the nurse before the doctor arrived and she had a cloth face mask on and I asked her if she made it. She said her neighbor made it for her and that the office had trouble getting the surgical masks, which I thought was odd.
We had to go to a funeral down at the coast over the weekend and it was too hot to wear a mask at the graveside. We went to the beach for a few minutes and no one was wearing masks, but some were practicing social distancing. We didn’t wear our masks so hopefully we didn’t pick up the virus. The beach has changed so much that there is no public access unless you own or rent a house there. There are 3–4 story buildings right on the beach.
Finally able to get my hair cut after 2 months. The salon employees have to wear masks and some of the clients did as well. We’re still having a rise in Covid cases and part of it is due to people not wearing a mask and or social distancing. With summer approaching it’ll probably keep rising and until a vaccine is made we’re all at risk.
It’s mid-July and cases are on the rise nationwide an here in our county and state. Lately I’ve been feeling very tired all the time and I think it’s my depression ramping up. I’ve had a few good months of feeling good, but the longer this goes on the more I think it’ll flare up. I’m increasing my meds for a bit and see if that helps. Luckily, I have a great support system to help me get through this rough patch.
School has started and already we’re hearing cases of COVID. At several universities students have had to be quarantined and classes have to be taught online. The college kids don’t understand that they can get the virus and that they could die. I think the university system should have banned parties and closed the dorms or made other arrangements for out of state students.
Both of us have gotten our flu shots so that if a vaccine becomes available we don’t have to worry about getting it and the covid vaccine at the same time. I have a feeling that when it gets cold that cases will rise again and we’ll be starting all over again.
Fall is upon us and cases are still on the rise. The President got it, but it didn’t change his viewpoint. He is still trying to garner enough votes to win his re-election bid, but I don’t think it’ll happen. He doesn’t understand that because of his lack of leadership that this could have been contained more quickly and maybe many lives could have been spared.
The medical experts say that with the flu season coming it’ll get worse. The symptoms of both are similar so it’ll be harder to determine if you have the flu or Covid.
Soon we will attend another funeral at the coast. Neither person that died was because of Covid. The second wave has started and it’s much worse than the first wave. Parts of Europe have gone into lockdown again and after the election it may happen here. The experts say it may be 2022 before we see anything close to “normal”. The financial parts of this pandemic may take 3–4 years to bounce back. The next few months and parts of 2021 are going to be interesting.
Now that we have a new president coming in in January, things should be more reasonably handled.
Covid is on the rise in all 50 states. I’m frightened that I’ll get it even though we are being extra careful.
It’s December and a vaccine has arrived, it’ll be next spring before the general public gets it, but hopefully it’ll help the infection rates go down. At least there’s a new president and hopefully he’ll be better and helping Americans understand the severity of things.