Coronavirus Diary Day 1: March 13, 2020
School is Officially Cancelled, Grocery Stores are Empty, and Europe is Our Sign Post.
Let’s cut to the chase. I know – I know – I haven’t
posted here in a very long time. There’s so much I could tell you about how I’m
a different person all together. We’ll skip that for today, and start fresh. I
promise I will catch you up when all of this madness is over.
I live in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. I live in the
epicenter of Pennsylvania’s early Coronavirus situation. This doesn’t mean jack
shit, of course, as soon everywhere will be the epicenter. It’s happening as I
type. Europe is more than a week ahead of us, and Asia, well, Asia.
I’m not writing to be dramatic. Really. This is my actual
diary: what I am seeing and hearing and experiencing day by day, starting
today. It’s more for me than for you, but if you feel like reading it, then by
all means. I’m a writer and all, so maybe I should write it down. Why did I
pick today? Fuck if I know. Today is Friday the 13th, and there’s
that.
Last night, we learned school is cancelled for the
foreseeable future. Ryan is a Senior at Conestoga High School. He is slated to
graduate in June. He’ll attend West Virginia University this Fall, where he’ll
major in Nursing. Blaise is a member of the U.S. Air Force. He is stationed at
Hurlburt Field in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He builds and inventories bombs.
He’s good at it, and I’m proud of him. It has only just dawned on me that both
of my children have chosen careers as First Responders.
Currently, here are the global Coronavirus numbers:
COVID-19 Cases:
145,341
Deaths:
5,416
Recovered:
70,921
Active Currently Infected Patients:
69,004
Currently Mild Condition:
63,014 (91%)
Currently Serious or Critical:
5,990 (9%)
Cases in the USA began in Washington State. Unrelated,
infected cruise ships were an early, major problem. Now, community spread among
Americans is happening around the country, with hot spots like Seattle and New
Rochelle, NY. Certainly, there are many more to come. We’re probably
still in the early phases of infection.
To combat Coronavirus (more accurately COVID-19, not The
Foreign Chinese Wuhan Virus, obviously), our government has implemented travel
restrictions and voluntary quarantines. These include limiting public events,
closing schools, canceling church services, and well you get it.
On Wednesday morning, I dropped Ryan off at school at 7:45
AM and drove immediately to Wegmans, which is the large grocery store near my
house. There were more people there than I might have expected, but considering
the circumstances, I wasn’t shocked by it. I bought mostly things I actually
needed, but I won’t lie. I threw a few extra items into my cart (Red Bull,
Tastykakes), as I had been doing from time to time during the previous 2 weeks.
I asked myself: Can we survive from our cabinets and refrigerator for a minimum
of 14 days? I mean, if we had to? There were 2 people ahead of me in
line – unusual for an early Wednesday morning – but I get it.
On Wednesday night, President Trump addressed the nation.
The next morning, the grocery stores were allegedly absolutely packed,
and entire aisles were wiped out in a matter of hours. Safe to say, I dodged a
bullet. But still. And look, I’m not judging. What many people did on Thursday
morning, I had accomplished over a period of 2-3 weeks at an albeit much slower
pace. Am I prepared for a voluntary quarantine? Meh. I have chicken noodle soup,
rice, and alcohol, so.
I suppose I should talk about what’s happening in France. I
lived in Paris for 3 years, and I still feel connected to that beautiful country
in a mostly unhealthy way. I try to visit once per year (the last time – in December
– during the worst transit strike in recent history). The virus was first identified
there on January 24, when 3 people were diagnosed. In America, it was first
identified on January 20. As of today, there are 3,661 confirmed cases of COVID-19
in France and 2,087 confirmed cases in the USA. What do these numbers mean? Nothing
other than: This is happening, and this is absolutely happening.
President Macron addressed France two nights ago. He
announced nationwide school closures and restrictions on public events. He admitted
this will get worse before it gets better. The focus is on saving human lives.
We received a similar message from President Trump. And although our nation
(our World!) is a political mess at the time being, I’m choosing to believe
that our world leaders (while, let’s face it, they are inherently evil) do have
humankind’s best interests in mind. Don’t argue with me here. This is my
blog.
God, I really should not talk about politics.
Can you give me one more minute of your time tonight to
share what is happening at Basic Military Training (BMT, aka Boot Camp) graduation
events this weekend? As I mentioned earlier, my son Blaise is a member of the
U.S. Air Force. When he graduated BMT in January 2018, the newest Airmen’s families
were invited to participate in a beautiful 3-day ceremony. My husband, my parents
(Blaise’s grandparents), my brother (Blaise’s uncle), my stepson Tom (Blaise’s
stepbrother) and of course, Ryan (Blaise’s brother) flew to Lackland Air Force
Base in San Antonio, TX to experience the most amazing weekend celebrating
Blaise’s accomplishments. The tap-out ceremonies were unforgettable experiences
(I’ll probably explain another time), and our off-base adventures in San
Antonio (The Alamo, the Riverwalk, the bars!) were unforgettable.
Today’s BMT was devoid of family.
I’ll just leave that here.
Tonight, I’ll go to bed. I’ll wake in the morning, hopefully
healthy. I’ll still be 48, thankful to be in a moderate to low risk group,
afraid that my parents aren’t so much, and my husband’s parents definitely not.
The news will change. The news changes daily. I will do my best to share my
observations. I will try to be honest about my feelings and my opinions, recognizing
they might not be the most popular feelings and opinions. I don’t know what
people will think, but this is my diary. You can read it. You don’t have
to, but you can. Maybe it will be important 100 years from now. God, I hope it
won’t.
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