Coronavirus Diary Day 56: May 7, 2020

France Reopens Schools, Texas Jails a Salon Owner

On Monday, May 11, France will begin lifting its lockdown. Citizens will be allowed to travel within 100 kilometers of their home, and children are going back to school. Hair salons and eat-in restaurants are not reopening, because, right. Coronavirus has not left the building. In the last 24 hours, France reported an additional 178 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, as the country’s total death toll nears 26,000.

I find the school thing interesting. While the protocols are different for every school, most are halving their class sizes and implementing a two-day-per-week schedule. In other words, a class of 32 children will be split into 2 groups of 16. Group A goes to school on Monday and Thursday. Group B takes Tuesday and Friday. Wednesday is reserved for deep cleaning. The last day of school will happen at the end of June.

In comparison, my high school senior will not return to school this year, and his graduation has been postponed until the end of July. I’m OK with this, by the way. I’m also OK with France’s plan. I mean, how can we determine if one solution is better than another? These are uncharted waters, and none of us has a crystal ball.

Personally, I feel like, if these reopening plans include emergency breaks, and if human beings can just act like responsible members of society, we can get through this by taking little bites. Right?

I went for a hike with a friend yesterday. Clearly, I’m over it.

I still won’t let my kid out of the house. I mean, not literally, but he isn’t allowed to socialize in the flesh. He goes for the occasional joy ride in his jeep (occasional = 3x in the past 2 months). He picks up take-out food for us from time to time (time to time = 4x in the past 2 months). He’s wondering why I’m hiking with my friend but he can’t hang out with his buddies. And truthfully? What the fuck do I know. He doesn’t press me for an answer, so until he does, this is how we survive at Chez Moi.

A few days ago, a Texas judge sentenced salon owner, Shelley Luther to a week in jail because she reopened her business before the lockdown was lifted. In court, the salon owner said: “I have to disagree with you, sir, when you say that I’m selfish. Because feeding my kids is not selfish. I have hair stylists that are going hungry because they’d rather feed their kids. So, sir, if you think the law is more important than kids getting fed, please go ahead with your decision. But I’m not going to shut the salon.”

Today, the Texas Supreme Court ordered the release of Shelley Luther. Immediately following that, the Governor issued an executive order eliminating jail time as a punishment for defying business restrictions amid the COVID-19 crisis.

So there it is. You had a nice run, L’Oréal, but your time is up.