We are now on Day 45 of social isolation due to Stay at Home orders throughout the Bay Area.
In the US alone, there are over 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases with 58,000+ deaths as of this morning.
– We have to stay away from each other more than six feet.
– Handshaking has become taboo. Hugs and kisses are not exchanged.
– People are wearing masks, most business must REQUIRE that you wear them to enter! People are even sewing their own cloth masks for sale or donation to medical facilities. Face coverings are required in public over the age of 2 where social distancing cannot be maintained.
– Only “essential” retail stores are open such as grocery stores, hardware stores, and pharmacies. Amazon delivery windows average 3 – 4 weeks when they used to be max. 2 days. No gyms are open, and it’s almost impossible to find weights, exercise equipment, bikes, etc.
– Stores are closing early to disinfect everything. (24-hour stores are even closing by 6, 8 or 9pm)
– Store checkouts, pharmacies and even fast food drive-thru windows have added plexiglass between the employee and the customer. Have to reach around or under to pay!
– There are lines of tape inside the stores on the floors to keep people 6 feet apart and one-way arrows in the aisles showing which direction to walk.
– Shortage of disposable masks and gloves in hospitals.
– Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, isopropyl alcohol, bleach, antibacterial wipes and anything Lysol or Clorox is in short supply and purchases are limited to one per person…. IF you can even find them! (This goes the same for flour and yeast).
– All extracurricular/volunteer/business meeting and other gatherings are now on virtual meeting platforms i.e.(Zoom, House Party, Go to Meeting, Whatsapp, Webex, Google Duo) the list goes on. Hang in there, life will continue and eventually, all together, we will get to a new normal!
– Bars and restaurants are open only for takeout, home delivery & drive through. Alcoholic drinks can now be sold To Go.
-Visitors are prohibited at nursing homes and assisted living residences. No visitors are allowed in many hospitals.
– Schools (K-12) have been closed since March 17th and are teaching remotely on-line. High school proms and graduation ceremonies have been cancelled. Schools will not reopen for the 2019-2020 school year. Plans to open for the fall have so many unknowns, social distancing, new guidelines for keeping everyone safe.
– Playgrounds, sports fields and summer camps are closed. Most beaches, parks and cemeteries are closed to the public.
– Summer Olympics (Japan), as well as major and minor league sports competitions, have been cancelled (same goes for kids’ sports). The NFL draft was done virtually this week.
– All festivals and entertainment events have been banned.
– American Idol was done virtually this week. Saturday night live, news broadcasts and nighttime talk shows are being taped/broadcasted from homes or without live audiences.
– Weddings, family celebrations, and graduations have been cancelled. Funerals limited to 10 people graveside.
– People are doing drive-by parades to celebrate birthdays.
– Young kids can’t understand why they can only see grandparents & other extended family and friends on a screen or thru a window if someone visits in person or on Facetime online.
– Places of worship are closed or online.
– Australia, USA, Canada and Europe have closed their borders.
– No one is travelling for leisure. Airports empty. Tourism has the worst crisis in history.
– Wi-Fi and cell phone providers have extended their limits to provide a connection to the Internet for people to continue to work from home and for students to learn from their teachers.
-Colleges have not made definite decisions about whether to take their classes online, in person, or open at all for the fall.
– Society appears to be divided about whether or not we should continue to isolate or open back up and get the economy going. It’s an election year and politics are messy and complicated this issue.
– A gallon of gas can be purchased for $1.99 a gallon in the SF Bay Area.