Waiting...
Here in California the order to stay home is called 'Shelter in place'. It is a familiar expression and one that fills me with dread - so I guess it is a good name in that sense. It is the name of the drills the kids practice for when there is an active shooter in the school. Jeez, the times we live in.
Other States are going for things like 'Stay home' and the media seems to like 'Lockdown'.
What is actually feels like is 'Wait... something's coming'.
After the pretty dramatic events of the past week, this weekend felt like a sort of lull here in the Bay Area. Yes, the numbers were climbing but there is still no widespread testing here so really the numbers are basically meaningless. The school parents WhatsApp group reported the first confirmed case in the town where we live, and friends of friends said the local ERs are beginning to be overwhelmed. So far we are all well and so we just... wait.
Our weekend felt spookily like any typical lazy weekend. Perhaps even easier and lazier than most since there were no decisions to make about kids playdates, no driving, no shopping. Everyone slobbed about. With no 8am school start we have all shifted to waking up late and staying up late as if the clocks had never sprung forward. We had one last egg in the fridge and a bit of wholewheat flour so ThingOne made some kind-of snickerdoodles - they were delicious. I think pandemic cooking might be the same as camping cooking: every-damned-thing-tastes-amazing!
We went out for walks in the neighbourhood and saw other people walking in family groups - we all smile and wave... and cross the street to avoid each other. I connected with family in the UK and friends from Canada on Zoom (yes it IS amazingly good quality - better than FaceTime or Skype). I can't help but notice how much we all touch our faces. ThingOne seems to have become even more teenager than ever - all he thinks about is food and he is either frenetically skating or sleeping all the time. ThingTwo rollerblades around the house, plays lego or piano, watches the Simpsons or Parks and Rec and chats with friends on social media.
And then some packages were delivered and Mr Husband inadvertently OPENED THE DOOR AND PICKED UP THE PACKAGES!!!!!
Defcon zero!
Much handwashing.
We decided to leave the packages unopened for 24 hours just in case this cardboard thing turns out to be the major vector spreading the virus. If you read the actual paper in the New England Journal of Medicine it turns out the scientists compared COVID-19 with the SARS virus from 2003 and found that COVID-19 and SARS appear to have similar stabilities on most surfaces except for cardboard where COVID-19 had a longer half-life. COVID-19 appears to be much more contagious than SARS so the scientists propose there must be some other reason for COVID-19's high transmission rate. The paper does says that "we advise caution in interpreting this result".
Well, just in case, we've decided to try and stop ordering stuff from Amazon and have created a 'Quarantine Box' for cardboard and plastic packages and mail. Probably completely pointless but I'm finding there is this need to feel like you are doing something, taking control. Handwashing, door knob cleaning, light switch cleaning, iPhone cleaning. Sometimes it feels like the only really restful time is my shower each morning.
The next reality check came on Sunday night when my sister texted me the latest news from the UK. The government had announced was that 1.5 million people had been identified by the NHS as being 'extremely vulnerable persons' with respect to getting seriously sick if they catch COVID-19. These people would be contacted by the government and provided with special instructions for how to 'shield and protect' themselves. We have been on alert for this sort of information in the UK since my nephew has a severely compromised immune system. The advice to these extremely vulnerable persons sounded pretty extreme but similar to what we've been told here: stay at home at all times and avoid any face-to-face contact with anyone outside the home for a period of 12 weeks. If you live with other people they should try and adopt the protective shielding measures themselves or the vulnerable person has to shield and protect themselves from the members of the household, minimising all non-essential contact within the home (too difficult!).
Then today my sister actually received one of these letters from the government - not for my nephew - for herself! She has severe asthma and meets the criteria. Such a shock. She is a very 'keep calm and carry on' type of person and has been going about her business of teaching kids and adults dance classes, shopping, and taking kids to school for the last few weeks. Then my nieces got sick with some kind of flu and the family have been self-isolating for the last week or so. They tried to get the nieces tested but it seems you can only get tested now if you are in hospital. Or a celebrity.
And so the oddly restful weekend came to an end.
I've heard that before a tsunami comes to shore the water along the coast first recedes out towards the horizon. Right now it feels like we are walking along a beach and the ocean is way off out in the distance. Is it a tsunami, or is it just a low tide?
----
At some point I will actually graph these numbers, but here are today's:
Other States are going for things like 'Stay home' and the media seems to like 'Lockdown'.
What is actually feels like is 'Wait... something's coming'.
After the pretty dramatic events of the past week, this weekend felt like a sort of lull here in the Bay Area. Yes, the numbers were climbing but there is still no widespread testing here so really the numbers are basically meaningless. The school parents WhatsApp group reported the first confirmed case in the town where we live, and friends of friends said the local ERs are beginning to be overwhelmed. So far we are all well and so we just... wait.
Our weekend felt spookily like any typical lazy weekend. Perhaps even easier and lazier than most since there were no decisions to make about kids playdates, no driving, no shopping. Everyone slobbed about. With no 8am school start we have all shifted to waking up late and staying up late as if the clocks had never sprung forward. We had one last egg in the fridge and a bit of wholewheat flour so ThingOne made some kind-of snickerdoodles - they were delicious. I think pandemic cooking might be the same as camping cooking: every-damned-thing-tastes-amazing!
We went out for walks in the neighbourhood and saw other people walking in family groups - we all smile and wave... and cross the street to avoid each other. I connected with family in the UK and friends from Canada on Zoom (yes it IS amazingly good quality - better than FaceTime or Skype). I can't help but notice how much we all touch our faces. ThingOne seems to have become even more teenager than ever - all he thinks about is food and he is either frenetically skating or sleeping all the time. ThingTwo rollerblades around the house, plays lego or piano, watches the Simpsons or Parks and Rec and chats with friends on social media.
And then some packages were delivered and Mr Husband inadvertently OPENED THE DOOR AND PICKED UP THE PACKAGES!!!!!
Defcon zero!
Much handwashing.
We decided to leave the packages unopened for 24 hours just in case this cardboard thing turns out to be the major vector spreading the virus. If you read the actual paper in the New England Journal of Medicine it turns out the scientists compared COVID-19 with the SARS virus from 2003 and found that COVID-19 and SARS appear to have similar stabilities on most surfaces except for cardboard where COVID-19 had a longer half-life. COVID-19 appears to be much more contagious than SARS so the scientists propose there must be some other reason for COVID-19's high transmission rate. The paper does says that "we advise caution in interpreting this result". Well, just in case, we've decided to try and stop ordering stuff from Amazon and have created a 'Quarantine Box' for cardboard and plastic packages and mail. Probably completely pointless but I'm finding there is this need to feel like you are doing something, taking control. Handwashing, door knob cleaning, light switch cleaning, iPhone cleaning. Sometimes it feels like the only really restful time is my shower each morning.
The next reality check came on Sunday night when my sister texted me the latest news from the UK. The government had announced was that 1.5 million people had been identified by the NHS as being 'extremely vulnerable persons' with respect to getting seriously sick if they catch COVID-19. These people would be contacted by the government and provided with special instructions for how to 'shield and protect' themselves. We have been on alert for this sort of information in the UK since my nephew has a severely compromised immune system. The advice to these extremely vulnerable persons sounded pretty extreme but similar to what we've been told here: stay at home at all times and avoid any face-to-face contact with anyone outside the home for a period of 12 weeks. If you live with other people they should try and adopt the protective shielding measures themselves or the vulnerable person has to shield and protect themselves from the members of the household, minimising all non-essential contact within the home (too difficult!).
Then today my sister actually received one of these letters from the government - not for my nephew - for herself! She has severe asthma and meets the criteria. Such a shock. She is a very 'keep calm and carry on' type of person and has been going about her business of teaching kids and adults dance classes, shopping, and taking kids to school for the last few weeks. Then my nieces got sick with some kind of flu and the family have been self-isolating for the last week or so. They tried to get the nieces tested but it seems you can only get tested now if you are in hospital. Or a celebrity.
And so the oddly restful weekend came to an end.
I've heard that before a tsunami comes to shore the water along the coast first recedes out towards the horizon. Right now it feels like we are walking along a beach and the ocean is way off out in the distance. Is it a tsunami, or is it just a low tide?
At some point I will actually graph these numbers, but here are today's:
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