Self-Quarantine Seems Like the Title These Days
So many posts on OD about self-quarantining, we are doing it too. Other than walks outside away from other people, we have been in the house straight since Saturday. I was lucky in that DiaryMistress made some big grocery runs just as things were getting crazy in our stores last Thursday and Friday, so we are pretty well stocked up.
A couple days ago we would have said we could go a month with what we have in the house, but we are already starting to have things that will run out in a couple days (bananas! orange juice!) that we could do with out but at some point we will probably go out to the store to get. The world certainly changed quickly, it will be interesting to see how soon (if ever) it changes back.
We both have parents who are in their 80s and have pre-existing medical conditions, so we are obviously most worried about them. My parents were (of all things) in Disney World when it closed – we were going to meet them there for our vacation this week. They have now flown home and hunkered down, hopefully they made the trip without picking anything up.
There are so many predictions out there about how many thousands or millions of cases the US may eventually have, and how many deaths. It feels to me right now as if this will be similar to the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, where we had ~30,000 deaths in the US. Which would be horrible, obviously – but there are also predictions for hundreds of thousands or a million deaths, which I obviously hope will not be true. I think that is the very, very worst case scenario.
If this does turn out to be a H1N1 size pandemic, it will be interesting to see how soon things return to “normal”. And will people think that we all made too big a deal of this?
I don’t think so, because it’s obviously worth saving even one life. But there will be people in our society who will say that “all the people who died were either elderly or sick anyway” so was it worth tanking the entire economy to reduce the spread? I think instead of that, the lesson should be that we have to find better ways to be prepared for systemic disasters like this, so the impact can be less.
The other thing I find interesting is the difference in public reaction this time, vs. 2009. I think the main difference is that we are all hyper-connected now to every single thing that is going on, thanks to the internet and social media. Without Facebook and Twitter, and the constantly-exploding news cycles they feed, I don’t think the public reaction would be anything like it has been – with all this panic-hoarding and everything else. If things were still like there were in 2009, I wonder if our public response would have still been like it was then.
Regardless, this time will be a part of history, and how we responded to this will be studied for years. I feel like this week (at least here in the U.S.) we are on the verge of a precipice – and it could either get bad from here, or get really, really bad. Cases are on the decline in China and South Korea, which is good news – but they have both done a much better job at containment than we have done here in the U.S. so we shall see, I guess.
The choices right now seem to be – do we have an H1N1-size pandemic, or a Spanish Flu-size pandemic? Let’s really hope for the former.
If you noticed each country handled this virus 19 thing differently. I think we probably should have followed china’s and Italy’s way…just close everything and force people to stay home and then there wouldn’t be this epidemic.
Me I am just being really careful to where I am going and I am not going close to people and staying at least 3 feet away from them. But I don’t think this is as bad as the others we have had in past history…..There will be a needle and then people will stop worrying till the next one…..Every 10 years or so it seems.
@jaythesmartone that is one thing I worry about – once this is over, people will forget and we won’t be prepared again next time!
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I live in a small rural town in central Saskatchewan, and it’s been most interesting to be pulled along with this because it truly IS that big of a deal. I stay away from news feeds of any kind as much as possible because there is so much misinformation out there as much as there is truth. I am fortunate to be healthy and young, and using those two benefits I help the elders whom I know to be self-isolating. It’s eerie the moment I walk out the door; it’s interesting to watch how people avoid each other in the stores, but I don’t believe the virus can be spread by eye contact and a smile to keep everyone’s spirit pushing forward to when we are through this. My hope is that humanity takes a hard look at how we live our lives, and what’s important if we want to survive as a species. Peace, Love and Hope DM’s … stay healthy 🤗
@teamarea “can’t be spread by eye contact and a smile” is my new favorite quote 🙂
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The crazy is just starting too! most places are closed in my area… schools closed until may! stores having special hours for elderly. we not have 3 cases in my area as of today. stay safe and keep this diary site up…it is our only fun right now
@kaliko don’t worry, we will be here – I hope you and your family stay safe too!
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Im hoping my job says we can stay home soon. they are talking about zero entry of guests and curb side help.
cant groom dogs on the curb 🙂
@caterpillardreams that is true 🙂 I hope it works out for you!
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I think we’re doing okay here, but I live in an area that’s a LOT less populated than yours. I can pretty much move about freely without seeing, much less come in contact, with other people. At the store, they’re still out of a lot of items, but I go about once a week for things that I’m out of on a list, grab what I need, self-checkout, and head home without making contact with anybody. And wash my hands when I get there, just in case. There’s only been one case in this whole county, and they got it on a cruise and have been quarantined since the day they got off the boat. But this is a high tourist area, so you still have to pay attention.
@startingover_1 I think that people who live away from other people are the lucky ones at the moment 🙂
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I don’t remember this level of panic with H1N1. Businesses, schols and libraries didn’t shut down. We just put out big bottles of sanitizer.
@gypsywynd that’s exactly right – I remember that well too. I think the way that we hear and digest news constantly now is making a big difference.
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Hoping….
@queenofegypt me too!
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I’ve been thinking a lot about how this pandemic may change the world… and for us in the states it’s going to play a big part in the election, and the election will play a big part in government response.
@alika that’s for sure!
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I personally think we ARE making too big of a deal out of this, and mostly because the majority of folks are very uninformed about CV19 in general. I could write a bible about all the details this thing is bringing about. Regardless, stay safe!  BTW, in CA, a meeting of that many mushrooms would be deemed illegal right now 😛
@thenerve 🤣
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saving one life is worth it. doing what we can to slow the spread is worth it. in the hospital i work for, there is one floor that is “full.” mine. oncology. my job doesn’t stop but every person that does what they can to slow the spread is protecting me so i can work hard to protect others. are we ‘blowing it out of proportion?’ who are we to even say when we have no idea the end result or if a vaccination will become available or if the person next to you 6 feet away is positive and exhibiting no visible symptoms. do we need to panic? no. do we need to do what we can to protect each other? yes. help me help you, your mother, your friend, your neighbor. xx.
@glitterampwings thank you for a very important perspective, I will try to remember that in my thinking! And thank you so so much for your service – any person working in our health systems deserves all of our respect.
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Just like everyone else I am hunkering down. Sorry your vacation was canceled. Disneyland and world are the best vacations. Hope your parents are doing well. Well watching romancing the stone.
@irishbudgie1954 thanks! We will go some other time, given all else that is happening in the world, missing vacation seems like a small problem.
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I feel its better to be safe than sorry. Also, I don’t recall such hot spots (Italy, Seattle, NYC) when the H1N1 flu was spreading. Nonetheless, I wish everyone here peace, kindness and safety.
@celestialflutter that is a good point – I don’t remember if there were hotspots like this back then – but given that we are in the middle of one of them, I have respect for that!
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