Sounds Like a Plan

This weekend my father in law stopped by. We wouldn't let him in, and spoke to him through the door. Not that we don't want to let him in, but for all we know we could be infected, and don't want to get him sick. He later e-mailed us: "There are 13 million people in our state. The number positive for COVID-19 is 60." I replied with a very comprehensive response about the lack of testing, the long contagious period while asymptomatic, and the fact that the numbers double every few days, and said we need to practice social distancing so we don't overwhelm the healthcare system. His next response: "Sounds like a plan!" 👍

Yesterday the governor ordered that as of today, all restaurants must offer take-out meals only, no seating inside (hooray). Some states have implemented overnight curfews, from 8 or 10 PM to 5 or 6 AM. The CDC is recommending gatherings of no more than 50 people, and I'm starting to see timelines more like 2 months than 2 weeks. My senator has been posting daily updates, and yesterday's included, "Depending on how successful social distancing is, and barring a medical breakthrough, this crisis is likely to last at least 4 months and as much as a year," which is honestly the most realistic timeframe I've seen given so far.

My boss e-mailed everyone this morning to make sure we're all ok and able to work from home.

Rebecca Arendell Franks

I've been reading some posts and blogs written by Americans living in Wuhan, and can better understand what my colleagues there have been telling me about their situation. They were indeed originally allowed to send one person per household every three days to get groceries and supplies. Then that was reduced to once per week, and now they can't leave their apartment complexes at all. I'm not sure what the living situation is like throughout the city, but it seems like most people live in large complexes where they've now implemented online ordering and grocery delivery right to their building or block, and other than that nobody is allowed outside for any reason; some buildings or complexes even have locks placed on the doors or gates. Just based on conditions here, with most people in single-family homes or at least smaller units than these complexes, I don't see how they could implement that. Also the essential people still do need to be able to get out and work. I watched a short documentary last night about the situation in Wuhan, and it looked like medical staff were actually being housed in lodging away from their families - I don't know if Americans are pragmatic enough to allow that to happen...