In the US (including The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) we have 330,891 cases with 8,910 fatalities so far. (stats from here)
Right now, the state of Idaho (among many others) has a government mandated "stay home" order in place. Unless we are an essential worker, we are to stay home and only leave to go to and from work and to go for food or medical care.
One thing that I have found incredibly helpful during the pandemic and quarantine is making sure that I am educated about the illness and one podcast has been incredibly helpful. This Podcast Will Kill You has an amazing "mini-series" on the pandemic. There are eight episodes so far about different aspects of this virus. I love how informative they are without using scare tactics. They teach you all about the sciency stuff without making it so complicated. Plus, they have experts that come and talk about what is actually happening. I have them linked directly above (just click on the name of the blog.
This is a post that has been floating around facebook that I modified a bit to make sure it is accurate and I can remember everything. I am also going to post a few of my favorite things from facebook at the bottom. Our quarantine is unprecedented. Basically, no one alive right now has lived through anything like this.
- School cancelled (students left March 17th for Spring Break and unsure of when they’ll return)
- Social-distancing measures on the rise. (People are being told to keep 6 feet of space between them and anyone else around them - even while outdoors)
- Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other.
- Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.
- Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed (including but not limited to tattoo shops, barber shops, game stores, card shops...)
- City and state parks and trails - closed.
- Zoos, museums, city community buildings - closed.
- Entire sports seasons cancelled (including March Madness, the college level basketball championships)
- Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.
- Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled.
- Churches are closed for services.
- No gatherings of 50 or more. Later reduced to 20 or more. Now no gatherings of 5 or more.
- Children's outdoor play parks are closed. (Our elementary school actually has caution tape around all the equipment.)
- Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.
- Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.
- Panic buying sets in and we have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towel no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer.
- Shelves are bare.
- Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.
- Government closes the border to all non-essential travel. (some states, like Florida, are requiring non-commercial drivers to show a state ID's to travel into the state).
- Fines have been established for breaking the "stay at home" orders.
- Stadiums, recreation facilities, hotels, dorms open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.
- Press conferences every day from the President.
- Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.
- Government incentives to stay home.
- Barely anyone on the roads.
- Workers must carry a letter in case they get pulled over to show they work for an essential employer
- People wearing masks and gloves outside.
This is the Novel Corona-virus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020.
In the midst of this, the world is still coming together. I am finding things every day that make me smile. Sometimes I am having to look a little harder, but I am finding them.
One thing that makes me smile is the idea of "Going on a Bear Hunt" while you walk with your family. If you don't already, put a teddy bear in your window! You can read why here.
Our church has been doing online services as well as posting daily devotions and uplifting posts. I feel like we are coming together as a congregation more then we were when we could actually meet together. I am reminded that the church isn't the building, it is the people who meet together.
What is something that you are doing during quarantine to keep sane and mentally healthy?
In the midst of this, the world is still coming together. I am finding things every day that make me smile. Sometimes I am having to look a little harder, but I am finding them.
One thing that makes me smile is the idea of "Going on a Bear Hunt" while you walk with your family. If you don't already, put a teddy bear in your window! You can read why here.
Our church has been doing online services as well as posting daily devotions and uplifting posts. I feel like we are coming together as a congregation more then we were when we could actually meet together. I am reminded that the church isn't the building, it is the people who meet together.
What is something that you are doing during quarantine to keep sane and mentally healthy?
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