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| a box of nitrile gloves |
You'd really have to live under a rock not to have heard about the Coronavirus. It's truly frightening. It has already affected several members of my family, to wit:
1. My niece is about to graduate from college. In Hawaii. My mom and her new beau had plans to fly out to attend, then visit my son in California and go to Las Vegas to see some shows. Both my mom and her beau are over 80. They ended up cancelling their trip.
2. My son had to attend a work conference and elected to drive six hours rather than travel by air and risk exposure at an airport. California is now ground zero for the Coronavirus in the US.
3. A coworker and her father left for a trip to Spain on Thursday. The HR person at work told her she couldn't come back to work unless she had been tested and cleared for the virus.
4. My friend Janet-Lee owns the MQX Quilt Exposition and is worried about the planned event in April. Will anyone come? Will anyone get sick? This has significant financial implications for all those involved.
5. I haven't yet finalized my teaching schedule at Quilted Threads. Naturally I want to teach, but when I really think about it.. is it a good idea or not? I just don't know.
The average age of an ARDS (acute respiratory distress) patient was 61. I'm 65.
So I and many others are stocking up in case of infection and a required isolation. I've stocked up on cleaning supplies and nonperishable food items. I've got plenty of my medications, and I bought some gloves and bleach. I've memorized the two most important rules about this:
1. Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds.
2. Don't touch your face.
The other big thing is to cough into your elbow and above all, stay home if you're sick. I've got plenty of vacation time I can use if I have to go into isolation, and I have plenty of food for Millie (actually her food is delivered regularly thanks to Chewy.com), but staying home isn't an option for everyone.
I've made a couple of grocery trips and now feel comfortable if I have to self-quarantine. I actually looked in my freezer and took out all the stuff I really didn't need (I had SEVEN packages of fresh cranberries. Damn sure I don't need all of them.) They have now been removed for things like frozen broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and green beans. I've got plenty of frozen proteins and enough canned goods to feed me for a lot longer than two weeks (My son has always called my kitchen "the kitchen of endless possibilities.")
I'm also sure I could keep myself busy in the studio for two weeks, but still. The Coronavirus is in my state, and NH is a small place. I'll do my best to be smart and stay safe, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned. Hope for the best and plan for the worst.
Scary days indeed.
