COVID-19

[Bertha]

Just checking in with everyone since the COVID-19 has everyone either isolated or curtailed in activities.  I hope all are well and have not shown signs of the virus and that your families are well, too.  The US is behind some of the rest of the world, but this morning, the news is reporting we now have around 6,000 cases of it.  Some large metro areas such as Seattle, San Francisco and New York City have the bulk of those.  Seattle and the state of Washington had been hit hard early on.  On a personal note, I have been fine and have been careful since not only am I in the higher risk category but my husband is more susceptible due to his recent bout with pneumonia.  We are okay, though.  Everyone take care and hope this virus dissipates quickly.  Bless you all.

[davel]

My wife and I are fine here in southern England. Our daughter and son-in-law live in Switzerland, and have been in lockdown since the weekend. All businesses there except supermarkets and pharmacies are shut. People can go outside for any reason (unlike France where you need to download a permit and self-authorise, the police will check anyone in the streets for the permit) so they have been taking their little dog for walks. It is worrying to us as our daughter was diagnosed with pneumonia a week ago, but the antibiotics appear to be doing the trick. Our son and his partner are fine, too, they live just outside London. We are hoping to drive to visit them this Sunday, but will decide at the last minute. The British government has urged all places such as theatres and cinemas to close and has asked people not to go to restaurants or - pubs! They anticipate by this weekend telling everyone over the age of 70 as well as people of any age who have underlying health conditions to self-isolate for 12 weeks. Supermarket shelves are devoid of all toilet rolls, soap, canned anything, fresh meat, and many, many other things are in short supply. Our local Co-op supermarket has imposed a ration of one loaf of bread per customer. The concern of  the government is that too many people will need hospital treatment and there aren't enough beds or ventilators. Other industries have been asked to shift gears and start manufacturing ventilators but whether this plan will work in time remains to be seen.

Stay safe everyone!

[Britta]

We are fine, too. We have many businesses closed from tomorrow and churches, too. Supermarkets and the like will stay open, restaurants are on a restricted schedule. I was even able to buy toilet paper and milk today  My son and daughter-in-law were panicking yesterday because they ran out of milk and all shpos were sold out. That's a major emergency if you have three kids under 10. Also, my daughter-in-law is rather exhausted with three kids at home; fortunately they have a little backyard to play outside. They live next door. My son, husband and myself are working from home at the moment. I will have to check with my boss for next week but I think this will continue.
So, all well, nobody sick or in contact with corona. Stay safe out there.

[davel]

The United Kingdom is now in lockdown. All non-essential shops are closed, this includes clothing and electronics. You can only go outside your home:

• to buy food or medicine and this is to be as infrequently as possible.
  
• once a day for exercise  but a max of 2 people - at the moment parks are open but playgrounds, tennis courts, outdoor gyms and other places where people congregate are closed.
  
• to visit elderly or vulnerable people.
  
• to go to work if you cannot work from home, but since everything is closed, few people who cannot work from home will have a place to go to.

If you flout any of these regulations, you may be liable to a fine. If these measures don't work and too many people don't obey, stricter measures will be brought in. These new rules are in effect for 3 weeks when they will be reviewed - that will be on Easter Monday.

There are lots of online community groups being formed to help one another such as shopping for an elderly friend or neighbour, then leaving the groceries on their doorstep for them to bring in after you have left.

We, on the whole planet, are in this same leaky boat together, and we will get through it!

[JTL]

We are on movement control order. As of now, I'm fine. 

We started stocking some food stuff about a week ago, but for fear of a long term shortage, I searched on the net to see if mango leaves could be used as food.  No, they are not edible as food, but in suitable quantities they can be used to make medicinal tea.  I then searched about mimosa, and learned that it is not only inedible, it is highly toxic.  What a pity, these are the only two things I have abundant in my garden.

Stay safe everybody!

[JTL]

Today I am going to DIY some masks.

[Bertha]

It's a mixed bag in the US now. Some states have been harder hit earlier than others, such as Washington, California and New York, but other states are likely to spike up soon.  Just yesterday, Oklahoma's number of covid-19 cases rose to around 110 and three deaths, but that will go up.  Once testing is done more routinely, there will be many more; however, I hope they can cut down on the number of people dying or being more severely affected.  Also, now, while senior citizens are still a high risk group, there are more and more younger people becoming ill.  Maybe those of us who are older are tougher?  Not everyone, of course, and if one lives in a communal place such as a nursing facility, I think they may be more at risk.  Many of our governors and the president are not really doing a good job.  Mayors of large cities seem to be able to do a better job of curbing socializing and such. You all likely see most of the news from the White House, and the president seems to be more worried about the stock market than he is about fighting the virus.  He blusters a lot and makes pronouncements that ring empty at times. His latest, of course, about reopening everything by Easter, may be the worst decision.  Lots of Easter celebrations could be deadly, if people are congregate too soon. 

Stay well all.