My Coronavirus Diary Part 22

These next two weeks are predicted to be the worst in this country in the fight against the coronavirus. According to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Map, there are already 1,192,029 confirmed cases of the virus in the world at this moment. The US has 305,820 of those cases. 64,316 people have died globally and 8,291 have died here.

The infected are not only impacting hospitals, the victims who have succumbed are now overrunning funeral homes. One report said there was a 10-day back up just for cremations. And it's not just the old who are dying. People in their 20, 30s and 40s are also dying.


New Jersey seems to be the new hot spot, with cases spilling over from New York. It was reported that more people have now died in New Jersey from this virus than died from all of the attacks on 9/11.

At a news briefing today, the president (who initially blew off the threat of the virus) himself admitted that during these next few weeks we can expect a lot of deaths.

A nurse posted a video online detailing how easily people cross-contaminate things without realizing it, even if they are wearing gloves. If you want to stay safe, you have to really keep your hands clean and be mindful of where you are touching.

I got this forwarded note from my mother. It's a screen shot of an Instagram post from someone named Hayley Cripps. She posted a note from a supposed NHS worker. NHS, or National Health Service, is the British healthcare system. It is not an organization here in the USA. However, because we are supposed to be in that two week period when we are supposed to peak in the number of cases, what this note suggests is possibly a good idea.



My friend Rosa, who lives in England, sent me a note yesterday. She works with the government in some capacity. I have never been quite sure what she does exactly. (You can "meet" Rosa with me on my trip to London a tad more than a year ago HERE.)

"I’m working non-stop," she said. "I’m part of the Government COVID 19 response team and this is just getting worse. In the UK, people are not taking this seriously, and we are having to take draconian measures.

"I’m dead worried about my family in Spain. Luckily Mom and Dad live in NW Spain, where it has been better managed. But it is tough."

My friend Sue Nan also checked in yesterday. She is the one who shared her family photo the other day (reprinted below) from the great Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 that killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide. I have known her for decades now, having met through her daughter, Dina. Dina and I were in college together. She is now a big-time photographer and travels the world working (when there is no worldwide virus outbreak, that is).

" 'One day at a time' has taken on a whole new meaning," Sue wrote.

"Dina, bless her heart, did a HUGE grocery shopping for us yesterday in LA, then drove it out to Malibou Lake and delivered it. She was masked and gloved (and said everyone shopping was as well). LA’s peak is just around the corner and it was good to hear people were complying.

"She had just learned that a fellow photographer had succumbed to the virus. She was in her 40’s but had been battling a rare type of sarcoma. Seems like the virus is speeding up ultimate fates…

"I often take a look at my Mom and her family standing there in their masks circa 1918 and remind myself that they all survived—even my great grandmother standing next to her. Never realized what a touchstone that little photograph would become…"


It is great that Sue's family all survived that pandemic. However, experts are saying that this coronavirus pandemic may be far more deadlier than the Spanish Flu outbreak was.

An online source shows how to make your own mask. Remember, the masks are not for your protection. They are to ensure you don't contaminate others if you happen to be sick and are not aware of it or are showing symptoms. My friend Christa in Santa Monica has been busy modeling her scarf-mask fashions (sort of) on her blog.

As the world focuses on the virus and the hospitals are overrun with patients, people with other conditions and health concerns are forced to sit on the sidelines and wait this out--me with my leg issues included.

It is important to remember that the virus is not a death sentence. Most people are said to survive it. While the virus has killed younger people as well as older, the ones it primarily focus on are older, with health issues and/or who are male. Just play it safe and stay inside, away from others.

The other day I mentioned a link my mother had sent me about the proper way to wipe down your groceries when you come home from the store. I somehow got the wrong link attached to it. (Thank you, Art for letting me know.) That has been corrected, but I thought I'd put the link on here again.

And the world (for the most part) continues to live in some sort of self-quarantine...

My friend, Dr. Susan Quigley in Fargo, ND, sent me a video link of a British family's coronavirus take of a song from Les Miserables. It's clever and worth a look.


Me? I'm hanging out with Shirley, the wonder tortoise (who peed all over the dining room floor tiles yesterday. Thank you very much, Shirley. Truth be told, I had pulled her back into the house when the lawn man was there and she wanted to go back out badly...). 



I can get around the house with my bad legs okay, lumbering around like a pot-bellied, middle-aged Frankenstein's monster.  I had talked about the possibility of working on one of my tiki blogs (or maybe cleaning my house? Nah!). Instead of the blog, I opted to work on this tiki bar kit (purchased a few years back at Home Depot) that had just been sitting on my patio waiting for me to get to. 



Well, I decided the real tiki bar was better than a blog and I could sit in a patio chair while I put it together. It was a kit so I didn't think it would be that difficult to put together. Who knew I would need actual power tools to do so? (The first instructions call for you to drill holes in the base at 45 degree angles.) Ugh! Oh well, I sort of assembled it without really assembling it just to see what it will someday look like. Pretty nifty...I just need a drill. Ha!


While I was in the backyard, I decided to snap a photo of the birdhouse in the corner. I had been neglecting my travel Instagram (because where have I been traveling lately? NO WHERE!), and posted it as my trip to visit my backyard. No passport required.


Man (at least this one) does not live by bad movies and blogs alone... You gotta keep busy.

Finally, my friend David in Australia sent me this social distancing picture from Down Under.


Remember to keep your distance.

Stay SAFE! Stay SHELTERED! Stay ALIVE!


CHEERS!



Continue to the next part HERE.

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