The experience of social distancing and self quarantines have taken a toll on everyone I know in one way or another. Graduations are cancelled or postponed. New mothers can’t show off their newborn babies to friends and family. Kids and their parents are stuck at home; seeing them playing outside while I walk by knowing it is their only reprieve is sad. There’s a small park one house away from mine that is usually crawling with the neighborhood kids with the start of the warmer weather, and now it’s rare that anyone is there at all. There’s only so much we can do, and that is to actively do nothing. I’ve personally found this to be a really stressful time, knowing I really don’t have the option to go see friends, even though everyone was forced home from college.
There are now 37 cases in my county and I think it is just started to be taken seriously. Being as far upstate as we are, there was a lot of ignorance thinking that the virus would not reach us, but alas, those escaping the diseased city sought safety in their summer homes and without knowing it brought the virus with them. There was the initial panic buying, and the grocery store remains busier than it probably should be. As of now, there are about a dozen people I know of who have either been tested, gone to the emergency room, had to self-quarantine due to exposure, and one has even died.
Local businesses have been suffering, most food places have temporarily closed. Those that remain open still seem to have customers as I’ve driven by but everyone is so wary of each other. The virus has made us fearful of living.
Nadia Boyea – 4.11.20