10/26/2020 of COVID-19 Home Life

Chel Owens

Where to begin, where to begin?

I’ve actually been shopping; in person, walking through some stores, touching merchandise and credit card machines and shopping carts. When I have my phone with me, I take pictures of the COVID-19 warning signs. I marvel that, not only are things so different than they were for all my life and my parents’ lives and their parents’ …adult lives, but things are now different by the week.

When in Wal-mart, use what you have. ©2020 Chel Owens

Take shopping at Costco, for example. Waaay back in March when we were going to quarantine for two weeks, I witnessed strict distancing measures, hoarding customers, and the removal of germ-spreading elements like samples or the food court. Months later, when I returned, they’d hung partitions at the registers and signs about shortages. Weeks after that, we all needed to wear masks and only so many people could enter. Still more weeks later, the food court options returned but the tables did not. Lately, they’ve been handing out samples again.

Look, but don’t touch. Definitely do not taste. ©2020 Chel Owens

You know -sort-of.

Like a delicate flower unfurling in springtime, restrictions are being lifted as we return to the way social life was for the past 100 years or so.

At least, that is how many are behaving. I read about people renting venues for their parties if such venues try closing, about parents sending nasty e-mails if their children’s schools want to close, and about how masking children will limit their breathing and cause staph infections on their faces.

On the other side of this divisive coin; I read about how wonderfully China is doing at containing their numbers and curing their people, about what certain politicians are not doing to stop anti-maskers, and about parents nobly keeping their children home (but also complaining about how they are being forced into the role of stay-at-home-mother by MEN).

Meanwhile, Utah’s case numbers are rising rising rising. Like, up to nearly 2,000 new daily cases on October 22.

©Coronavirus.utah.gov

You’d think that both sides could at least agree on that, but they probably wouldn’t agree on a turquoise shoe, gold dress, or whether they hear, “Yanrel.”

*sigh*

As a moderate, I see both sides. I feel both sides. I’ve even taken to debating a few of my Twofacebook friends over some issues -namely, that China HAS TO BE LYING about their numbers, that the governor of Utah can’t do much more than ask nicely, and that masks do not block oxygen intake and kill our children.

*sigh again*

The main problem, as I see it, is too much of a good idea. Not spreading germs is good; dressing everyone in a HazMat suit is a bit far. Socializing is important to mental health; ‘dancing’ at a crowded club is an idiotic thing to do. Limiting children’s spreading germs is good; hours and hours and hours on a computer is turning my children into crabby monsters.

We’re not ready to unfurl like a delicate flower unless we are willing to house those with adverse reactions to Coronavirus in our own stubborn homes. Likewise, we’re not taking reasonable steps when we treat each other like lepers and won’t even wave when greeted. Haven’t y’all heard of a Happy Medium?

Yep; you’ve released the political in me. In terms of actual news: Utah’s case numbers are terrible. Almost all of the public schools are doing an amazing job of keeping areas clean, tracing exposure, and enforcing the laws. People are participating in sports, dance, and other extracurricular events. Many employers that run computer-based businesses are allowing workers to remain home. I see pictures on my Twofacebook page of families taking vacations and of preparations for trick-or-treating for Halloween.

Ah, Halloween… maybe we’ll leave that political discussion for another time.

Remove your hats, hoods, sunglasses, and animals. Keep the mask. ©2020 Chel Owens

How are things looking in your neck of the woods?

©2020 Chel Owens

83 thoughts on “10/26/2020 of COVID-19 Home Life”

  2. Strange that they’ve people letting up over there. Lockdown has hit hard here and there’s a dark cloud of even increasingly hard measures over our heads (enforced mightly curfews!) if the numbers don’t improve quickly 😅😳😱.

    I don’t notice the changes and such that much since I’m naturally the queen of lockdown but it’s not noticeably ‘easier’ round here for sure!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. If I didn’t have kids, I would be sticking around the house all the time, too! I don’t remember there’s a pandemic until I need to buy milk. 🙂

      Yeah; we’re not having much hung over our heads, probably due to the threats about fighting for rights from those on The Right. *sigh*

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  3. Happy medium is nothing more than Thinking rationally. Extreme positions are called extreme for the reason hidden cunningly in the name ‘extreme position.’
    As for ‘how we doint?’ I can smugly say pretty good. Here, at the minute, case closed.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Oddly enough, things are pretty much normal in my neighborhood… I haven’t personally gone to any stores or anything lately, but my sister and I go on walks (almost) daily, and most everyone we’ve seen have been fairly friendly, and largely unmasked. Have I ever hung around within six feet of anybody? Well… Yes. I’ve spent quite long enough in a bubble that if I have to choose between remaining there, and risking getting sick, I’ll take the latter. My concern would be potentially spreading it to other people; but I don’t interact with enough people to be a great danger, and if someone approaches me/beckons me to approach (otherwise, I try to keep my distance), then they’re making the choice to take that chance.

    Ruth above bemoans that “the numbers are going up because people are too lax,” but I can’t see it like that. Why fret about something we can’t control? At this point, if someone chooses to take the chance, then who but them is responsible?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Your life and situation sound like mine, although I have more exposure with the kids in school.

      I believe Ruth is referring to putting others at risk with lax behavior. These people are not merely affecting themselves because they attend school, work jobs, and have at-risk relatives.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Ahh. I hadn’t thought of that, particularly the family angle. At work and such, you can take precautions, no? But family… You can’t choose your family. If someone chooses to go to a party, and then they get sick, then that’s their responsibility. But when they then go home to at-risk people who didn’t make that choice, who don’t want to roll the dice on their lives…

        Well… I concede the point.

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  5. Like you, I see both sides of this issue. I’m not surprised by a lot of what’s happened. Humans can be so predictable. Step 1: Be in a state of denial and be slow to make any changes. Step 2: Overreact and act irrationally by overstocking and going into a cocoon stage, afraid of everything. Step 3: Lose patience and complain about your rights, .and revert to pre-pandemic behavior. Step 4(Let’s hope we don’t get there. (Return to step 2)

    Mommy, I want to get off this ride.

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    1. You are so right. We’d get along just fine, Pete, standing at the rail of the ship of life as we calmly accept the rational stance while watching the crew and passengers run around with their hair on fire. 😉

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  6. It’s the new normal here. Rates have increased and compulsory measures have become more severe but generally people are toeing the line. Boris reckons on another 6 months of lockdown restrictions; whether the public will remain tolerant up to that point remains to be seen; it includes Christmas which is a very social holiday if not a religious one in the UK.

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  7. I’m sorry things are going so badly over your way, Chelsea. I hope the situation improves soon. We are fortunate to have it (sort of, somewhat) under control here.

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  8. You are right that there does need to be a happy medium. More than common sense things we can all do, as a country we need easy, quick and huge amounts of testing and then contact tracing for people when they test positive. If you find out who has it and quarantine them until they are no longer contagious, those without it can lead more normal lives.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Those would certainly help! I’ve been so paranoid that I’ve contracted the darned thing whenever I feel any sickness, but don’t have a quick at-home measure to allay my fears.

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  9. Our Guv has backed us down from stage 4 to stage 3, which to my thinking is recognizing there is a solution to the problem. I don’t think taking away some aspects, such as crowd gatherings—I see it as a freedom towards getting infection rates under control.

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  10. Life here is quite normal. I feel quite lucky really after reading other people’s experiences. The only cases we have are from people returning from overseas and they’re in quarantine. Occasionally some in quarantine try to escape the facility which threatens community transmission, which angers me as they’re not sparing a thought for others. The main noticeable effect is in the supermarkets where there are products from overseas that are no longer available.

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  11. They are totally lying about their numbers….but also people don’t realize how easy it is to manipulate data. I took an actual cdc stat and argued about it with right wingers and left wingers just to get opposite their points….

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  12. In Florida numbers are rising because our governor foolishly reopened things too soon at the insistence of threats from the President. And he holds rallies where his supporters think its heroic to not wear a mask. Poor leadership has threatened our community and our nation. Now hospitals are suddenly being forced into selective health care. They announced that they will focus on younger patients who will be more likely to survive. I don’t recognize my country any more. As a senior citizen with cancer I’ve been fighting too hard to die from a virus because we have a President who refuses to treat this situation as the emergency it is. It was turned into a political nightmare when it was a health crisis . Human lives are not about parties. I pray this up coming election brings us back to where we used to be. I miss having A kind, caring, rational country.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I see the problem as being an individual choice one. Even during the initial quarantine, I knew people who said they wouldn’t comply if forced to wear masks. Leaders can law people all they want; the stubborn fools get to decide if they’ll follow.

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      1. I politely disagree. It’s not individual choice to take a test to drive a car. By making it a law we protect more people because the majority of drivers know the rules. We require shoes when people go into a restaurant. Nobody complained. But, Suddenly it became an individual choice to wear a mask when we know it helps stop the spread of the virus. That helps to prevent sickness and death. As a teacher I was required to get an education, take state mandated tests, and get a certificate and a license before I could work with children. Yet not having those requirements couldn’t infect or kill people. It’s ridiculous to say it’s an individual’s choice to wear a mask . Not when an individual’s choice affects every single person he comes in contact with. It’s second degree murder. Wanton disregard of life.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. I think you misunderstood my intent. Everything, EVERYTHING we do is a personal choice. Some people choose to drive without a license, thereby surpassing our laws and putting many at risk. Plenty of patrons complain about shoes or a shirt in a business. And now, a greater number whine about masking. As I put to a FB acquaintance, what do you propose leaders do to enforce these measures? Set up men with guns as they have in China?

          We are on the same page, Lesley, both of us appalled at the selfish and shortsighted actions of others.

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          1. Glad we are on the same page. You’ll have to forgive my anger but I know too many people who have gotten sick or died because of this virus. Certainly there will always be rule breakers but our leaders are supposed to set a good example and by doing so most folks follow his lead. Sadly because that hasn’t happened we’ve remained at risk in this country and it gets me very upset. And now with the confirmation of a new Supreme Court justice whose ideology takes us back a hundred years I feel this country has lost any standing we have in the world and women will be thrown back in time so far we will have to spend decades just to get back to where we were when Obama was President. Trust me nobody wants to go back in time. Society was only equal and prosperous for wealthy white males. The rest of us were left out.
            I’ve never been so frightened in
            my entire life. I feel like this country has gone mad.

            Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank you. I’m not often on WordPress but I miss your site.
        However, in regard to this topic… Since I live in a condo the emergency doctrine for my city required masks in multi dwelling communities. I personally am offended that many people ignore the mandate and use our elevators without masks when the city requires no more than two people inside and requires wearing masks. And masks in all communal areas. There were several outbreaks of corona in the building next to mine. I chewed out our building captain for not wear his mask because he said he was too hot. I sat in chemotherapy for 7 hours wearing a mask, doctors and nurses wear masks without griping when they operate, my nephew is a paramedic/firefighter who wears a mask when he saves lives. If our community heroes wear masks to help save people then “we the people “ can comply to wear a mask to help end the disease and save lives. My youngest son is back at work filming his tv show and the studio tests people every day. They’ve shut done twice for breakouts. Any time they bring in extras or food service etc. it’s exposure to the cast and crew. That same son had two of next door neighbors die from Corona. His neighbors told him, “ I guess you were right. It wasn’t a hoax like the President said.” She lost her mother and sister. They ignored masks because they listened to false rhetoric. It’s heartbreaking.

        Our FL governor forced schools to open or he’d hold back funds. So now my grandchildren have to go back to school and sit in class all day wearing masks. They don’t complain but I worry about them. Now I am back to only being able to see them from a distance or through FaceTime because they are no longer isolated. Obviously I am angry and disappointed that Florida has been lax and I feel is endangering our citizens.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Sorry, Lesley. WP kicked your response over to Spam. *sigh*

          I have a FB friend who keeps posting about ill effects from masks; she finally had a friend (who works as a surgeon) respond and tell her it’s scientific dribble and doctors don’t choose whether or not to wear masks in surgery -like your example.

          I’m very sorry for the outbreaks and the consequences of lax behavior in your area.

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  13. I suppose our turn in New Zealand will come, but it hasn’t affected me personally at all. Yesterday I went to the big city hospital for my annual heart check-up and there was no sign of covid – no masks, no do this or that. Everything was normal – even the heart specialist shook my hand! We haven’t had any cases here for quite a while.

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  14. It not good and it’s getting worse. Things in the UK are very conflicting. Christmas looks like it will not happen. If it is going to we need clear instructions. Our NHS is falling to bits and can’t cope again. All I can say is, was your hands, keep your distance,wear a mask. Donald is an idiot Biden is not much better, Boris can’t seem to get anything right and is just confusing everyone….oh! And yes China is lying big time!💜

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    1. 😀 😀 😀 I should forward you the exchange I had with the FBers. The gist of it was that I said China lied about numbers, they responded with all the wonderful (authoritarian) things China (their government and police force) is doing to help control the people -I mean- help control the virus.

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  17. I am living a very normal life. Which mostly involves staying at home with kids and driving them around!
    I guess there are a few big changes. The opinions!!! My my. I’ve never felt quite so annoyed and entertained at once with everyone. I do hate that everyone seems on edge though. Oh and I definitely spend more money each grocery trip, probably $100 extra each week, as I haven’t quite forgotten what it felt like to stand in line in spring – never mind what it might feel like in winter. (i’m not a hoarder mind you, but I used to keep like three days worth of food in my house) Needless to say I learnt my lesson. So I’m slowly stocking up, anticipating another lock down, and then I can stay warm inside with my dried berries and nuts like a ground squirrel.

    I am also buying Christmas gifts early this year, because I do not want to be stuck Christmas shopping in Nov/Dec. Who knows what the world will look like by then.

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  18. Numbers in the UK are rising….. a lot. Our area is one of the less affected, BUT we are a holiday resort and tourists are still coming in their caravans and campers, plus there are a lot of holiday homes and flats here. It’s busy in the major towns, masks might be worn inside the shops but as people leave, they are being removed, regardless of other customers going in, Numbers are not being restricted inside either. It’s worrying times, so we are doing all we can to protect ourselves, which with PPE being unavailable to Joe Public who now can only have access to disposable masks which are flimsy and just a barrier, not actual protection, we don’t go out or do much on the socialising side. Everything is confused and contradictory, and it’s not going to get better any time soon. We need leadership, and all we have are money men pulling the strings. Common sense and compassion went out of the window months ago.

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    1. Oh, my. This is almost EXACTLY how it goes over on this side of the pond. Some states have stricter requirements, like masking everywhere, but the rest is true. I went to Costco for milk on Saturday and the store was PACKED. :/

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  19. Folks need to be courteous and cautious. At the moment supplies seem to be OK – that being said because some products from overseas aren’t allowed via some tariff or other rule I can’t get a few of my favorite products because the company can’t get the ingredients to make them, Too many small business (mostly restaurants, but others too) couldn’t make the cut – just not enough traffic – so they’ve closed for good. I still won’t take my 97 year old neighbor out to lunch (though he’s let another friend do so). I’ve been sticking with my “pod” of people. Not sure what the holidays will bring. I usually don’t host Thanksgiving… so depending on who hosts what – I may end up with Lunch and dinner at two different places because neither of the two ‘hosts’ wants too big of a crowd.

    Grocery store shelves are stocked. There are more plastic shield partitions at cash registers and information counters. Our ‘Mall’ actually open the interior (I think to draw in holiday sales, though everything is already 50 t0 70% off what are they going to do in December?) – and we went the other day when it was raining just to walk. The one thing I wanted the store doesn’t make anymore…. so we left empty handed. A very few weren’t wearing masks, and some wear the masks wrong by not covering their noses. Most tried to keep distance and there was some limit as to amount of customers allowed in smaller stores and there was only one entrance at some of the places that had openings in two wings.

    I only know what some schools are doing via my grands and neighbors who are teaching. The city is 100% remote. Most other schools have given options. And about 1/4 are keeping their children in remote learning.

    As for the statistics; Well pardon my language but; “There are three types of lies — lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Most news is bias one way or another. And most of it negative. So one really can’t count on that except when reading that some dumb parents threw a party for “homecoming” because their school wouldn’t do it and had 60 students. Turned out one was infected… and the school where the students went had to close for one or two weeks to make sure that who ever was at the party didn’t infect the rest of the school.

    Remember a ‘Mask’ is the last line of defense and it only protects others from you. Not the other way around. My Hazmat (Hazardous Materials son who is Chief of our local volunteers) stresses that truth.
    1st, stay home. 2nd stay 6ft apart. 3rd use Personal protection – your mask and if you are really skittish use gloves too.

    Each generation has its own issues. We will get through this, the course of the Spanish Flu (which happened about 100 years ago, which was from America) lasted about 3 years. If ours started in January… which some believe instead of March when it was ‘fully’ noticed – then we’ve got about two more years to go. So, be strong and stay safe and stay sane.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Three years… I hadn’t remembered that. Of course, also being American, my history lessons in public school were quite abysmal.

      Your area sounds a lot like here, except that we have a lot of people-renting-facilities-for-graduation-type stuff down in Utah County.

      You’re darn right about the statistics and the masks, too. Keep apart, don’t lick things, and keep your own sneezes to yourself, people!!

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  20. the hell is wrong with a hat/hood/sunglasses…Unless that’s bank robber chic ?
    For the most part everywhere I go people are wearing masks and social distancing, although it is quite lax at my job which is a shame. We have the option to go mask free but I can’t fathom doing that around my coworkers, except at lunch. Every time I go anywhere, just seeing the masks on people still bothers me that like 8 months later it’s still our reality. It’s a huge bummer.

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  21. we’re doing fine here; no active cases in the community for over three months; the only cases are returned travellers and they’re in quarantine; things have been close to normal here for a long, long time though we still practice social distancing

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  22. it’s pretty much under control here, plenty of plastic shields to protect check out staff. Supposedly number limits in shops homes etc but people do as they wish with no real threat … take care and stay safe!

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  23. I’m really glad the schools are doing well in your area. At least half family’s been/still is in education for generations, so I’m definitely on the side of…being cautious. But I also worry about the kids’ mental health because…yikes. Screens suck :/

    It’s been okay here in CA, last I checked. Kind of worried about SoCal as it does look like its numbers are going up aaannd there’s a fire that has displaced many many people 😦

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    1. :/ I guess you do what you can. We had a small earthquake while in that first two weeks of lockdown in March -not very big, of course, but it worried us because we’ve been warned about THE BIG ONE for years.

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  25. It’s all a bit of a mess really. I worked in logistics and both our countries are like the perfect case study in ‘how not to run a crisis’. Here it’s a shambles. Confusing messages. Refusing to do stuff then panic doing them when it’s too late. A leader convinced the way to beat this virus is to show some backbone and sticking to what he calls his ‘whack a mole’ strategy. There is a sensible way through this which keeps stuff kind of moving but it requires changes. Changes which our leaders don’t want to make as it might hit profits and actual result in those most qualified in an area, actually making decisions. Anyway we are kind of out of the mayhem in our little world. Limited interactions but most definitely masked interactions. You look after yourself x

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