- Among the several empty/ picked over shelves at the stores are the shelves with good old fashioned board and card games and jigsaw puzzles are on back order!!! - Schools in Utah have been closed since March 17th and are teaching remotely on-line. Schools here will not reopen for the 2019-2020 school year. - Only “essential” retail stores are open such as grocery stores, hardware stores, and pharmacies. Amazon delivery windows average 3 - 4 weeks when they used to be max. 2 days. No gyms are open, and it’s almost impossible to find weights, exercise equipment, bikes, etc. - All extra curricular/ volunteer/business meeting and other gatherings are now on virtual meeting platforms i.e.(Zoom, House Party, Go to Meeting, Whatsap, Webex, Google Duo) the list goes on. Hang in there, life will continue and eventually, all together, we will get to a new normal! - There are lines / tape inside the stores on the floors to keep people 6 feet apart. - Bars and restaurants are open only for takeout, home delivery & drive through. - Playgrounds and sports fields are closed. Most beaches, parks and cemeteries are closed to the public. No visitors are allowed in hospitals. - All major and minor league sports competitions have been canceled as well as kids' sports. The NFL draft was done virtually this week. It was special. - Weddings, family celebrations, and graduations have been canceled. Funerals limited to 10 people graveside. - People are doing drive-by parades to celebrate birthdays. - Young kids can’t understand why they can only see grandparents & other extended family and friends on a screen or thru a window if someone visits in person or on Facetime online. -Visitors are prohibited at nursing homes and assisted living residences.
- People are wearing masks, some places REQUIRE that you wear them to enter! People are even sewing their own cloth masks for sale or donation to medical facilities. Illinois announced that as of May 1st, face coverings are required in public over the age of 2 where social distancing cannot be maintained. - Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, bleach, antibacterial wipes and anything Lysol or Clorox is in short supply and limited per person.... IF you can even find them! (This goes the same for flour and yeast). - Stores are closing early to disinfect everything. (24 hour stores are even closing by 6,8 or 9pm) - Store check outs, pharmacies and even fast food drive thru windows have added plexiglass between the employee and the customer. Have to reach around or under to pay! -Medical personnel are going to relieve their fellow doctors and nurses in the hardest hit areas. Not only do these heroes need a physical break, they need emotional and mental breaks as what they are experiencing is worse than anyone could imagine. - Professions that have in the past been "invisible" are now front and center and their employees are being hailed as "essential", "vital", "necessary", which they always were... but now they are being respected as such: janitorial crews, warehouse workers, farmers, truckers, nurses, CNAs, doctors, lab workers, phlebotomists, and so many more. - You can't find isopropyl alcohol easily. .. the supply per person is limited. - Australia, USA, Canada and Europe have closed their borders. - Oil futures have gone into negative territory and interest rates are falling. - The food supply chain is hurting. In some areas, there is too much milk and thousands of gallons is being dumped. In other areas, meat packaging plants are being shuttered because of employees have the virus and can't work. - Western Australia has been divided into 9 territories & an instant $1,500 fine issued for crossing the border without a valid reason. (Transport workers, Essential services etc) - No one is traveling for leisure. Airports empty. Tourism has the worst crisis in history. - Wi-Fi and cell phone providers have extended their limits to provide connection to the Internet for people to continue to work from home and for students to learn from their teachers. - Many public pool access, concerts and summer activities will not be allowed/take place. - We don't know if baseball seasons will start, hockey season will continue/end or any summer camps, etc. will run. Lots of teen/college summer jobs are up in the air. -Colleges have not made definite decisions about whether to take their classes online, in person, or open at all for the fall. -K-12 has ended their school year and plans to open for the fall have so many unknowns, social distancing, new guidelines for keeping everyone safe. How will it be scheduled? Can sports and activities continue as they have? - Society appears to be divided about whether or not we should continue to isolate or open back up and get the economy going. It's an election year and politics are messy and complicating this issue. - Also- Disneyland is closed!!!! Say what?!?! - And- For one beautiful day, Good Friday, April 10th, millions of people from different countries, religions, and races joined together in a day of fasting and prayer that the virus would be contained, healthcare workers would be strengthened, economies would stabilize and normalcy would return.. Why do I post this? Next year & then every year after, this status will appear in my Facebook memories feed. And it will be an annual reminder that life is precious & that nothing should be taken for granted. We are where we are with what we have. Let's be grateful. This text is not mine, but I copied it because I want to remember it, too. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2004/04/preparation-for-the-second-coming?lang=eng
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