Day 1 of COVID-19 Quarantine

I haven't used this blog in almost 2 years. But Historians say this is the time to keep a Journal.

The World Health Organization (WHO) was first alerted to several cases of pneumonia in Wuhuan, a city in the Chinese province of Hubei, on December 31, 2019. According to the first WHO situation report on the coronavirus disease, the cases of pneumonia had no known cause and totaled 44 by January 3.4

China’s National Health Commission originally traced exposure to a seafood market in Wuhan, but later reports indicate that the market was unlikely to be the only source of the virus.5

 By January 7, the exact strain—a new type of coronavirus—was identified, and initially named 2019-nCoV.

Given the dense population and other environmental factors, I wasn't too surprised to hear that a new illness had been found. I was working under the assumption that it would be like SARS or H1N1. But COVID-19 appears to be much more virulent.

Spread to United States
On January 21, Washington State reported the first case of the new coronavirus in the United States in a man who had returned from Wuhan, China.8

Person-to-Person Spread
The first instance of a person transmitting COVID-19 to another person while in the United States was reported in Chicago, Illinois, on January 30.9 A woman in her 60s contracted the virus while caring for her father in China, passing it to her husband when she returned home.  

Community Spread
The early cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. were limited to people who had traveled from China and those they interacted closely with. But on February 26, the CDC confirmed a case in California with no reported travel connection to China or exposure to another person with COVID-19.10 This marked the first possible instance of community spread—the spread of an illness with an unknown source of infection.  

As of March 23, 2020, the CDC reported 33,404 cases of COVID-19—both confirmed and presumptive—across the U.S. The majority of diagnoses have been located in Washington state, California, and New York.11

As a writer, I have been documenting the sociological response and the psychological impact this new Virus has had on the general public, primarily via family in other states or regions, and then again through the social media response. In addition to the Measured Response of government leaders around the world.

It was very interesting to me and spoke to the severity of the illness when I observed that the normal vitriol and inflammatory behavior of Social Media had shifted, in place of sarcasm and nasty responses I was seeing "wellness checks" and where rage might have been before there are unifying posts and calls to action people are being supportive sharing calls to action to bring sanitation supplies to people, supporting our infrastructure.

Not to say that there hasn't been negative fallout. In the panic brought about by non-objective News coverage and various media outlets, before the Virus had a chance to really impact communities the panic was harming the masses. Store shelves were emptied, essentials like Toilet Paper and other paper products, Soap, Cleaners, and various sanitation products or medical supplies (specifically nitrile gloves and N95 rated medical masks) were purchased in large quantities and hoarded by those in a panic... and in some cases by those with the intent on price gouging the market later.

It is like somebody flipped a switch, and all the trolls online became decent human beings, whereas all the church-going "good" people of the real world became assholes.

Some of my most abrasive friends (my punk days in High School) have organized a do-good group on Facebook and are working to keep spirits light, sharing information on where and when supplies can be obtained and often supplying each other with necessities, from food to hygiene products and medical supplies.

In the wake of the N95 mask shortage, a great many of them are pulling together to make masks from 4 layers of cotton, based on a design released by an Oklahoma hospital.

In my own measured response, I was raised to be prepared for anything. And watched things carefully until the Novel Corona Virus was found in Michigan. You can find the details here, but between the first sign of concern from our Governor and a full state, Lockdown took less than 30 days.. Today is Day 1 of my Lockdown/Quarantine, my anticipated return to normal life is April 14th.