COVID-19 Outbreak (Update: More than 2.9M cases and 132,313 deaths in US)
I think that the chatter of us being back in this situation in the winter was enough for people just to say...screw it. And honestly, I don't blame them. We cannot isolate for a year. That's beyond nuts. I'm a medical provider, I want to see people live, but that in my opinion is just not feasible at all and quite honestly, I'm not completely certain if it's in the best interest of our country and public health in the grand scheme of things. I think more conversation needs to take place on how to open up, and how to do it quickly and responsibly as possible under the circumstances. But the "lets continue strict social distancing for another 8 months" is NOT an answer. Find an answer under a realistic set of circumstances.
This might be better for the lifestyle thread, but...
My wife darn near had a mental breakdown on Thursday. The isolation is really taking a toll on her. Part of it, is that she never made a plan for her days, like I suggested she do, since she's not good with idle time. Once her work got slow (thank God she works for the state courts), she's been anxious.
I finally got her to create a list of things she can do. And I force her to make a plan for each day. She also made me take her credit cards, because she was leaving the house to buy beer every day last week. She didn't like that. A weird/nice bonus, is that she didn't have a single drink Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. And she's been in a better mood, more energetic, etc.
She's working on balancing her day with some house chores, playing with the kitten, calling friends and family (zoom too), painting, reading, etc. Also told her to take some personal time with the kids. Not just in the room with them, but do something with them. Connect.
A big help was that I told my mom to call her. We're both blessed with moms who are easy to talk to and we both like. My wife loves my mom. For whatever reason, she just doesn't reach out to her, but they talked for an hour, and it helped turn her around on Friday.
Yesterday, she felt herself getting anxious again (mostly because despite making a list of things, she wasn't planning any of it!), so we went out for an hour long drive (mostly in the rain), and then I got her a vanilla shake from Burger Fi. (online order from the car). We drove by the beach, and a lot of places. It was nice.
That coupled with the fact she needs new contacts and is worried they won't extend her prescription (it's been the same for like 10 years), since the eye doctor is closed, and we have our usual check ups we'd like to be able to do, dental cleanings, etc. Long term, this can do some damage.
I'm all ok with opening things up, but it has to be done smart, with a protocol, and we need to follow it. Businesses and doctors need to be willing to deny service for people not following the protocols.. or at least trying mostly.
I donated blood last week. Appointment only. Sanitize hands immediately. Then sign in. After that, minus the masks and some in between cleaning, it's pretty much the same (duh, it's a blood center). I like how grocery stores are limiting entries, and pre-cleaning carts. I haven't been to costco in a month, but last time I went I liked their approach. Even my local gas station is doing some stuff.
We can do this, but if everyone just goes back to normal, we're forked.