How is everything affecting you personally? Making changes? Status quo? Too soon to tell?

[JimMIA]

It’s been said for some children what they eat at school is the only food they get that day. So. YES! It is VERY important.

Agree. Our school system provides free hot breakfast for every student, regardless of income. And of course, we have the federal free lunch program for disadvantaged kids. It's a given in our system, but in this situation they want to be sure kids that need it can get a nutritious breakfast. Fortunately, most of the kids who need it probably live close to their school.

 

[rjb123]

Well, this Monday I had to pick up my DS (16) from school as he had a sudden fever, confusion and difficulty breathing. Also headache and body ache. Went to the ER where they don't test for flu and dont have tests for corona. I was told "he is young, he will probably be ok". Um ok? They diagnosed him with a "flu like virus". Thanks for nothing! My middle child (DD13) came down the next day with upper resp stuff and she is an unstable asthmatic. Her ped was able to work her in and gave her antibiotics for a sinus infection. So DH is working from home, DS is literally quarantined in his room with full on precautions (i am a RN so I am the only one going in there, and have been using gloves and gown and changing shirt every time in and out). We are desperately trying to keep him away from DD, though it so far has been fairly easy as he is SO SICK and can barely get up. On top of that, all of DS's swim meets are cancelled for the next 30 days (USASWIMING) and DD's gymnastics meets until the end of March(USA Gymnastics). DD is improving really quickly now that she has the antibiotics in her but DS not so much. It is scary and stressful. I am grateful I have the medical knowledge to care for him, as well as that I saw this coming early in Jan and stocked up appropriately then. Plus we live on a couple of acres and have a little room to roam around outside with no chance of infecting anyone (with whatever "flu like virus" DS has)

 

[Wendy1985]

Rushing to sudmit my tape, as well as everything else before everything shuts down

 

[Farro]

Is it too soon to say I already have corona fatigue?

At this point we're just going to do our thing, check on my parents, live life, go for walks and turn off the news. Nothing they say can do much anyways, the virus just has to run it's course this point. Not much else we can close! Hasn't even reached it's peak and I'm ready to move on.

I kid you not, I'm about to watch a South Korean movie called "Flu" - guess what it's about!

 

[texaslover]

Here people have lost their minds and bought up all the toilet paper, sanitizer, and tissues. LIke empty shelves. I was out of town and tried to do a Amazon Fresh delivery but there were no available delivery times. I'll be running to see what I can get in the morning. I'm a teacher and school is cancelled next week but we have to go in Monday at least to set up online learning. My husband's small business is slowing and we are looking at ways to budget. My son's college is online only starting today so he will be coming home at some point to finish the semester and try to get a job here (he was interviewing near his campus 5 hours away). Everything has definitely changed on a dime for us!

 

[Jennasis]

We have a trip to the beach (Cocoa Beach) planned for beginning of May. Not sure how all this will affect it yet...too soon to tell. We rented a Condo on the beach and theoretically could just be fine keeping to ourselves the whole time (taking out the planned visit to Kennedy Space Center, the CF Zoo, De Leon Springs etc). Not making any decisions yet until mid-April when final payment is due.

Stopped at Walmart this afternoon to pick up a few things (non-stockpile shopping) and holy moly....the panci buying is in full force. Never seen our store so crowded on a weekday, or any day! People were literally running with carts. The look of panic on their faces. Not. A. Roll. Of. TP. To. Be. Had. The shelves were barren. No peanut butter, no pasta, no bleach, no cleaning supplies. Looked like the start of Fear The Walking Dead. It's nonsense.

I'm not afraid of coronavirus. I'm afraid of the way people are behaving.

 

[Diznygrl]

^^^Yeah, I was watching the local news earlier and they basically said there's no need to panic buy, so KNOCK IT OFF. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done. Good luck getting anyone to listen to you now.

 

[disneychrista]

Well today it hit much closer to home then it has before now.

We got word that two people who have been to the Court House (on my floor, likely sitting in waiting areas that I take my breaks in) have been in contact with a person that just got back from Italy and was suppose to be self quarantined (but obviously wasn't). At this point none of the three have actually been diagnosed but to know that people who were in my "area" have been in contact with someone who could have possibly been exposed makes it much more "real" for me.

 

[FayeW]

The group vacation we've been planning with 5 other couples for 2.5 years will most likely be rebooked. We are supposed to leave for the Dominican Republic on Friday. We have a few days to decide if we want to reschedule or take a travel certificate. Pretty sure we will rebook for the fall.

My office is also closed for the next two weeks. I can work from home, but I will probably go to the office anyway. It's closed to restrict clients from coming in. I can easily work in my office an be completely away from any other staff who choose to come in.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How about you?

We just completed a short RV trip. Not a lot of public contact, only family.

We still go food shopping, get gas in the car, stuff like that.

We've canceled an upcoming river cruise in Europe.

 

[Farro]

We just completed a short RV trip. Not a lot of public contact, only family.

We still go food shopping, get gas in the car, stuff like that.

We've canceled an upcoming river cruise in Europe.

Ugh. Sorry about your river cruise. We are planning one in 3.5 years for our big 50!!!

 

[Kittyblue]

A work training was canceled. The oldest is home from college (online learning for the rest of the semester). The youngest will likely be off school soon as every county around us has canceled school for 2+ weeks. Can't find TP anywhere. Our big Saturday plans are the great TP scavenger hunt around town. Stupid us didn't stockpile and now things are looking grim.

 

[Lilsia]

Well, this Monday I had to pick up my DS (16) from school as he had a sudden fever, confusion and difficulty breathing. Also headache and body ache. Went to the ER where they don't test for flu and dont have tests for corona. I was told "he is young, he will probably be ok". Um ok? They diagnosed him with a "flu like virus". Thanks for nothing! My middle child (DD13) came down the next day with upper resp stuff and she is an unstable asthmatic. Her ped was able to work her in and gave her antibiotics for a sinus infection. So DH is working from home, DS is literally quarantined in his room with full on precautions (i am a RN so I am the only one going in there, and have been using gloves and gown and changing shirt every time in and out). We are desperately trying to keep him away from DD, though it so far has been fairly easy as he is SO SICK and can barely get up. On top of that, all of DS's swim meets are cancelled for the next 30 days (USASWIMING) and DD's gymnastics meets until the end of March(USA Gymnastics). DD is improving really quickly now that she has the antibiotics in her but DS not so much. It is scary and stressful. I am grateful I have the medical knowledge to care for him, as well as that I saw this coming early in Jan and stocked up appropriately then. Plus we live on a couple of acres and have a little room to roam around outside with no chance of infecting anyone (with whatever "flu like virus" DS has)

I hope your children feel better soon. It is a horrible feeling when our kids get sick.

 

[gillep]

I stocked up a couple weeks ago as I have been following this since the early days in China due to my job. Nothing too crazy, I certainly don’t have stockpiles but my freezer is full and I have sufficient mixers too.

I had to travel the first week of March but both my husband and I have been sheltering at home since I returned on the 5th. My life is very different today than it was last month. The only time we go out is to pick up take out or to exercise outside alone. I am trying to balance staying home with supporting local businesses so for instance last night we picked up about 3x the amount of Indian takeout as usual from our favorite local place. We will have lots of leftovers and can freeze some too if I can find room.

I canceled a trip for early April and need to cancel a May trip to Hawaii. It was supposed to be a big family trip to celebrate my mom’s 60th but I don’t feel good about traveling around and potentially spreading this to vulnerable populations.Going to be a tough conversation with my family though. Going to keep an eye on our jobs but if they look secure I will offer to still pay our dog sitter as I am sure they are losing a lot of business so if I can help I will.

 

[Lilsia]

We have a trip planned for the end of May and I am not even thinking about cancelling at this point. 2 months is a long time away for something like this. Most of the experts that have been on are saying that it will most likely be like any other flu and fade out when the weather becomes warmer but be back next winter. We can't go on forever like this.

 

[JimMIA]

I went to Costco today for gas, and as I was pumping there was some major police drama at the store -- 6-7 police cars with lights and sirens. Not sure what the problem was, but it certainly was not just some simple medical issue. They were still there when I left, but a Fire unit had also responded so I'm assuming someone was injured.

No mention of it yet on our "if it bleeds, it leads" TV stations.

 

[HeatherC]

We are basically hanging out at home. Went for a hike, but I am already bored. Going to be a long month with schools cancelled. I am a substitute teacher, my oldest daughter is a math teacher and my youngest daughter is back from college which has since gone to online classes. My son is in the next state working. Luckily he has very little contact with the public. My dh is a Public Works Director for a town so he still will be going to work since he has a lot of people under him and he is the one making a lot of decisions now.

I think we are going to get paint tomorrow and paint the halllway and bathroom.

Things definitely changed quickly here. (Massachusetts)

 

[Snowysmom]

We are basically trying to keep our regular schedule and being flexible with any changes. We have stopped going to the gym and are now walking around the neighborhood. We went out to dinner last night. We took the dog to the vet for his senior checkup. The supermarkets have been madhouses with no TP and very little chef boyardee products on the shelves. Today the store parking lots appear to be a bit less crowded. I work for a cruise travel agency so things change from day to day at work. Monday we may be told to work from home and I suspect other measures will be put in place for the next month or so. At least I should be getting paid per the government. We are keeping up with the developments and making changes as needed. Luckily we are not in a high risk group. I am concerned for those who are and hope they are taking precautions. We do have a trip to Disney planned for mid May. We are not canceling yet, just waiting to see what happens. 8 weeks is a long time and things change daily.

 

[Southernmiss]

Just announced that our public K-12 schools will close this week and maybe next.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

How is it affecting me? I’m a nurse out on the front lines here putting myself at risk and I cannot feed myself my regular diet because people are going crazy and hoarding things! The shelves are bare, and all the grocery stores are closing too early for me to get to after work. I sent my parents out with a list for me and there is practically nothing! I’ll be eating salt and pepper sandwiches in between shifts LOL