covid diary: day 6

We are now officially under a national emergency. The president is a giant egotistical baby, so the secretary of the Treasury is negotiating with Speaker Pelosi to outline a relief package. In many states, extreme measures are being put in place. Stores are running out of things like toilet paper, flour, rice, OTC medicines, and cleaning products. Mike sent me this picture of the paper products aisle from our local supermarket Saturday, but I wasn't surprised because I went to Walmart to stock up on some foodstuffs very early in the morning (when it was less crowded) and found the same thing.

In a lot of places, including in Indiana, bars and restaurants have been ordered to operate on a carryout-only basis. Many stores are shortening their hours or even closing entirely for a while to help stop the spread. Walmart, which is usually open 24 hours a day, is closing overnight now to give the employees a chance to restock shelves. Some stores have also started limiting their first hour of business to only serve senior citizens, who are at much higher risk than most of the population (I think this is a great and smart move). 

Except for going to the grocery store and Walmart Saturday morning, we stayed home all weekend and worked around the house. We reorganized the pantry, and we started thinking about some household projects that we just never seem to find the time to tackle. We watched plenty of TV, but no sportsballs because now all the sports leagues are closed. Mostly, we just tried to find our footing as we enter a new normal.

There's no school today, so the boys are just hanging out and playing video games. Bethany stopped by to give us an emergency kit:

There were lots of national developments over the weekend too. How can I put this most succinctly? The shit is starting to hit the fan. Places in New York and Washington have the biggest clusters, and something like 35 states are under emergency declarations. The president decried responsibility for any of his administration's choices, and when asked to rate his response to this crisis, he have himself a 10. YOU GUYS, HE GAVE HIMSELF A 10. Even with extremely limited test kits, 4,500 people have tested positive. At least 88 people have died. We're facing a national nightmare scenario. And he gave himself a 10.

Over the weekend, Indiana's number of cases doubled. This is in line with exponential growth rates, which predict that cases double every three days unless extreme measures are taken to stop the spread. But still, look at the number of tests. The entire state has conducted only 139 tests. Indiana has a population of 6.7 million. Just let that sink in. We're in trouble, friends.