As a US citizen, we are just now seeing the virus actually affecting our everyday lives after watching on the news for the past months the havoc it has been creating over the world.
Since I've hit the ripe old age of 61 and I have an underlying health condition (diabetes) I'm in the "target" group for those to be most hard hit by the virus.
I live in a small town in the midwest and there are have been no KNOWN reported cases in my area. The KNOWN part is the scary part because there has not been much testing at all, and a big controversy exists as to why testing is not more readily available to both health professionals or everyday citizens wishing to have the test.
The US is reporting over 1,300 confirmed cases as of this morning, hardly a drop in the bucket compared to our population, but again, the number of people having been tested makes this a very underreported figure.
The biggest and most immediate effect here is not the health issue, it's the financial issue. Our stock market has virtually crashed in the face of fear and uncertainty. As a retired person living on the annuity that I have accumulated over 30 years of hard work, this is devastating to see the market crash and my retirement funds vanishing before my eyes.
Every day is bringing more and more closures and shutdowns in a belated effort to curb the spread of the disease. Starting with a single NBA player testing positive to Convid-19, the entire national sports industry has "postponed" holding further events. I mention this in the scheme of things simply because we are huge NBA fans and this is the first thing that really hit home on a nationwide level.
I was at my YMCA Silver Sneakers class (which is also on the verge of being shut down even in this small town) and someone mentioned what their husband was going to do without his sports to watch on TV. Someone else then mentioned that there were going to be lots of babies born nine months from now! (Just a little attempt at some humor in the middle of this dire situation.....)
Seriously though, people are flocking the stores and cleaning out the stock of hand sanitizer and toilet paper and gearing up to stay at home. Self quarantining is a smart thing to do if you don't have to be out and about.
But what about the millions of people who don't have the option to stay at home? Who need that paycheck to make it from month to the next? And then all the businesses that are going to be ruined by the lack of patronization as people stay at home and forgo the eating out and vacation traveling?
Going to the theater for a movie, bingo at the American Legion, all kinds of small pleasurable outings are being given up. And each of those activities affects a business and a group of workers who are making that business run day to day.
We've never seen anything like this here in my lifetime.
We have several states that have individually called "state of emergency" and following different protocols that they feel is right for their current conditions. We are seeing events of large gathering being banned, travel being banned, and more and more school closing are cropping up every minute. I also feel for the parents of small children where the schools are being canceled. Many of these parents have no way to cover their children being at home alone.
And the millions of people who live in large cities and depend on public transportation - subways, buses, commuter trains - all to be avoided - but how?
So many questions, so many decisions to be made.
No matter where you live in the world today, you are going to feel the effects of this pandemic and I don't think we've even begun to see where the ripples are going to take us.
