Just thought I would record what the pandemic looked like so we can remember this time...
April 17, 2020, we woke up to snow on the ground.
Gas prices in Ottumwa, IA were $1.69.
Schools in Iowa are currently closed thru the rest of the year
Self-distancing measures are in place.
Tape on the floors are grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6 ft) from each other.
Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.
Non-essential stores and businesses mandated to close
John Deere is essential, so Dad is working at work and Mom is home since school has been cancelled.
All 3 kids are home with mom and we are attempting to do learning/school from home.
Parks, trails, campgrounds, entire cities locked up.
Entire sports seasons cancelled. Our Harlem globetrotters tickets we had was cancelled.
Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events – cancelled.
Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings (Easter) – cancelled.
No masses, churches are closed.
No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20, now 10.
Don’t socialize with anyone outside your home.
Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.
Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.
Panic buying set in a month ago - toilet paper, disinfecting suppliers, paper towels, laundry soap, hand sanitizer, diapers, and baby food are all very hard to find.
Shelves in the stores are bare.
Manufacturers, distilleries, and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer, and PPE.
John Deere is now making and supplying face shields to healthcare workers and employees. Expected production is ~250,000.
Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.
Fines are established for breaking the rules.
Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of COVID-19 patients. New York City in particular.
Press conferences daily from the President and Governors providing updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.
Government incentives to stay at home.
Barely anyone on the roads.
People wearing masks and gloves when they leave their home.
Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.
Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families.
This is the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Pandemic declared on March 11, 2020.
As of today:
Wapello County: 6 confirmed cases, 0 recovered, 0 deaths.
Iowa: 1,849 confirmed cases, 0 recovered, 49 deaths.
United States: 614,180 confirmed cases, 49,857 recovered, 26,061 deaths.
Worldwide: 1,981,239 confirmed cases, 486,622 recovered, 126,681 deaths.
