I am going to increase the frequency of my journal for this week, for we may be entering the roughest period of this crisis, at least for us New Yorkers. Though I don’t know what is going on in your lives, I am concerned about each of you. I hope you will all comment more frequently here and are working on your own journals—maybe not every day, as I am doing right now, but at least three or four times a week.
Last night, I dreamed that we had left our car in a hotel parking lot while attending a function, leaving our dog and cats inside. When we came out, the car had been trashed and the key wouldn’t open it. I had to struggle to get the pets out. Fortunately, I did.
When I woke, I took this to be a warning from my unconscious to stay in this coming week, which may be the “the hardest and saddest week of most Americans’ lives” as U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams predicted yesterday
Though I know there is chaos in the distance already, the most I know of it beyond the news media is the sirens, much more common that they normally are. Around my neighborhood, almost all is quiet. People are out, but not too often, many of them walking dogs—as we do. Almost everyone is now in masks and most of us try to keep a safe distance away from others.
The strange thing is that there does seem to be a high percentage of those outside who are aggressively acting as if nothing has happened at all and as if nothing will. We read stories about people insisting that the coronavirus is all a hoax but the stories are generally from places far from New York. Here, we are living with it already. I think there are few New Yorkers who don’t yet know anyone who died. Certainly, all of us know people who are ill with COVID-19. We may be, ourselves. The symptoms range from none at all to mild to serious to deadly and none of us knows what ours may be—or even if we have already had the virus but don’t know it. The lack of easily available testing is keeping each of us in suspense.
My only outing yesterday was to go to the laundromat where I dropped off laundry rather than doing it myself as used to be my normal routine. My only one today will be to pick it up. Though I hate it, I wore a mask and will again, today. I really doubt that the masks do much good but this is a time for prudence, not for stubbornness.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my students, many of whom are not that active here on OpenLab. I hope they will be, and not simply so that they will get credit for the course. I am concerned about them, hoping each one is OK and that their families are OK. I know one high-school student, a good student, who is falling behind on his classes, a burden he does not need right now. He stepfather died of COVID-19 ten days ago and his mother is sick (but recovering). He has been responsible almost completely for his pre-teen brother and sister for three weeks now, cooking for them and seeing to all of their needs, including those resulting from their father’s death. I hope that none of my students is facing a situation as bad, or even worse, right now, that there are other reasons for their silence.
To pass the time when I am not dealing with my classes and students, I have been writing some and reading, and watching television. We just finished the available episodes of a Swedish drama called “The Restaurant” on Sundance Now so, today, we will have to start looking for another show to binge on.
After almost a month of being inside almost all of the time, we are beginning to get used to this, though that doesn’t mean we are starting to like it.
The worst of it is the not knowing, the wondering. Even if we get sick, the vast majority of us will recover. But thousands are dying. These include friends, maybe family, maybe even ourselves. We just don’t know… and that’s the hardest thing of all.
I haven’t left my house in about a week. Just once to go get milk. I live in Brighton Beach which is a fairly busy neighborhood. Looking at the streets, it’s like a ghost town. The most popular grocery store is closed because two workers tested positive, which just increases anxiety levels for everyone that lives around me. Hearing about it for so long was skeptical, but having it in your neighborhood is very scary.
Yikes! I’ve been hearing about grocery workers infected. Things may be at the worst right now but all of us will have to continue to stay in for a timie.
I very much agree with your professor This epidemic has changed our lives. Even if the epidemic is over, it will be difficult for us to return to our previous lives. Just like in China now, many people have already started to work, and more and more public places in restaurants and movie theaters are open, but people not lot to go there . My mother told me that people in the office rarely talk, and everyone still wears masks and gloves. I think this method will take at least six months.
I think were are going to be learning a lot from China over the next few months.
It’s very true that it will be difficult to go back our previous life style. I very much agree with professor This epidemic has changed our lives. Though there is no lockdown Wuhan in China but still people are gating hart time to running their previous daily bases life. people are not talking to each other as before, so social distance time limit will be way longer then we are thinking right now.
Oh, but I do hope we can at least talk to each other!
I went to the supermarket a few weeks ago and bought a lot of food and daily necessities. However, I got a message today that the employee of that supermarket was infected. The supermarket is closed today, and I am also worried. I’m afraid it will affect my family, because this disease generally hurts older people. I started to drink more water and eat more vitamins. I hope everyone keeps it safe
I hope you do, too!
It’s almost been two weeks that I have not gone outside of my house door. But a few days ago I had to go buy some groceries for my house and the situation seems scary. You have to wait to get in line and only buy a selective amount of stuffs. Even though they are saying it’s going to stay like that until the end of this month, I have a feeling it’s going to stay for the month of may too
I think you are right.
I knew I had to line up to enter the supermarket, so I went to the supermarket in new jersey, but the same thing happened there. I waited in line for an hour and a half before entering the supermarket
It’s happening all over, clearly.
As of today, the number of coronaviruses diagnosed in the United States has reached nearly 400,000. The number of coronaviruses diagnosed in New York State is close to 140,000. So far, New York has added 4,700 people compared to yesterday, and the number of diagnoses is now close to 77,000. This news is too bad. A few days ago, I was watching the news at home. Experts estimated that the number of diagnoses will reach the highest point around April 20. I do n’t know if the news is true. If it is true, it means that the United States will soon get better. A few days ago, because of insufficient food at home, I had to go out to the supermarket to buy food. I put on a mask, goggles and hat. But I still saw some people who didn’t have any protective measures, and I was very worried about them. Every day at home is boring. I hope my professors and classmates can take care of themselves.
As do I! I hate the mask, but I am wearing it.
be safe and take care of yourself！
You, too.
my father is currently in the ICU in israel, his brothers initially didn’t really think much of the coronavirus, until their brother (my father) got sent to the ER….
i currently moved to my brother in florida, but the sad/ironic/funny thing is that he is an ER doc so even though i probably brought the virus with me from new york and have been isolated in his house, my brother probably already got it from the hospitol itself… + a doc that works in the ER in new york is coming over on wensday… so he is forsure gonna bring something with him….
so yeah life is in the gutters now…
p.s. about the testing for coronavirus, there is no real reason to test yourself if u feel good, just because you have coronavirus doesn’t mean anything for you if you are not showing any symptoms…
unless you come in contact with someone who you feel can be compromised.
at this point the best option for us is social distancing… since some reports are saying that this virus could be dormant for longer then what was previously thought
p.p.s like the professor said the hardest part about this, is how little data the medical field has about this specific virus…
I’m sorry, Tiny! May he pull through!
i have to say that the worst part about this virus, is the toll that it is taking on the medical field…
from everyone that im speaking to thats in the field… they all sound more depressed than usual…
the amount of deaths that the residents are seeing at the hospitals is insane compared to previous standards and it’s affecting the newer doctors much harder than the seasoned attendings in the ER who are used to seeing people die (but even they have never thought that something like this would happen in their lifetimes…)
to put it simple… and like everyone here already said… life will not be the same after the virus…
we will get over it, as humans do, and have done throughout history… but this does feel now, like it will be a critical part in each of our biography’s
I have been thinking about that and worrying. The medical people are acting as heroes and are dying as heroes… but where does that leave us after?
And, yes, this is our history.
This epidemic has changed our lives. Today we’ve reached 1 million people being infected by the coronavirus and NYC is the epicenter of the virus in America. I recently found out my neighbor downstairs is infected with the virus because I was informed by my neighbor upstairs who works as a nurse in a nearby hospital. I’ve left my house twice since the quarantine has started and I don’t think I’ll be leaving the house again.
Stay safe, Christina!
This pandemic is surely a huge life changer. To keep my self busy I have been catching up on homework, family time, and Netflix movies. I make sure to keep positive attitudes everyday waiting for when this is all over.
Let’s hope we won’t be waiting forever!
I try not to worry so much about this pandemic we are in but i am worried about the people around me. Thank god for the my major which is human services because i can use therapeutic exercises. I turned it into a positive thing by trying to focus on my classes at my pace . I tried new things such as meditation, yoga at home, and actually spending time with my family even more which is very rare. The virus isn’t my main focus right now my mother is she recently got into a crazy accident so i also try to spend more time with her. I agree that this is life changing but i think it’s best we speak things into existence and try to stay positive about this.
Yes, stay positive if at all possible!
I can agree with Aniya and say i tend to stay positive as well. its not easy kissing my mom goodnight on the cheek before I leave for work praying I get home the next morning. I feel like I am the anchor in the family trying to tell everyone that everything is ok and to stay positive. if I panicked as much as my mom we would both be on lock down until 2022 haha
Keep solid!