It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World!

Good grief, this virus is spreading fast!

The World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 a pandemic on Wednesday (3-11-20).

School got out on Friday at 10:30am.  I wished all the students a safe and healthy spring break, and to read the school website should we be closed an extra week due to the coronavirus.  I discussed the pandemic with some of my students in 7th period and mentioned that the global total of 139,000+ infected people would easily top 200,000 when we got back to school in a week.  It's now looking to spread faster than that.  By Friday afternoon, Trump had declared a national emergency because of the virus.

By Saturday at noon the global infections reached 155,000+, with cases in the United States now also taking off.  Talk shows and professional sports teams were already performing without an audience.  Restaurants and pubs were closing early, and many large festivals had already been cancelled.  But what took off this past weekend is unprecedented in recent US history. By Sunday night, those numbers rose to 182, 125.

Weather in coastal California was forecasted to be rainy through Wednesday.  It's this rain that kept me from leaving for the coast right away. That  rain will move east into Arizona.  By Saturday afternoon I got a text from Eric saying

Mom, you might want to head back [to Arizona]

I just got word that the Department of Defense is banning all non-local travel.

And there's talk of closing state lines.

I hadn't left for California at that point, postponing my departure by Sunday to let the rain pass over the coast.   Road tripping with two dogs in the rain is no fun.  I've already done that a few times. (My road trip now was again postponed to mid-week when I learned on Sunday that AZ Governor Ducey had mandated all public schools close until March 27th).  Arizona still only has 12 confirmed cases of the virus, far fewer than California.  But the virus is spreading fast in New York City, and the New York state totals are quickly reaching the numbers that put Washington state in first place for infected people, which currently is at 769.

I changed my plans for Sedona, a city I hadn't spent much time exploring since it's a resort town catering to wealthy tourists.  Most trailheads demand $5 day passes. But there are two dog-friendly hikes I want to do there, the Bear Mountain trail and the West Fork trail.  One is challenging, the other a shaded river walk.

I walked the dogs with Susan both Friday and Saturday, along the swollen San Pedro River.  The trees are now leafing out nicely. She's dealing with diagnosed asthma right now and is on medication, and our one conversation this time was the coronavirus.  Her granddaughter Isabelle has a classmate on Long Island who now has the virus.

Saturday early evening I stopped at the local Dollar General to buy soups and crackers and some frozen foods, items to hold us over should our area be in quarantine.  There were still plenty of soups and crackers, but the store was out of spaghetti, rahmen noodles, toilet paper and paper towels.  There has been a shortage of toilet paper this past week across the country.  Why toilet paper, though?  The coronavirus affects the lungs, not the anus!

At least we live in the county and not the more congested town.  We can "social distance" from others easier.  Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health (who is getting a lot of media coverage), is now telling people to avoid restaurants and pubs to slow down the spread of the virus.  But why not also avoid big churches, where people sit closely to one another and feign interest in the sermons?  Shopping malls have already shuttered or cut back their operating hours.  Churches need to do their part to protect their communities.

On Sunday I took the pack to Miller canyon to hike a side drainage of Miller Creek.  It was in the upper 50s and breezy. This drainage swells with water after heavy rains and few people know about this.  I've explored this area before.  It's mostly a game trail along the drainage that ends at a waterfall a mile into the hike.  Then one can either bushwhack to the top of the hill and loop down to Miller Creek, or continue bushwhacking along a high ridgeline back to the parking lot.  I looped around, seeing the many cars in the campsites below.  I didn't want the dogs to bother others.  I stumbled upon an old mine, some mining relics, and lots of crystals.  We ended the 2.7-mile hike in the shade of Miller Canyon.

When I got back to the car, I learned via Facebook that Governor Ducey ordered all public schools closed till the 27th of March, extending spring break by another week. So now I have no rush to get to Sedona, as I only need 3-5 days for that trip. 

Our new neighbors in the corner house is a family of four.  It's a young couple with a small boy and an infant.  They were busy in their dining room when I got home.  They do not have curtains over their windows.

Kevin doesn't want to talk about this virus.  He doesn't even want to listen to any news about this.  I'm sure he is concerned and just doesn't want his concern amplified by my commentary. I can't bury my head in the desert. I'm very worried, as his two daughters are pregnant.  One's due in June, the other in December.  We don't even know if this novel coronavirus can harm an unborn child.

We woke up today (Monday the 16th)  to more news of stocks plunging even more.  If all areas where people gather will close, that will cause a lot of businesses to fail, people to lose their jobs, their savings, their homes. This will be far worse than the 2008 recession, as this may affect me and my job at the school.  Young people just starting out with life after high school will have it especially tough.  They will have to learn to be frugal, save more, and do without all those enticing gadgets.  We haven't had such a generation since World War II.

I did manage to get ahold of Carol this morning, who is still in the rehab center in Crown Point, IN.  Her rehab center is on lock-down, and only physicians and therapists can see the patients.  We agreed that I will spend another summer in Indiana.  I may totally abandon plans to visit old high school friends at the reunion in Charlotte, NC. If school is closed longer than a week, this may change my summer plans entirely.

By 1pm local time (4pm Eastern, when the stock market closes), I saw percentage points dropping to its lowest level since October 19, 1987, when it closed at 1738.74. Today it closed at 20.487, falling 12.9%.  The S&P fell 12%.  This was the market's third worst day ever.

I walked the dogs at 5pm along the maintenance road, extending the walk to 3.4 miles.  I'm enjoying these warmer spring afternoons, when it's still warm after sunset.  Carr Creek is still flowing nicely.  As usual, we stopped at the stock pond twice to let Minnie swim a bit.

When I got home I learned that San Francisco will begin sheltering in place until April 7th.  Seven other Bay Area counties will do the same thing, affecting 7 million people.  Boy, am I glad I opted not to travel to California now.  Eric lives in Fairfield which is in Solano county and not affected by this rule, but who's to say this shelter-in-place won't be implemented in more towns there? Santa Clara county, by far the one county with the most confirmed cases of the virus in California, (138) claimed two more deaths Monday night, bringing the death toll in the county to four and the state total of confirmed cases to 454. 

Things are moving fast with this pandemic.  Luckily we have been spared any cases in my county.  Today the city of Sierra Vista decided to cancel all city events through May 2.  This includes the popular spring West End Block Party.  Bisbee will do the same, meaning that the Barks and Brews beer festival slated for late April will also be cancelled.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-Bay-Area-shelter-in-place-COVID-19-15135282.php

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/03/health/us-coronavirus-cases-state-by-state/index.html