No one really thought it was that big of a deal at first. I'll be honest that I had laughed it off until a few days ago; after all, the symptoms are similar to the flu. The danger is when people have a compromised immune system, are elderly, or have a pre-existing respiratory condition, since it can cause pneumonia. But the world took it very, very seriously.
First, Asia began to shut down. Since Wuhan wasn't blocked off until after a massive holiday during which people traveled to visit family across the country, the virus quickly spread across China.
Then, two cruise ships off Japan were hit hard. Ten people on one of the ships tested positive, and within the two weeks of quarantine in their cabins, 600 more passengers were diagnosed. My mom was supposed to get a double mastectomy {because she has BRCA2} Valentine's weekend, but alas, her surgeon was aboard that ship! After the quarantine aboard the ship, the surgeon was placed in another quarantine in Texas. My mom was freaking out about her surgery cancellation, so I flew down for a surprise visit to cheer her up.
My brother Adam was serving a mission in an Asian country that had no cases of the virus, but they took immediate precautions to cancel all public gatherings, including school and church. Two weeks ago, the family received a phone call from Adam that he was coming home the next day! He had been isolated in his apartment with his companion for quite a while already, and then one day the mission president called them at 10 PM and instructed, "Get out--NOW!" They took a bus from their small town to the big city where the mission home is, and sure enough, by the next morning, the roads were shut down. Since the airports in Japan were shut down, they flew through Russia. Rachel and I hopped in the car and drove to Arizona to surprise him. Adam was devastated to come home, and soon after he stepped into the house with my parents, he started bawling. It wasn't supposed to be like this! By the time Rachel and I arrived, he seemed pretty numb. He was under "quarantine" despite next-to-nothing odds of having the virus. He is flying out to the Pocatello mission tomorrow. More on these two trips home later.
Then the day before my mom's rescheduled surgery was supposed to happen, it was cancelled again! My mom was upset, and the doctor in an interview said she was "pissed," because the governor of San Antonio said he wanted the cruise ship passengers to be quarantined even longer.
This was around the time that people started to panic. As the virus hit Italy like a bomb and began to spread through other parts of Europe and the U.S., Charmin ran out of toilet paper online. My cousin witnessed people fighting over water at Costco, as if somehow the water supply was going to become contaminated or shut off. The NBA has been cancelled for the rest of the season. Wall Street shut down to prevent a stock-market crash, yet the value of Netflix skyrocketed. Many universities, including other universities in Utah, have been shut down, and education will continue online. My own professors are receiving preparatory trainings. General Conference will only be broadcasted, and no guests may attend. My college graduation has been cancelled. I am supposed to travel to Europe on May 1st, but that is up in the air because travel from Europe {outside of the U.K.} has now been suspended for the next 30 days.
It feels like the apocalypse, and honestly I don't know how dangerous the virus is or isn't. I had been trying to wean myself off my breathing medication, but perhaps now is not the time. With everything happening, I respect the governments and institutions worldwide who are taking measures to prevent it from spreading.
**UPDATE 5:30 PM: Since this morning, church worldwide has been canceled, school will now be held online, and people in Utah should not have gatherings over 100! For people over 60, this group size is limited to 20! And one of my flights for my Europe trip has been canceled!
No comments:
Post a Comment