The Covid Chronicles

July 03, 2020

April 5, 2020

  • Gas prices were $1.51, $1.39 in some places
  • School cancelled for the rest of the year (May 4th is the official end of the year)
  • Social distancing, defined as keeping more than 7 feet between you and the nearest person. As a result, friends can't gather together.
  • Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help separate shoppers from each other.
  • Limited number of people inside stores. Shoppers have been lining up outside of stores before they open.
  • Non-essential businesses have closed.
  • NBA, NHL, MLB - every major sport has stopped or hasn't started.
  • Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events, all cancelled.
  • Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings, all cancelled.
    • Funerals limited to a specific number and being live streamed.
  • Church buildings have closed. Since the Church is the people and not the building, the Church has moved online. Most stream via Facebook Live or YouTube.
  • At first, gatherings of 50 or more were outlawed. Then it became 20. Now it's 10. Any gatherings should be limited to immediate family.
  • Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers. They are grocery store employees, doctors, nurses. Toilet paper and paper towel shelves were bare. Hand sanitizer and hand soap are hard to find.
  • Truckers are the new heroes. Not celebrities.
  • Beef, eggs, milk are also difficult to find.
  • Stores are promoting "One Cart/One Person" policy and limiting the number of customers inside.
  • Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.
  • Shelves are bare. Hard to find beef, eggs, milk.
  • Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their operations to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.
  • Just today, Dallas County (including the city of Dallas) extended its shelter-in-place order to April 30th.
  • Texas is asking folks from New York and Louisiana to self-quarantine for 14 days.
  • Big industries help make more ventilators & more masks for hospitals.
  • Press conferences daily from the President and state governors, providing updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.
  • Companies are providing incentives to stay home
    • Movies that would be running in theaters are now coming to on-demand video.
    • CBS All Access offered a free month.
    • Pluralsight, a site offering online technical classes, has also offered a free month.
    • Many restaurants offer contactless delivery or curbside service.
  • This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020.

The Covid Chronicles

A Little While Later


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Written by Shawn Borton
Drupal and PHP expert, Christian, rabid Dallas Stars fan, devoted Texas Longhorns alum, lover of libraries, coffee shops, and quiet places.
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