Grandma answers questions

Since we won't be able to visit the US this year, the children wrote a number of questions for their US grandma and grandpa. Below are the questions and answers. 

Grandma: Wow! There are good questions here. I will take them one by one. The questions are in Italics and the answers in regular font. Hope this is helpful.

1. What effect did COVID-19 have on your family?  e.g., can you visit Great-Grandma? how is she? can you meet with Owen and Josh? [Owen and Josh are their cousins in the US. Great-Grandma is in her early nineties and lives in a facility with other elderly people.] We heard about the virus in late January/early February. There was a video on the internet of people in Australia buying up a lot of toilet paper and we wondered if that was going to happen here. I made sure to pick up some extra groceries (including toilet paper) and on March 10th we went to the grocery store for a big shopping trip to restock our pantry. At that point, there was still some toilet paper on the shelves but cleaning supplies (especially disinfectant wipes) were scarce. After that, I went to one more exercise class on a Thursday and then to the library to volunteer on Friday. Starting March 13, things changed and we have only been out to get fresh groceries. We cannot visit Great Grandma but the place that she lives has set up a way to video chat. She has a phone in her room and still gets mail. We have been to New Hampshire twice but have not seen Josh and Owen in person. I chat with Owen online and we have video chatted but until the weather gets nicer and we can meet outdoors, we/they will not visit in person.

 2. What effect did COVID-19 have on your neighbourhood? did businesses disappear? One nice effect of the virus is that we see our neighbours when we take our daily walks. Everyone maintains social distancing. Many of the adults are working from home but there are a few people who do have to go to work. One is a pharmacist. We appreciate everyone who is still providing essential services. Schools closed here March 16th and within a few days an online schedule was in place for school work. Families without a computer were given a device and the cable company installed services for free. The school continues to provide daily lunch for those families that need them. Most of the local restaurants are offering take out food. I think that there will be restaurants that will close because of this but for the time being they are adjusting to take out only and fewer hours.

Did the library close? are people scared of each other? and of you? are you afraid of people now? [Note: Grandma is part of the leadership of the local library] We made the decision to close the library until further notice on March 14. We were going to try to stay open a little longer but did not want to expose our staff or patrons to the chance of catching the virus. Most of the libraries in our area closed at the same time. A few have staff reporting but that is because of union rules. As long as people respect social distancing, nobody seems afraid. That said, we live in the country and have a lot of personal space. Now that masks are being recommended for everyone (asymptomatic people can shed the virus and spread it), I think that keeps the fear down.

3.  Do you know of anyone who died or was seriously ill with COVID-19 or thought they had COVID-19? I am only aware of one person, the daughter of a friend, who has the disease. She is young, lives in NYC, and developed symptoms after she had been home for 11 days. There are less than 70 cases in our county. We are fortunate to not be close to NYC.

4. Do you think industry should have closed world-wide? do people still buy tractors in NH? I think that anything that is non essential should be closed. If our government had taken this seriously after the first warning, the spread would have been so much less. While it is important to build the herd immunity, it seems there could have been much less disruption if masks, social distancing, etc. had been implemented much earlier. Matt is still going to work, this is a busy time of year for farmers. I am not sure if people are buying new tractors but farm equipment needs maintenance and repair. There are service trucks that will do onsite repair and work can be done at Townline. 

5. Do you think that roughly the same measures should be applied world-wide? Africa, India, Europe, the US? Louisiana vs NY? also even within NYC? Strict social distancing, shelter in place, and stay at home orders should be done as much as possible. Places here in the US that did not do it early will now see their numbers increase. 

Should the rich and poor neighbourhoods be treated the same way? can the poor not work and still eat? even in the US. If the effort to stop spreading this is to work, it must apply to everyone. Food banks and other programs are working hard to help out people that have lost their jobs. Some restaurants are providing free food. It is still going to be harder on the people with fewer resources. 

6. Do you think schools should have closed everywhere because of COVID-19? for the rich and for the poor? Yes, maybe the young are at less risk of serious illness but they could spread it to their older or immunocompromised or otherwise unwell family members. Since a person can share this virus during the incubation period or if they are infected but COVID positive, it is much more difficult.

Can schools be a way to escape abuse and have a meal? Unfortunately, for some children this is true. Schools continue to supply meals and offer support services. Hopefully, families that need this help will take it. 

Is the place where Aunt Emily volunteers closed? [Aunt Emily works at an agency that helps abused women] The agency that Aunt Emily works for has victim advocates that are working remotely. Their shelter is open. Everyone is aware that the stress of home confinement can escalate tense situations and support networks are doing their best to help their clients and families. 

7. How did you shopping habits change since COVID-19? Did your local stores run out of products? do stores keep people at the door? do they limit what you can buy? Grandpa goes to the grocery store about once a week. The paper and cleaning products shelves are still pretty bare but are resupplied regularly. Fresh fruits and vegetables are in good supply. One local grocery chain has installed plexiglass shields for the clerks. Everyone maintains the 6 foot distance. I think toilet paper might be limited but so far everything else is readily available.

8. How many of the people you know still work? how many are unemployed because of COVID-19? which professions? Pretty much the only people that we know that are still working are in the medical profession- doctors, pharmacist. One neighbour works for a local food bank.

9. Should families not be allowed to meet during pandemics? At this point, with medical resources so strained, no reliable treatment, and the unpredictability of the virulence (some people get the sniffles, others overwhelming pneumonia) in healthy people, it is safer to remain apart. Like I said before, once the weather is nicer it may be possible to meet outdoors. Of course, still maintaining social distancing.

10.  Do you agree with the measures taken? Yes, but I wish our government had acted on the information more quickly. In Washington State and California, where the measures taken were more drastic, the numbers are much less. You might find this article interesting. Not to be too political, but the US has totally incompetent leadership at this time. This is being treated in an unethical manner, more as a money making enterprise for Trump and his family/cronies. It didn't have to be this way.