On Friday the Thirteenth of March, of all days, the president announced that the United States was in a state of national emergency. A virus originating in China had spread by international travel contact throughout the world, causing multiplying cases and many deaths. At its origin point, China built makeshift hospitals to handle the influx of infected individuals. Right now their cases have plummeted to the point at which the “tempspitals” have been dismantled now.
Italy has been hardest hit, but their people are resilient and grateful for the medical staff and cleaning crews working around the clock to contain the spread. In Australia, actor Tom Hanks and his wife contracted the virus and are recuperating in place.
My office work involves 24 hour phone centers, so unless the contagion reaches our space, I and my co-workers will either come into work, go to another branch or work remotely from home. Such options were not available before. But then, a national shutdown of this kind was not considered before.
Our grocery stores are out of toilet paper, because when there is a disease going around, everybody overuses toilet paper beyond normal expectations. I also read about supply hoarders who have stocked up on hand sanitizers or bleach infused single use wipes, hoping to buy their next Cadillac with their overinflated profits. Never heard about anybody enjoying the fruits of that adventure, though.
Oh, and the meat counters are all out of fresh beef and poultry, because when people have to stay home, they want to grill. That was fine for me, because I bought the pre-cooked chicken and popped them in the freezer. Those were not out of stock. The demand for water went up also, because whenever a threat comes along, the first thing people think about, after toilet paper, is water. Since we’re polluting the oceans and rivers, bottled is a must.
So it looks like a couple of weeks of restrictions and closures of a kind we normally see only during major snowstorms or other extreme weather events. But we will get over this as with anything else.
And then the shelves can be restocked with toilet paper.
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