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Year Four, Day 253: Pandemic Times,, Day 2





The last 24 hours has been a blur.

Shortly after my last post, my son called from prison. His voice was a little shaky.

"Mom", he said...and my heart paused a beat. I could hear the anxiety in that one little word...

"They've locked us down. No visitors until further notice".

I went into mom mode. I reassured him it was for their protection. It would be a disaster if the virus made it's appearance in their minoum security facility. They slept in bunk beds in dorms. No possible way to practice 6 feet of social distancing. Plus, this was only temporary. By taking extreme measures now, the public health authorities are hoping to contain this pandemic.

He sounded relieved. I told him he could call us, text and write us. And soon it would be spring, warmer weather was supposed to help kill off the virus, and he could receive visitors again.

After our phone call, I checked breaking news
 Apparently all Oregon prisons are now locked down until further notice.

Yesterday there were 126, 726 confirmed cases, 4,629 deaths and 115 countries affected.

 Today there are 130,000 confirmed cases, 5,410 reported deaths. By the time I publish this post, the numbers will go up. You can get updates here:https://infographics.channelnewsasia.com/covid-19/map.html

This morning, the breaking news was:


  1. President Trump would be declaring a national emergency over covid-19.
  2. Washington public schools were closing until 4/24.
  3. Oregon public schools were closing until the end of March.
  4. Clark County and Multnomah County Libraries were closing immediately until further notice. (I almost cried when I read this!)
The music center where I teach piano was closing tomorrow through the end of March. (I later got a very welcome email telling teachers that had shifts the next few days, that we could come in and do paperwork on our regular shifts and get paid. Without students. Most grateful am I!)

After work this evening, my last day of students until April, I hopped on a nearly empty, but very clean bus. Portland was eerily quiet, especially for a Friday night. Pioneer Courthouse Square was like a graveyard. My heart began to thud and the hairs on my arms stood up. This is very real. A global pandemic. A pivotal point in history. I took a deep breath, thankful that my lungs were clear today, and looked around my beloved doentiwn Portland. I wonder if life will ever be "normal" again?



Be safe my friends.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Love,

Zita


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