PLEASE: Stay Home, Stay Safe!

Dallas County, Texas’s shelter-in-place order in response to the coronavirus began on March 23 and was initially to stay in effect until April 3.  The order has now been extended to April 30.

I consider myself somewhat of a homebody, and I’m in a decluttering phase, so I need to be here doing that work. But it isn’t even Easter yet, so April 30 seems a long way off. I am sure that by taking a daily walk, focusing on my household projects, and watching my favorite TV shows with a little Netflix and Amazon Prime thrown in, I can make it through to April 30 without having a meltdown. But I’m worried that this stay at home business will extend through May, so I’m taking things one day at a time.

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The first week of shelter-in-place, the traffic in my neighborhood was normal, everyday coming and going. Judge Clay Jenkins and the County Commissioners have given us all a great help: No meetings of more than ten people can be held, and a six-foot distance between people must be observed; all businesses selling non-essential items are supposed to be closed; restaurants and bars can only sell carry-out food; and all that’s open now are the grocery stores which sometimes only have empty shelves where eggs and milk should be.

Now, during the day, car traffic is almost non-existent on the side street next to my house, but in the evening the traffic is heavy. Where are all these people going? Don’t they understand we are supposed to stay home?

Texas Governor Greg Abbott finally issued a state-wide shelter-in-place order back in March which includes the closure of all but essential businesses. Unfortunately, his attorney general, Ken Paxton, thinks gun stores are essential businesses. Despite that bizarre decision, there is hardly anywhere to go or any reason to get in one’s car and take to the road. I think – and hope – more and more of us are staying home, sheltering in place so we can stop this coronavirus.

Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx have told us: the only things we can do to stop the spread of the coronavirus is

1) Physical (social) distancing, i.e., stay a six foot distance from each other,

2) wear a face mask on the occasions when you must leave home and be around other people, and

3) stay home unless it’s VITAL that you leave.

Let’s all do ALL of these things, please, because if the coronavirus hasn’t come to your city, suburb, town, or rural area . . .  yet, I’m afraid that all you have to do is wait.

It’s the holy season. Passover began last week, today is Easter, and Ramadan begins April 23. Enjoy your holiday celebrations, and please:

PLEASE: Stay Home and Stay Safe.

P.S. – Here’s a little tutorial about wearing face masks. They seem so simple, but using one actually is complicated!