Day to Day - Covid 19 - Part 2
The new normal?
Well, unless you’ve been sitting on a beach with no WIFI you likely might be wondering what the hell is going on? Every day or hour brings on more changes - one’s that are so different from the day before. We are learning a lot of new phrases -
Flattening the curve.
Social distancing
Community spread
Pandemic
The Canadian Government announced yesterday a sweeping economic package and I have no idea whether this will work but kudos to them for recognizing that there are people in need.
On Tuesday, the Ontario Government declared a “state of emergency” which finally closed all bars, restaurants, child care centres, theatres, etc. Each day more and more stores are closing. I would expect by this weekend very little will be open.
Some because it simply doesn’t make economic sense to stay open and there have also been examples of some businesses experiencing a social media backlash because they have stayed open and could endanger the health of their employees. The grocery stores and pharmacies are still open (essential services) but the shelves are somewhat bare depending on when you go.
When the virus first hit there was a run on canned goods, cleaning supplies etc but supplies have started to show up and the stores are posting signs asking the consumers to buy what they need vs buy up the entire store. Its hard to not get caught up in this problem - do you go buy more gas for your car and should you buy that extra loaf of bread? Mind you gas is at an all time low but there really is nowhere to drive to? Some restaurants are trying to stay open by offering take out options.
Pizza to go?
People’s routine has been impacted - some are working from home and some maybe not even working at all. Many small business owners are probably going to be affected as they have had to close. This leaves them with a number of challenges - what to do about their employees? Do they get continue to get paid? And if so, how long do they get paid? Can they pay the bills when the bills for the products come due? What about people who depend on part- time work to pay their rent or groceries? What about independant contractors who provide a fee service? I’m sure we all know some of those - medical practitioners, retail workers, etc.
As I’ve said to friends its normal to think about life in their own context - which for me simply means “how does this impact me? However it is a much bigger problem because maybe I will be okay but there will be a lot of people who won’t be? And we have really no idea how long this will last.
Photo Credit Toronto Star
The schools are closed for at least 2 more weeks but I’m guessing it will be longer than that. No one will want to risk the health of young children. We’re fortunate that our school has the ability to do on-line distance learning but I’m sure many schools won’t be able to do that? Will students who were going to graduate this year still be able to finish? What about their university applications? A lot of unknowns.
I’m trying not to fixate on the news - whether it be television or social media however its not easy. We seem to have this urge to stay on top of things - maybe look for something new and different? However, I don’t think we will find what we’re looking for? It will eventually get better but it’s going to take time.
My normal routine hasn’t changed that much - as some may know my routine as of late has been anything but routine. With all the fitness centres closed the option of working out disappeared and the tennis club(s) announced that they where closing last weekend. The gym in the condo also closed.
I have watched some Netflix but I have not wanted to simply sit on the couch. I have swept the floor five times a day and the place looks pretty clean.
I have a few blogs to write but it also doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to do some more restaurant reviews when they are all closed?
Closed for business
I get it - a lot of people believe this won’t impact them? But it seems the only way out of this is if we hunker down and stop doing what we want to do? There has been a lot of social media shaming with what is going on in certain parts of the world. For example in Florida people on spring break don’t seem to want to shut it down.
Photo Credit USA Today
Okay - enough of this stuff. What else has been going on in the world?
In the tennis world all of the tournaments have been cancelled for a few months so the Twitter-sphere is jumping all over the place.
The French Tennis Federation announced that they were moving their tournament - Roland Garros to a new date in September. No big deal right?
Photo Credit USA Today
Well, I guess it is a big deal because they supposedly didn’t discuss it with anyone - the players, the other Grand Slams or any of the tournaments that were already scheduled during the date that is now attempting to be taken by the French Open. This could be interesting because the French is scheduled to start one week after the US Open which is played on hard courts while the French is played on red clay. Yikes. Have we heard the end of this? Doubtful! There are all kinds of possibilities in play - what about Wimbledon and the hard court circuit following that? There are only so many weeks available and this year is an Olympic year. What does this mean? Let’s see how this plays out.
What else? Well, there was big news in football. Tom Brady of the New England Patriots decided to not return to Boston and according to news reports has agreed to terms with Tampa Bay. I happened to be a fan of Brady but I know there is a love/hate relationship for him and the Patriots. I think this will have a positive impact for Tampa (especially with ticket sales). I saw a statistic that they ranked 30/32 in attendance - so there is nowhere to go but up.
Photo Credit Boston Globe
I did manage to make it to the LCBO (aka - the government dairy) to stock up on inexpensive Italian red plonk. Got help out the Italians in their time of need. The shelves are getting picked over and the hours of operation have been reduced. We're pretty good for other staples and we’ve been pushing to the bottom of our small freezer. So, that’s it for today - so stay safe everyone.
