2020: Coronavirus Pandemic

As April arrives, I see that I have not yet posted in 2020. It has not gone as expected! In January, we learned through the news about a virus originating in Wuhan, China called Coronavirus (COVID-19). It raised concern as it is highly contagious and leads to respiratory failure, especially in the aged and immune-compromised. China locked the area down and kept the number of infections in check.

Through travel, it spread to South Korea, Italy and Spain. Travel was not sufficiently controlled and the seeds of a global pandemic spread to hundreds of countries.

The US downplayed the virus and quickly became the world leader in number of cases, with a mass of cases in New York. Hospital ICUs are being overrun and there is a global shortage of masks and ventilators.

As of April, there are over 1,100,000 cases and 60,000 deaths globally. We know it is just the beginning in Canada as hospitals (including mine) plan and prepare for the tsunami of care needs.

Our family, friends and community members everywhere are 'social distancing' to avoid transmission.  All schools, restaurants, non-essential businesses, and parks are closed or have moved online.  The global financial markets have crashed people everywhere are experiencing lay-offs. There have been runs on essentials like hand sanitizer, disinfectant, non-perishables and above all, toilet paper.

At our house, we have been very blessed so far. Abba and I work in healthcare, so our jobs are secure. We have been using vacation to cover childcare so far. The timing was such that Abba had booked a long chunk of vacation because we were scheduled to join our family from Israel in a family trip to a Club Med ski resort in France. I have been taking vacation days when needed now that Yoav has returned to work.

We cancelled several things of note; in addition to cancelling the Club Med in France in March, we cancelled a Passover trip to Sanibel Island, Florida and festivities for Grandpa Hector's 80th birthday. 

What we have been doing is staying home! We are enjoying quiet time within our home and connecting with school, family and friends over Zoom.

Here's life during Coronavirus:

Classes over Zoom

Getting ready for Pesach with our community (Passover 'show and share')

Getting exercise on our new trampoline.

Cooking more (and eating more!)

Drinking wine and watching our favourite music performances (and joining in!)

Play dates with pals

Doing art

Getting creative with our hair

Doing good for our community

Getting musical

Reading a good book

Puzzles and games

Getting outside (these spots are closed now so we just stick to the sidewalks)

We're looking forward to Pesach Seders over Zoom - twice!! Stay tuned!