COVID19 Update - Day 1

When we look back on this time in years hence, I expect that March 11, 2020 will be identified as the day the country first really started to take COVID19 seriously.

If you've come here looking for information about COVID19 and how best to respond --- then you're really bad at doing internet research.  Nevertheless, here are two resources I recommend:

• FlattenTheCurve - information about what all of us can do to minimize the impact of the pandemic.
• Suggestions about how you can network with your neighbors to support each other through what are likely to be grim times ahead.

Donald Trump --- the most embarrassing politician in U.S. history --- kicked things off with probably the least inspiring presidential address in U.S. history:

Notably, Trump did NOT do the one thing which might have been the most effective in blunting the impact of the virus on America --- declaring a national emergency.

A bit more than an hour after his speech, US markets, which were already in freefall, were anything but reassured:

In the category of 'you can't make this up' --- almost contemporaneously with Trump's address, the previous holder of the title of America's most embarrassing politician, former half-term Alaska governor Sarah Palin, was bouncing around like an idiot on the reality TV show The Masked Singer:

Personally, I am anticipating that most Americans will ultimately be infected, including myself, my ex-wife, and my children.  We're all under the age of 60, and so the expectation is that we will all survive --- although there's no telling how severe our symptoms will be when we get sick.

All four of our parents (mine and my ex-wife's) are still alive, although obviously they are elderly.  My ex-wife's parents in particular are in ill health.  My parents are already in a senior living facility, and I hope the people in charge there take all appropriate precautions to prevent spread of the virus, in which case they have a better than average shot at surviving.  The same cannot be said for my former in-laws.

This is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully) ordeal which will leave an indelible mark on those who survive it for the rest of their lives.  So I'm making use of the blog to chronicle events as much for my own sake as for the entertainment of any internet travelers who may trip over it.