If only I had known in January what 2020 would hold!
Here’s a Top Forty list of stuff I wish I had known lay ahead.
Variations of this have been going around the internet for a few days. I copied and pasted a list that Tiffany Marie posted on April 2 and modified it.
Just so I NEVER forget….. April 4, 2020
- This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020
- NJ reported first coronavirus case March 4
- A total of 34,124 cases in NJ reported so far; 846 deaths
- Today, April 4: Coronavirus Outbreak’s Worst Day In NJ: 4,331 New Cases, 200 Die
- Coronavirus cases in and near Riverton: Beverly 4, Cinnaminson 6 (and 1 death), Delanco 4, Delran 17, Moorestown 21 (3 cleared from quarantine), Mount Laurel 31 (with 4 deaths and 1 cleared from quarantine), Palmyra 3, Riverside 6 (with 1 death), Riverton 9
- Gas price at Sam’s Club 1.99
- All 42 Burlington County school districts closed March 16 – April 17
- Social-distancing rules
- Tape on grocery stores floors help distance shoppers (6 ft) from each other
- Stores limit number of people inside stores creating queues outside
- Non-essential stores and businesses ordered closed
- Parks, trails, children’s outdoor play parks closed to the public
- All municipal court sessions suspended for two weeks; new jury trials halted indefinitely
- Entire sports seasons canceled
- Flags in NJ flying at half-mast until further notice
- Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events – canceled
- Weddings, family celebrations, religious services, holiday gatherings, funerals – canceled
- No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, now 10 or more
- Don’t socialize with anyone outside of your home
- State-wide stay at home order, effective March 21 at 9 p.m.
- Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for front-line workers
- Panic buying causes shortages of toilet paper, disinfecting supplies, paper towels, hand sanitizer
- NJ governor previously shut down malls, amusement parks, casinos, gyms, movie theaters, hair salons, spas, tattoo parlors, and other establishments
- Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer, and PPE
- Liquor store and firearm store sales are up
- Coronavirus lockdown has a staggering impact on the economy; unemployment up; jobs and stocks down
- US borders closed to all but essential travel
- Some 700 inmates released from county jails in NJ
- Sit-down restaurant service banned; pick-up and delivery allowed
- Stadiums, recreation facilities, tent hospitals, two hospital ships open up for the overflow of covid-19 patients
- Pop-up sites established for coronavirus testing
- NJ governor activates National Guard
- FBI seized, bought, and distributed to healthcare workers “hoarded” masks, gowns, and other equipment
- Daily press conferences by President and governors of PA, NY, and NJ
- Stimulus bills and government incentives to aid businesses and people
- People wear masks and gloves outside and shopping
- Medical field workers make up a disproportionate number of cases
- Americans count on essential workers who are risking their health
- Governors warn of dire ventilator shortages; Trump says some are playing ‘politics’; Trump tells Pence not to call ‘unappreciative’ governors
- Will President Trump’s late March approval bump last? Will the public accept his branding of journalists as “fake news” and “the enemy of the people”? Will voters think he is doing “a great job” in this crisis or blame him for mismanaging the outbreak play a part in the 2020 Presidential Election?
History will be the judge.
Why do I write this status? Because anyone in the future who hasn’t lived through this would not believe it.
Add to this list if you wish by adding remarks to the “Leave a comment” link below. -JMc
