The current state of affairs with the Coronavirus has changed greatly over the past couple of days. It’s obvious that the threat of the virus spreading over large areas is causing extra steps of precaution to be taken.
On Friday of last week, it was announced that the local school systems were cancelling all plans for after-school and extracurricular activities. A workday on Friday the 13th and Monday the 16th were already a part of the schedule. A meeting for school faculties had been planned during the workday on Monday to discuss how classes would carry forward when the students returned on Tuesday.
Today, Saturday the 14th, the governor has announced that all schools in North Carolina will be closed until the end of the month. School system leaders will be in a video conference with the governor tomorrow afternoon and further information will be shared at that time.
Local businesses are also taking measure to ensure customer safety. At the local Barnes and Noble, many of the chairs and tables are being removed to ensure that cafe patrons are a safe distance apart from one another. All food and drink items are being dispensed in disposable containers.
I jokingly asked the Dollar General manager where I could find the toilet paper and she quickly replied that they didn’t have any. I assured her that I was just joking when I asked the question.
On a personal level, I will now have two weeks off from work (at least). I don’t know what, if any, modifications will be required of us for online, at-home instruction, if indeed that is even a viable option. I know for myself, I will need to make some sort of plan of action to make sure I use the time to its fullest extent. I did make a visit to the Dollar General tonight to pick up some food and other supplies.
So once again, things have escalated quickly. And who knows how much more extensive or how much longer these precautions will have to be in place. Definitely one for the books, to be shared for many generations to come.
David Lee
David Lee 