In Marrakech airport
During our stay in Morocco, one of the emails we received from the US Embassy asked us to register with the embassy so they could contact us. They also asked us to indicate if we were at high risk for COVID-19. After looking at each other for a minute, we realized we are at high risk by our age. Although the embassy did little to help in the end, it did change how we think about ourselves.
Since coming home, our “high risk” designation has been reinforced. Every communication in the media emphasizes that we should take extra precautions. Food stores are creating “senior hours” where we can shop when there are fewer people in the store. One of our friends, however, warned us that lines form outside before the stores open, but we have not
encountered lines.
Being considered high risk comes as a shock. We are used to thinking of ourselves as healthy. After all, we lead active lives. We exercise daily and travel to exotic places like Morocco. Yet there it is—high risk. The label conveys in a very tangible way the consequences of our age. But we are adapting. Gyms are closed so we take 3 walks a day around our community. Lots of our neighbors, young and old, are out, too, and we all say hello but keep the appropriate social distance. We restrict our trips to stores to a minimum.
\We discovered an unexpected treasure the other day, discovering that we could buy tissues and 4 rolls of toilet paper at our local pharmacy. Who knew that buying toilet paper could be exciting? We have decided it is important to help our neighborhood restaurants during the crisis by ordering take out on a regular basis. On Monday, it was soup dumplings and pot stickers from Everyday Noodles. Then, it was croissants and sandwiches from La Gourmandine Bakery. Next, some excellent Thai food from Silk Elephant. This really seems “win-win.”
The hardest thing about being high risk is not visiting our two grandchildren who live here. Our daughter-in-law is a pediatrician who works in a hospital and could be exposed to the virus. As “high risk” people, we need to avoid any place we might pick up the virus. So far, we are doing Face Time, and hoping for a quick resolution, though we suspect COVID-19 will be around for a while.
We would feel better about the situation if the government had an organized approach to the
crisis. Our governor has taken positive steps but the federal government has dropped the ball on marshalling resources needed for medical care and protecting people from the virus.
There are people who see the whole picture and know what we need to do, such as Anthony Fauci and Ezekial Emanual, who wrote a terrific column the other day (see the link below).
We received a terrific video from our friend, Elia. The video was made by Dr. David Price, a
pulmonary specialist at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Weill, who has been providing care to the COVID-19 patients in his hospital, discusses how the virus is transmitted and how the steps he proposes will reduce risk. He also discusses what to do if you begin developing symptoms. We highly recommend the video and have provided a link. It made us feel that maybe we are not at such high risk after all. Of course, in light of new information in the past week, some of what Dr. Price says has to be modified (the part about aerosols). And now we are wearing face masks whenever we go out.
There was also an excellent editorial in the NY Times by James Baker that lays out the steps that need to be taken to lead us out of this.
Link to Dr. Price’s video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxyH1rkuLaw
Link to the column by Ezekial Emanuel:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/opinion/contributors/us-coronavirus-
response.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Link to the James Baker editorial:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/opinion/defense-protection-act-covid.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
Since coming home, our “high risk” designation has been reinforced. Every communication in the media emphasizes that we should take extra precautions. Food stores are creating “senior hours” where we can shop when there are fewer people in the store. One of our friends, however, warned us that lines form outside before the stores open, but we have not
encountered lines.
Being considered high risk comes as a shock. We are used to thinking of ourselves as healthy. After all, we lead active lives. We exercise daily and travel to exotic places like Morocco. Yet there it is—high risk. The label conveys in a very tangible way the consequences of our age. But we are adapting. Gyms are closed so we take 3 walks a day around our community. Lots of our neighbors, young and old, are out, too, and we all say hello but keep the appropriate social distance. We restrict our trips to stores to a minimum.
\We discovered an unexpected treasure the other day, discovering that we could buy tissues and 4 rolls of toilet paper at our local pharmacy. Who knew that buying toilet paper could be exciting? We have decided it is important to help our neighborhood restaurants during the crisis by ordering take out on a regular basis. On Monday, it was soup dumplings and pot stickers from Everyday Noodles. Then, it was croissants and sandwiches from La Gourmandine Bakery. Next, some excellent Thai food from Silk Elephant. This really seems “win-win.”
The hardest thing about being high risk is not visiting our two grandchildren who live here. Our daughter-in-law is a pediatrician who works in a hospital and could be exposed to the virus. As “high risk” people, we need to avoid any place we might pick up the virus. So far, we are doing Face Time, and hoping for a quick resolution, though we suspect COVID-19 will be around for a while.
We would feel better about the situation if the government had an organized approach to the
crisis. Our governor has taken positive steps but the federal government has dropped the ball on marshalling resources needed for medical care and protecting people from the virus.
There are people who see the whole picture and know what we need to do, such as Anthony Fauci and Ezekial Emanual, who wrote a terrific column the other day (see the link below).
We received a terrific video from our friend, Elia. The video was made by Dr. David Price, a
pulmonary specialist at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Weill, who has been providing care to the COVID-19 patients in his hospital, discusses how the virus is transmitted and how the steps he proposes will reduce risk. He also discusses what to do if you begin developing symptoms. We highly recommend the video and have provided a link. It made us feel that maybe we are not at such high risk after all. Of course, in light of new information in the past week, some of what Dr. Price says has to be modified (the part about aerosols). And now we are wearing face masks whenever we go out.
There was also an excellent editorial in the NY Times by James Baker that lays out the steps that need to be taken to lead us out of this.
Link to Dr. Price’s video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxyH1rkuLaw
Link to the column by Ezekial Emanuel:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/opinion/contributors/us-coronavirus-
response.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Link to the James Baker editorial:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/opinion/defense-protection-act-covid.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
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