Fighting an unseen enemy

 

The sign on a church in Grantsburg indicated there would be no services on Sunday.

It’s just one indicator of how local people are reacting to the pandemic known as the Coronavirus.

Cars on the streets of Grantsburg have significantly declined as the community as the State of Wisconsin, and the nation comes to grips with the most frightening unseen enemy to invade the United States.

On Saturday afternoon the usual traffic of people was not present in well-known auto stops in the community.

Coincidence, or precaution, there’s no doubt there’s local concern being felt in every corner of society

On Wednesday, neither Wisconsin nor Minnesota kids will be going to school for at least a week, and most likely longer.

The governors, Tony Evers of Wisconsin and Tim Walz of Minnesota, both announced they’ve called off school all across their states — all in response to a potential spread of the Coronavirus.

On Sunday, Minnesota was reporting 35 reported cases of the virus with one serious patient. Wisconsin reported 27 cases.

 

For everyone the Coronavirus is real, but the variety of reactions varies.

The population known as senior citizens, particularly those over 70, are tabbed as more susceptible to catching the virus due to a reduced immune system.

Many, like us, have extra supplies and are spending most of our time in our homes — where everyone from President Trump and his staff on down have recommended Americans “hunker down” in an effort to cut the spread of the virus.

On Sunday it was reported the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 150,000 people and killed more than 5,700 worldwide.

A call to my sister in Oregon indicated she was recovering well from female surgery this past week. However, there was sobering news. A dancer who attends sessions in many states, she had contact with a man in his 70s that was known to have contracted the Coronavirus. On Sunday, she indicated, “He’s become the first person in Oregon to die from the new Coronavirus.”

The Oregon Health Authority said the Multnomah County man was hospitalized at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center and died Saturday.

My sister told men the man had heart problems and the press release from the state of Oregon said, “The man, who had underlying health conditions, tested positive for COVID-19 on March 10. He had no known contact with a confirmed case and had not traveled to another country where the virus is circulating.”

The press release added, “This is a sobering reminder that this virus is in our community and can be serious for older people and those with underlying conditions,” said the Multnomah County Health Officer in Oregon.

The U.S. has seen 60 deaths and more than 2,100 cases.

Was my sister exposed? Not known at this time.

 

Personally, I was expecting to attend the Minnesota State Girls Basketball Tournament last weekend. My former town, Minneota, was back in the state trying to defend their state title.

But when word came on Wednesday that the NCAA had called off major tournaments, including March Madness and the national wrestling tournament in Minneapolis, I decided not to attend.

Minneota did play that game and won, 57-37 over Red Lake.

Friday morning word came that Minneota would play their second game but only 90 Minneota people would be allowed to attend.

Then, before game time, the entire tournament was called off followed by a complete shutdown of all Minnesota State High School athletics.

As a result, there will be no boys state basketball tournament.

It was a jolt to all the young athletes who have worked so hard to reach the pinnacle of high school athletics. But it was also an indicator of how serious the pandemic has become.

As an over-70 senior citizen, it’s been a roller coaster ride of emotions as our children, and even grandchildren have urged us to “stay home”.

One granddaughter even said, “Maybe grandma should come and stay with us.”

In North Carolina, living in a suburb of Raleigh, my son Josh has been told by his employer to work at home for three weeks. My grandsons, ages 12 and 13 are still going to school because it’s not been called off, at last report. But all extracurricular activities were suspended. Josh also said his church will be streaming services for two or three weeks.

I’m sure it’s the same for most people. Our lives are being affected in a variety of ways.

We didn’t go to church on Sunday but watched services on television. To some, this may seem drastic. But while we feel a little safer in small communities, this is a mobile society and our friends and acquaintances travel and we just can’t know who has been exposed.

A national expert on television just told us, “Hunker down.”

It’s bothersome to see people “ignoring” the situation and going about their lives as normal.

We need to join together to fight this virus with the hope we can all go back to normal someday.

If there’s one thing we know, it’s that Americans really do care about each other. Caring about ourselves and “doing the right thing,” means we are linking arms together, metaphorically, of course, to fight this unseen enemy.