Day 73

It's been 73 days since teleworking began. The first day was Friday, March 13. A week or so later, the governor ordered Marylanders to shelter-in-place. My office won't open for another month, at least. Even then, I will have a choice of teleworking. There will be strict rules for hygiene and social distancing. There won't be any group gatherings or face-to-face programming. Not much travel.  Same as working from home, but in an office.

So far, work has consisted mostly of Zoom webinars. There are frequent administrative meetings via Zoom. Colleagues and I have been doing weekly worm webinars (Tuesdays at noon) and bi-weekly Q&As (Fridays at noon). I have over 450 people registered for my online FAMACHA© certification. Covid 19 and teleworking has forced us all to learn new things quickly. Though I've always done a lot online, I've had to come up to speed on some things I wasn't too familiar with.

It's not bad hunkering down on a farm. I don't have to go anywhere to get exercise or enjoy the outdoors. Covid 19 got serious just as I was starting to lamb, so the timing was "good." Since every lambing season has its share of trials and tribulations, working at home made my life easier, especially when it came to feeding my bum lambs. Being able to work at home has also enabled me to take better care of Zak, who's experiencing many issues in his old age (15+). Crissy just likes having me around more.

A great place to hunker down

Mom and I haven't been out much. We get groceries via curb side pickup at Walmart. It's become a game to see which items are out-of-stock. It took us over two months to get toilet paper and paper towels. We've ordered pizza a few times and gone though one or two drive-thrus. I picked up meat twice at the local butcher shop. Once to get the lamb I had butchered. The second time to get pork and beef. Don't want to run out of bacon, do I? I have to go to the feed store every other week. I go to the vet to pick up what Zak needs. I've taken Mom on some drives. We've seen my sister twice. Mom's caregiver has come over a few times, but she'll be having surgery next week.

After two months of sheltering-in, the US economy is in shambles. Farms and businesses are devastated. Food animals have been euthanized, milk has been dumped, and produce has been discarded. While many people can work from home, many others can't and are out of work. There are record filings for unemployment. Business failures and bankruptcies are sure to follow. I've been afraid to look at my retirement or investment portfolio. I was planning to retire at the end of the year. Not sure what I'll do now. I've decided not to think about it for now.

The government is throwing money at everybody and everything. Unless you make too much money, everyone gets $1200, plus $500 for each child. Unemployment benefits are so good no one will want to go back to work. The president is being particularly generous with farmers, especially dairy farmers, who will get tens of thousands of dollars each. My sheep farm is eligible for a small payout, $7 for each animal under 2. There may be another round of payments. Don't know where all the money is coming from. Oh, it's just adding to our gazillion dollar debt.

This past Monday, things started opening up in Maryland. Mom got her hair done. I got mine cut. While many 2020 events have already been cancelled, others are holding onto the hope that they can hold them. Many fairs have been cancelled. The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival was cancelled, but held an online event that seemed to be successful. The Maryland State Fair is still going forward. 4-H programs are trying to find alternatives for youth with livestock projects. Who knows what's going to happen with sports in the coming months. The Washington Nationals get to be world champions for longer.

And it's all because of Covid 19, an infectious disease caused by a respiratory corona virus (SARS-CoV-2). The virus came from China. Surprise. It was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The Chinese probably could have prevented this worldwide pandemic, but they didn't. Surprise. No one knows the exact origin of the virus. They are trying to blame it on China's wildlife markets. They say it's a bat virus that was transmitted to people via another animal (pangolin). Of course, no one agrees and there are numerous conspiracy theories. We'll never know. I don't believe anything the Chinese government says. Don't know if I'd believe my own government either.

The Zoom kitty. Crissy likes webinars.

The numbers put out by the CDC are scary. As of today, there are almost 1.5 million cases and 96,000 people dead in the United States. More dead than from the Vietnam War, a comparison they like to make. Of course, the global stats are even more overwhelming. Italy has been one of the countries hardest hit, due to its aging population. While I don't believe the statistics are necessarily accurate, I do know that this is a serious thing. I know one person that was in critical care (on a ventilator) for a week. Thankfully, he survived. Who knows if he'll fully recover.

They say that it is an equal opportunity virus and can affect anyone. It is not. Most of the people that get seriously ill or die have risk factors. The primary risk factors are age, diabetes, heart disease, and lung issues. Anything that compromises your immunity makes you more susceptible. People that smoke and are obese are at greater risk for getting seriously ill from Covid 19. Stress is probably a risk factor, too. Most of the deaths occur in older people. Over 60. The older you are the more likely you are to die from Covid 19. There have been many outbreaks in nursing homes.  I am being extra vigilant at protecting my 90 year old mother. Fortunately, she doesn't have any other risk factors.

If you can believe the statistics, minority populations are particularly hard hit by the virus. Deaths among blacks and Hispanics are significantly higher than whites and Asians. Their percentage deaths are higher than their percentage of the population. It's complicated, but it's probably because they have more of the risk factors and less access to health care. Native American populations may be at risk for similar reasons. They have been criticized for instituting checkpoints on the roads entering their tribal lands to prevent the spread of Covid 19. I don't blame them. In the case of Hispanics, many of them are out there on the front lines doing the jobs that keep America going; thus, at greater risk for exposure.

While there are pockets of Covid 19 outbreaks in rural areas, this disease is striking hardest at our urban populations. It makes sense, as they live, work, and play so close to each other. High rise apartments, public transportation, busy streets, etc. People complain about animals being raised in close quarters, but have no problem living on top of each other in a city. New York City has a high and disproportionate portion of Covid 19 cases and deaths. Most of Maryland's cases are in PG and Montgomery counties. In some rural states and counties, Covid 19 is barely a blip on the radar. So glad I live in a rural area. One more of many, many reasons.