As we pushed our boys on the swings at the park, another mom and I casually exchanged our home-disinfecting strategies. We both recently discovered Clorox wipes, did a super wash of all our big blankets and comforters and are taking hand-washing to whole a new level.
Moms, along with basically everyone else in the world, are going a little mad these past few weeks due to the risks of the new coronavirus. Of course, it doesn’t help that I have CNN constantly playing on my computer, because each breaking news announcement makes me more fearful.
My son has also been sick for days with a terrible cough, sometimes to the point where he can’t sleep or breathe well. “Are we sure he doesn’t have coronavirus?” I ask his pediatrician. She reassures me that he just has a virus and then begins typing some notes — which I imagine reads something like, “Mom is overbearing and paranoid.”
Am I being dramatic? As of March 5, our school district of Hasting on Hudson in New York was the only one to shut down our schools for a couple days because a student’s parent was diagnosed with a confirmed case of the new coronavirus. The parent had to self-quarantine. Plus, an assistant teacher at my son’s preschool was asked not to come back to work for 10 days because she was at a school where a person who tested positive had visited.
Although, it seems like everyday more and more schools are deciding to close, and companies are asking employees to either not come into the office or work from home.
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On top of all of this, my mother, who is in her 80s, was just on a Regal Princess cruise that got docked in Fort Lauderdale until two crew members were tested for the virus. I’d been receiving texts from her about how she was waiting to get off the boat. Luckily, I finally got a text from her this evening saying that she is being allowed off the ship. Thank goodness!
I checked in with some other moms about the current state of affairs in their households. Here’s what they had to say:
Mom Marie says, “I’m angry. We are being told that shops will not be closed unless there is a confirmed case. But our doctors offices are refusing to test symptomatic people for COVID-19, even when they test negative for the flu. So how can we have confirmed cases with no tests?”
Other moms are more worried about mass hysteria hitting our economy and businesses as people are being quarantined — more so than about the virus itself.
In addition, racism toward Asian Americans has been more apparent the last few weeks, and people are having doubts about dining in Asian restaurants, since the virus originated in China.
But Asian establishments aren’t the only ones suffering from the fear from the virus. I escaped to our neighborhood Italian speakeasy last night with a friend, and the owner told me that the last three days have been the slowest it’s ever been. She looked worried.
Another mom texts in a group chat and says, “I just think it’s super important to not get caught up in irrational fears and misinformation. I was just listening to NPR and, as we all know, the absolute best thing we can do right now is wash our hands thoroughly and often, and use alcohol-based hand sanitizers often when water and soap are not available.”
Our local mayor recently sent out an email that read, “Please know that the risk of becoming infected remains low, and that most people who fall ill are likely to experience mild to moderate disease with full recovery. While it is important to be attentive and prepared, fear and panic are not helpful. The CDC encourages all of us to share facts, not fear.”
Over the weekend, I received another text from my son’s preschool alerting us to a low-level exposure — a parent had dinner with another parent who was exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus. Yes, I’m still still dizzy from all this, too. But I’m trying to stay positive. Here’s what I tell myself:
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