Our governor has imposed a 'Shelter in place' order, as have several other states' governors. It's likely nearly all of the states will do the same at some point. It's a means of resticting activities outside homes and businesses.
I have to confess that my first reaction to this news was a twinge of rebellion. I imagine I'm not the only one. Being Americans, we cherish our freedom. The first hint of anyone telling us we can't do something tends to make us want to stand up and shake our fists in defiance. But, seriously, this is necessary, we know it, and we actually have been waiting for it.
Here are the activities that we can still leave the house for:
Health and safety activities, such as obtaining emergency services or medical supplies.
Outdoor activities, such as walking, hiking, running, biking, hunting, or fishing.
Necessary supplies and services, such as groceries, gasoline, or carry-out.
Essential and interstate travel, such as returning to a home from outside this state.
Care of others, such as caring for a family member, friend, or pet in another household.
Displacement, such as moving between emergency shelters if you are without a home.
Relocation to ensure safety, such as relocating to a different location if your home has been unsafe
due to domestic violence, sanitation, or essential operations reasons.
Tribal activities and lands, such as activities by members within the boundaries of their tribal reservation.
And, of course, beyond that, there will be healthcare, law enforcement, first responders, emergency shelters, childcare centers, congregate living facilities, news media, energy, water, waste water and critical manufacturing.
So far, we are fortunate in that all of our children and their spouses can work remotely, except for one who falls into the 'critical manufacturing' catagory and one in college. She will be able to finish her semester online hopefully, although at this point, they don't have it up and running yet.
This is difficult for everyone, worse for some, easier for others. I work at home, so my only issues is adapting to having more people in the house than usual. My husband will not be able to work at remotely, but he always has plenty of projects on board.
The people that I worry about are the elderly, especially the ones that live alone. We have a busy, humming household. I can't magine being alone all day long now with all of these restrictions. If you have an elderly person in your neighborhood, give them a call, drop off a care package, let them know someone is thinking of them.
