Like many people, I'm starting Week 2 of my unexpected Covid-19 layoff. I'm bored, lonely, and worried about the future. The good news is no one in my family or anyone I know, has gotten Covid-19.
I went to the grocery store over the weekend; a Kroger store. It was a glimpse of a new normal for everyone.
Entering the store, an employee was wiping down the handles of all the carts. I noticed in the store, most people were trying to maintain the 6-foot zone from each other. At the checkout lane, they kept you 6-feet back from the checkout. After each customer was done with the checkout, the next customer would wait while employees wipe down the checkout area. Then they would tell the next customer to enter the checkout.
This is a great system. Kroger is doing something that all stores need to do. It made me feel safe about going to this store.
This is our new normal. Hopefully, we are going back to work in the next month. We will all need to be extra careful and vigilant, doing the things we must do, to keep ourselves, and everyone else, safe from this virus.
I'm expecting this will be going on for a long time until there is a treatment or vaccine.
PS: I was pleasantly surprised to find the grocery store had recovered from the hoarding that occurred the previous week. There was bread, some meat, and even some pasta. Paper products were still unavailable though.
PPS: With my time off, I decided to clean the tile grout in my bathrooms. The cleaner is a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap. To my surprise, there was no hydrogen peroxide to be found in any store around me. It had all been hoarded.
Fortunately, it was easy to buy on-line. I'm paying about twice what I would normally pay for it, but it is still an inexpensive item.
I'm disappointed in people. It is probably a minority of people though. Just a few hoarders making it harder for everyone else.
PPPS: It is hard to pay attention to the important facts about Covid-19 with all the media noise out there. One of the best sites, succinct and concise (as my English teacher would say), is this one from the World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public