6 years since COVID… lest we forget.

[hardcorestitch]

Coronavirus.

The virus that cancelled Disney visits. The virus that cancelled nearly all sports and concerts. The virus that marred with school and college. The virus that killed innocent lives.

This month marks 6 years since the WHO declared a pandemic and sent the rest of 2020 to our homes and ONLY our homes. Disneyland wouldn’t be open for the rest of the year, even as Walt Disney World reopened months later.

This is the place to tell all… what were your highs and lows during those few months of lockdown?

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I remember our last day in school it was all hands on deck putting together packets of work to send home with the students. It was all hush-hush, but they just kept saying it was just in case we needed to cancel school for 2 weeks, there was talk that the governor was going to make an announcement about it but it never came that day, at least not during the school day. We were told to make sure we took our school-issued laptops home but were given no other info; the poor union reps didn't know anything either but everyone kept trying to get info from them.

Of course they canceled school for the following week and we were given no info at first but the news about the virus was terrifying and I remember feeling stir-crazy and for the first time in my life I managed to have every article of clothing in the household washed and put away in that first week. I never even managed that when I was a stay at home mom!

 

[3rd_time_the_charm]

I homeschooled my daughter and worked from home already so in many ways we were not in as much culture shock as others. It’s just amazing how quickly time passes to think it’s been six years!

 

[NannyBeBe]

The only good thing about COVID was the family time we had because schools were shut down and my daughters taught online at home. But it was not easy for them and they still feel that the schools should not have been closed.
The worst part was the fear that if we got COVID we would die, which of course was not true.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Never! My hairdresser and I were discussing March2020 just a few days ago. I can tell you exact days of this and that because shortly before shutdown I dealt with the death of a friend, her memorial service, my cracked tooth and getting into the dentist as the last patient.... and so much more. WE all have our stories!

 

[GAN]

The only good thing about COVID was the family time we had because schools were shut down and my daughters taught online at home. But it was not easy for them and they still feel that the schools should not have been closed.
The worst part was the fear that if we got COVID we would die, which of course was not true.

.....annnnnnddddd we're off!

 

[hardcorestitch]

I homeschooled my daughter and worked from home already so in many ways we were not in as much culture shock as others. It’s just amazing how quickly time passes to think it’s been six years!

So unfortunate that we were all homeschooled… I was actually in my senior year in HS… went from spending lunch on my trusty bean bag chair to being stuck at home…

 

[TippyThomas]

I lived a pretty solitary life before Covid and I still live a pretty solitary life after. I say that because the changes really didn't cause me the same issues as I saw others experiencing. I hated seeing people struggling so much and was pretty thankful that my simple life seemed to work out in my favor for once.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

The only good thing about COVID was the family time we had because schools were shut down and my daughters taught online at home. But it was not easy for them and they still feel that the schools should not have been closed.
The worst part was the fear that if we got COVID we would die, which of course was not true.

I am glad that was the case for you. My youngest sons best friend's dad was one of the first people in the Louisville metropolitan area that died of Covid. He spent several days in the ICU before passing away. He lost his dad when he was 11 years old. It has been very difficult on him and his brother.

 

[GAN]

I am glad that was the case for you. My youngest sons best friend's dad was one of the first people in the Louisville metropolitan area that died of Covid. He spent several days in the ICU before passing away. He lost his dad when he was 11 years old. It has been very difficult on him and his brother.

I had three friends who died FROM COVID -50's 60's 70's.... all perfectly healthy lives. So, when someone tells me that people didn't die from Covid it really rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Allison]

The only good thing about COVID was the family time we had because schools were shut down and my daughters taught online at home. But it was not easy for them and they still feel that the schools should not have been closed.
The worst part was the fear that if we got COVID we would die, which of course was not true.

Really? Because my father died from Covid.

 

[pezgirlroy]

The only good thing about COVID was the family time we had because schools were shut down and my daughters taught online at home. But it was not easy for them and they still feel that the schools should not have been closed.
The worst part was the fear that if we got COVID we would die, which of course was not true.

Just a reminder that many people did in fact die due to COVID.

 

[AppleDumpling]

The worst part was the fear that if we got COVID we would die, which of course was not true.

Like others here, I personally knew several people who died. They were friends and valued members of my community. Covid took the lives of 1.2 million Americans, and over 7 million worldwide. I’m sorry, but your comment is very insensitive.

 

[NannyBeBe]

Like others here, I personally knew several people who died. They were friends and valued members of my community. Covid took the lives of 1.2 million Americans, and over 7 million worldwide. I’m sorry, but your comment is very insensitive.

I certainly did not mean it to be insensitive. I only meant that the pandemic instilled such fear into us that we were afraid to even go outdoors. I apologize to anyone I offended.

 

[Nayan]

I certainly did not mean it to be insensitive. I only meant that the pandemic instilled such fear into us that we were afraid to even go outdoors.

With good reason. I'm not sure how old you are, but I grew up when AIDS was starting to take hold. There were print ads encouraging people to wear masks to protect themselves. Why? Because we hardly knew anything about it, how it was actually spread, etc. until much later. Same thing with Covid. We had no idea except very healthy people were dying very quickly. My son lost four friends, all athletic and no underlying conditions in a matter of three weeks due to it. For you to claim people weren't going to die due to it is a huge slap in the face for those of us who lost people and so disrespectful...I can't even.

 

[barkley]

fears were already low key circulating in our community well ahead of the official declarations. in late January of 2020 our state had the first diagnosed case in the u.s. but what informally put our region 'on notice' was in february was the local news reported that the cdc/usdhs and other fed agencies were co-ordinating transporting via a California military base through our local airport's private secured terminal 4 confirmed cases to a local hospital (one of 10 hospitals in the country with secured airborne infection isolation rooms). it was surreal watching the local news-civilians being transported by the military through a base? secured private terminal arrival? this was identical to a highly publicized event a couple of years earlier when that hospital was used as a site to do a simulated ebola response-same tarmac, same motorcade, same security, hazmat suits... it was...scary.

it's difficult for me to think of any 'highs' about the official shutdowns but in hindsight it did bring to attention the absence/lack of reliable internet to many of our even not so rural areas. the schools initially thought they could flip the switch to remote learning until they realized that years of student/parent reports that homework which required internet access was near impossible due to these issues not being (as the districts had claimed) 'just baseless excuses not to do homework' when they had to dispatch mobile units with internet just to communicate assignments (forget about zoom classes). there have been some great inroads made in this respect (thank you starlink).

 

[Lumpy1106]

Best thing about COVID - our 2020 trip to a nearly vacant WDW - it was glorious! Returning to a dystopian, shut-down CA was jarring.
Worst thing - school shutdowns that spiraled my HS aged kid into a depression that she has not really recovered from.

 

[barkley]

With good reason. I'm not sure how old you are, but I grew up when AIDS was starting to take hold. There were print ads encouraging people to wear masks to protect themselves. Why? Because we hardly knew anything about it, how it was actually spread, etc. until much later. Same thing with Covid. We had no idea except very healthy people were dying very quickly. My son lost four friends, all athletic and no underlying conditions in a matter of three weeks due to it. For you to claim people weren't going to die due to it is a huge slap in the face for those of us who lost people and so disrespectful...I can't even.

I thought of that period of time SO MUCH during lockdown. I was attending college in the San Francisco bay area before the public knew about AIDS and I remember one of my professors talking about something happening within his community of friends-'i've had to attend too many funerals over the past few months, suddenly my friends are dying, something is going on'

 

[tvguy]

It will be with us the rest of our lives. The memorial presentation for my 50th High School reunion had a separate presentation just for classmates known to have died from covid with an acknowledgement that others who passed in that time frame may also have died from covid.
The deaths are the biggest part of my memory of that time frame. Yes, I worked from home because of covid, and put off my retirement because that was the best work situation I had of my entire career. My wife and daughter still had to go into the office.
Yes, there were some product shortages and changes in our routine, but that was minor inconvenience in the big picture.

 

[VGCgroupie]

We were in Disneyland the week before the historic closing. Came home and nobody got sick. Actually we didn't get Covid until 2024.