So how are you all doing? What is going on in your community? Here is what has been going on with me.

Schools:
I'm in the US and at 8pm yesterday, my daughter's school district said it was staying open. By 11pm, school was cancelled for today. Then by 3, school was cancelled for two weeks. By 5, it's closed until 12 April. The school will be open on Monday for her to pick up some of her things, so I will take her to get her writing notebook and the book she was reading. Hopefully her teacher will email us with instructions - they had already planned on closing Monday to work on 'distance learning' preparations, but this all happened so suddenly... And my daughter loves her teacher and friends, so I'm sure this is going to be hard. The major PTA fundraiser for the schoolyear is postponed until early June, but I still wonder if we won't be through with this all by then. I'm running the school's silent auction right now, but don't have control over the social media and I want to push out messages once a day about it to get people to shift some of their donating there, but...

Work:
Many workers who can work from home are trying to. Others are still working or working on modified schedules so we're not all together. I don't think the government has figured out that its workforce doesn't have enough leave to cover the days without childcare. I'm pretty lucky: my husband can work from home, but other places daycares have closed and if he didn't stay home, my in-laws, who are elderly, would have to watch the kids.

Shopping:
I polled my area today to see how grocery stores are. Many are well-stocked, although apparently people think they will have diarrhea because there's rarely toilet paper to be found. I hadn't gotten a chance to get groceries, so I went online and couldn't schedule a food delivery for two days. I did Whole Foods via Amazon because I figured that had the best chance of having items in stock, but I also get a produce box that contains some other items and filled that up as well, just in case my Whole Foods delivery didn't all arrive. I also called my in-laws when I left work today and offered to grocery shop, but they didn't take me up on my offer. Instead I picked up my mother-in-law and we went grocery shopping together. We were amazed that people seemed to want dates and cheese, and the toilet paper aisle was empty, and peanut butter and frozen vegetables were low, but everything else you wanted was there. (And they just got a delivery of frozen vegetables and within an hour someone else reported they had put out some toilet paper.)

Homefront:
I have a 9 and 4 year old. They tend to pick at each other (as in, not leaving the other alone). When I got home, they were pretty energetic so I ended up taking them to a playground. I'm not sure if I should have or not, but we all used hand sanitizer when we were leaving and I made sure my 4 year old didn't touch his face. I will try to do walks or bike rides in the future, but my 9 year old didn't want to and they *needed* to get outside. There weren't many people at the park (except on the skateboard area), and everyone seemed to keep their distance...

Prepping for the future:
I already bought some art supplies for my daughter and two Lego vehicles for my son, but seeing that school was closed for a month now, I ordered a math workbook and two history books. I still have to work, but I figure it will give her something to do. I also told her she could make something for her teacher when they all got back to school. My son goes to Montessori school, but his school is closed until 27 March (as of now), but I'm not worried as much about him. I just hope this break doesn't make the next school year hard because my daughter had such a disruption.

Morale:
I vacillate between being ok and if we just stay quiet, it will blow over and full-blown panic. I hear so much conflicting news about how bad it is (or isn't) or how bad it will get or not. I don't know what's right or what. I feel for the people cooped up in apartments who can't find a place alone in the house - my kids have a yard and bikes and even still, I needed to get them out to the neighborhood playground for a little bit. I just want clear guidance: Do this, don't do that. And there's so much conflicting information out there from what seems to be knowledgable people.

I'm in Silicon Valley and all the schools, museums, and entertainment venues are closing starting today for at least the next three weeks. Most people are working from home, restaurants are empty, and Costco has long lines. Stay safe, everyone, and flatten the curve!

In Belgium it's like war. Musea, movie theatres, sport clubs are shut until April 3. All sporting events and most cultural events have been cancelled.

Most shops have to close down in the weekend: only pharmacies and food shops (including the supermarkets) may open on Saturday or Sunday. But furniture shops, clothing shops, book shops, electro shops... have to close in the weekends.

Pubs, restaurants and dancings have to close at midnight. Why they may accommodate people during daytime is not explained by the government.

Schools close down, except or the younger kids who otherwise would have to stay with their grandparents.

In several banks the personnel is divided in two: half of the staff works on the main site, while the other half has to do homeworking. And at the turn of the week, the roles are reversed.

Those are some good ideas, particularly the split groups working and schools for the younger kids staying open to minimize the effect on the elderly.

First of all, I was so glad to see a forum post started for this. It's been sad to see our forum here drop so much activity over the past few years ~ many of our topics haven't had a post in months or longer. But I think this will be a good place to discuss how things are going as time goes on with this virus, as our members here are from all over the world. So, thank you ladymacb29 for starting this thread!

As for me, I'm in East Tennessee. We have 32 confirmed cases in the state, but none in my county yet.

Some of the school districts have announced closure and some have not. Most of them are heading into spring break, so the districts have some time to make more decisions. We'll see what happens.

I'm not sure how many people are working from home. I work at an animal sanctuary so cannot work from home, but I'm there alone, so I can drive straight there and back without encountering anyone. I'm being much more cautious about hygiene and such, not knowing about what the other employees may be carrying. Hubs owns a remodeling service so he can't work from home either, but I'm grateful that he doesn't have the kind of job where he encounters lots of people.

As for shopping, I started weeks ago slowly buying extra stuff (based on what I saw happening in other countries) ~ not so much because I was worried that the stores would run out of food, but because it allowed us to avoid going to the store as much as possible. I was aiming to have a month's worth of food, pet food, and supplies and although it's hard to judge, I think we're about there. Still, I keep remembering other things that I forgot (e.g., toothpaste), so there will be at least one more shopping foray in my future. When I shopped a couple of days ago, our store was completely out of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, rubbing alcohol, rice, and dried beans. Canned and frozen foods were hit pretty hard but most were still available. More does come in, though, so it's not dire, but those items disappear very fast and I'm glad that I already bought them. I do not expect to be able to get any food delivery services if needed ~ I can't even get pizza delivered to my house ~ so unless that changes all food will have to be purchased in person.

My plan is to go out as little as possible and only for necessities. Certainly no movie theaters, restaurants, or non-food shopping. My feeling here is that people ran out to buy necessities, but haven't altered their lives in any other ways. There are still just as many cars on the road and parking lots seem to be just as full. That may change over this weekend. I think what they found in Italy was that people wouldn't stop going out until they were forced to. I hope it doesn't have to come to that here.

The unknown is the most worrisome part, because nobody knows what will happen. I've paid a lot of attention to China, South Korea, and Italy hoping to be able to see what's next and prepare for it. Our society in the US is more like Europe's than like the other two, and the death rate in Italy right now is staggering. Instead of thinking about surviving this virus, my mindset is on not getting the virus in the first place! I worry about what will happen to our pets if we both get sick and are hospitalized. We have one adult daughter in the area, but no other adult family members who are not elderly. My father is 82 with plenty of health conditions, and I worry about him the most. He and my stepmother cut their vacation short and came home today. She plans to make one shopping run and then they will both stay at home.

It was interesting to hear news from Belgium, and rather curious that so many businesses have remained open but with limited hours. I would be interested to know the reasoning behind this. Thank you JanIQ for the update, and I hope you'll continue to know what's happening in your country.

I did some shopping yesterday. The racks did not show any shortage yet (apart from milk cartons), but I noticed there were at least twice as many shop employees busy with refilling the racks, compared to last year.

Ghost town here. Nothing open except pharmacies and supermarkets. We are supposed to self isolate and stand no closer than 1 meter away from anyone when possible. All autopistas from Madrid closed and maybe Barcelona soon. I have done a little shopping for a neighbour who does not drive. Not much panic buying that I have noticed.

Life is still mostly normal out here in the more rural areas of Germany. It's a quiet place anyway and most people spend the majority of their free time working on house and garden or enjoying nature and quiet anyway. So apart from a bit less activity on the roads, almost normal.

Stores are still stocked okay, with the exception of toilet paper which can run somewhat low. That's now become a self-sustaining trend - even those who would normally not hoard TP will now grab an extra pack or two just to make sure they can, if necessary, make it an extra week or two in case they should find empty shelves on a shopping trip. I am seeing no panic purchases although most people tend to have full carts - but that's mostly about reducing the number of times one has to go out to shop; the average is to try and get away with once per two weeks, which also means stores are not busy and infection chance is kept low.

So far there's no talk about closing down "nonessential" stores and I hope they will keep it that way at least for stuff like DIY stores, toys and hobby/craft stores. If people can keep getting supplies to keep themselves busy at home, it's best for everyone.

In the cities it looks different - with practically all entertainment venues closed and very little to do, there's bound to be problems sooner or later. People will only live off Netflix for so long before they get bored (internet usage has peaked to 20% above historical maximum already).

My husband thinks people here will last a week then forget it. People are now talking about there might be a mandatory 2 week quarantine. I don't understand how Italy's number of cases jumped so quickly, despite them being quarantined for so long already.

It's the not knowing that is the hardest. If I just knew one way or the other it would be easier.

Went to Wal-Mart earlier and the entire paper towel and tp section was completely empty. So were the paper plates and soups.

We did have somebody test positive who was a passenger on the train that stops right near my house. But I'm not really worried about getting it.

Confirmed cases are anywhere between a few days and weeks behind the actual infections. Not only do you have an incubation time before someone tests positive, you also have the time the tests themselves take (two days usually) and, most importantly, the question of how many tests are even applied.

If you look at the death rates in various countries with comparable medical systems, you can get a rough impression of how thorough testing is.

Germany has 5000 cases and around 10 deaths.
Italy has 20,000 cases and over 1000 deaths.

The difference between 0.2% and 5% is partially due to demographics (the high number of early elderly cases in Italy) - but it also points to Germany having a higher reporting rate than Italy. Realistically, the case count in Italy is much higher than those 20,000 and they may just be catching up on testing.

Holing up in Toronto right now. It's better to overreact than underreact, so I'm getting used to the likelihood of getting it considering up to 70% of everyone of people might. I genuinely want there to be a stricter quarantine here.

If at all possible, quarantine should the strictest people can live with, because this is, in the end, the main determinant for how long this will take.

Assuming 4,000 cases to start with in a country, math says that:

if each infected person infects only 0.1 other persons (only 1 in 10 infects one other person) we're looking at two months. The measures needed to achieve this will likely be completely unbearable however.

if each infected infects 0.25 others, we're looking at three months. This seems more realistic with good isolation.

if each infected infects 0.5 others, we're in for six months.

if each infected infects 0.71 others, it'll last a year.

if each infected infects 0.9 others, we're getting to three years.

and if each infected infects 1.01 others or more... well, we're going to see everyone catch it and the question is only how badly the medical system and the economy will be affected by it.

So, while this is only math and reality is not as clearly calculated, the clear message from this is that we want and need the best isolation we can bear for somewhere between three to six months, to keep it somewhere in that 0.25 to 0.5 interval. And in the meantime, all those people whose ability to support themselves is impacted and those companies we'll need to continue life will need to somehow make it.

This is a momentous task, but the alternatives are way worse. Even measures that would only achieve the 0.9 factor will still drastically affect life - and for a much longer time.

And we need to remember that while these restrictions seem scary, they are actually the safe and careful approach. What would be REALLY scary would be to try to get on with life as usual - that's where the danger would lie.

Absolutely this. Medical professionals out there are actually suggesting more severe options to curb this. The least we can do is try our best to meet what's put in front of us.

Two grocery stores here in northern Virginia have cut their hours to do deeper disinfecting, Harris Teeter is closing at 9pm nightly instead of midnight, and Publix at 8pm, instead of 10pm. Some Walmart locations are closing overnight as until this blows over (Manassas Mall's is one in particular), only opening from 6am until 11pm. As far as Giant, Food Lion, and Weis, I've not heard about them closing early. My mom told me that places are closing early in north Texas as well.

Sounds like Governor Northam has extended the length of school closings, because I'd heard just two weeks. Several school districts in north Texas are on spring break this week anyway, but have had that extended another week, plus the STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) test has been cancelled for this school year.

My workplace hasn't closed their doors as yet, but I'm sure the sales and traffic are reduced to what the normals are.

The number of cases in Italy jumped up because of the people who got infected before drastic measures were enforced. Now it seems there might be a slowdown in the infection rate (based on yesterday's update), but it will still take some time before some real results show. Unfortunately, Italy is a very densely populated country, and those northern regions even more so than the rest. The high percentage of people over 65 has made matters worse. Anyway, after a few days spent in trying to lay the blame on someone, most experts agree that it was a case of massive bad luck.

As some of you may have gathered, I am Italian by birth, though I've been living in the US for the past 11 years and counting. I was due to travel to Rome for Easter, but obviously this is not going to happen. My closest family (my brother and his own family) are there, as well as some friends. Thankfully everyone is OK so far, but I am very worried about them.

It's interesting to have a firsthand account of how this is being managed in various countries and states.

I'm in North-West France, and our restrictions are being ramped up from midday today. Since yesterday I'm working from home as are as many as possible of my colleagues. Yesterday our IT section deployed remote access to the company servers for the whole of the workforce, not just management level, to facilite home-working for a maximum of us.

My youngster's work-experience has been cancelled as the establishment he was in has closed until the restrictions are lifted (restaurant), my older lad's uni has closed and he is being Skype-schooled since yesterday. Husband works independently and found himself in the south of France on Saturday night when the President announced that all non-essentiel establishments, bars, restaurants and shops were to close. He had to travel home on Sunday. All entertainment venues are closed, public gatherings are forbidden. Family and friend gatherings are also forbidden, and we now are not allowed out on the streets without a permit justifying the need to be out. Shopping for food and getting medical care is permitted, as is going out for sport (run, jog, walk) so long as it's not in a group, is close to home, and that people respect the safety distance (1-2m). These measures are in place for the next 2 weeks at present.

My daughter went to our local mini market this morning, but it was pretty emptied out of supplies. The newspapers announced that Sunday morning the larger supermarkets were inundated, that queues were extremely long, and that dried goods, tinned and canned provisions, cleansing products and hygiene products were clearing from the shelves quicker than they could be restocked. However the supply chain is guaranteed, and there will be no shortages.

Will it be enough to slow the spread of this virus and ease the load on emergency care? Hopefully.

I live in Michigan and they have shut down almost everything. This is freaky. They are saying not to leave your house for anything but essentials. We have an NBA player in MI with the coronavirus too. This is crazy. It is like one big nightmare.

We are all confined inside our homes, all stores are closed, except for grocery stores and drugstores. Schools, airports, theaters, athletic centers, playgrounds, cafes, restaurants, retail stores, the whole shebang is fermé. This is my 6th day inside, I can't say I have felt it so far, except for the fact that I wear sweatpants and a hoodie throughout the day until I change into my pajamas. Thankfully I have my work on my computer, I try to stick to a schedule and keep busy.
At night, I have netflix and music and books. I video-chat with friends and my daughter. I spend a lot of time with Tiye, he probably knows something strange is going on since I never leave him anymore! He is by my side the whole time.
Soon I will start catching up with my quizzes, I owe a couple for challenges and then AinA and Tric, etc. Also, a few single q's.
This, too, shall pass! And a whole new way of life will be our new routine, nothing will be the same!
O tempora, o mores!

The situation changes by day here in Virginia. Now we are sending 1/3 of our coworkers home at any given time. Yesterday they said we would do two shifts a day, half on and then half off, but that lasted two hours before they changed to three shifts (one per week), so you're on for one week then off the next two, effectively quarantining yourself until you come back to work. Already I know of three units at work that are quarantined because they had contact with someone who was positive so that means more work for us. We were told only to work on emergency work, but even today I managed to complete most everything I set out to.

We already heard another section is now at home with just their cell phones, so I wonder if it's only a matter of time and I should have hedged my bet and volunteered for week 3 instead of week 1?

My friend in Washington state is saying it's getting hard to even get delivery of food, so I'm wondering if I should go out and get toilet paper now. I'm not used to having four people at home 24/7 and am not sure how much we need. Worst case scenario, we have showers in 3 of the 4 bathrooms...

There are stores you can't find it in around here...so you might have to go to several locations to find it. I can tell you Costco in Sterling is out, so that'll save you one location from looking. I was at two Walmart's in Manassas the other day, as well as Chantilly's, and they were out then also...that might not be the case today though.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/03/16/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia-updates/

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local...update/2243897/

Both DC and Maryland have required restaurants to do takeout or delivery only...but Virginia has not required that as yet.

The area where my brother-in-law and sister-in-law live has had several positive cases, and Gov. Northam has banned anything that would have 100 or more people for the time being.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local...region/2241812/

Well I live on a tiny island, I can drive from one side to the other in less than half an hour, and that is with traffic. The island is 9 miles by 5 miles.

We have a very weak Chief Minister, here unlike our sister island of Guernsey who has a very strong CM. The two governments have taken a different stance, and for the first time ever I am almost wishing that I lived on the other island.

A few days ago we had a direct flight in from Tenerife and all the passengers (all residents here) were told to self isolate for 14 days, even as they were being told this at the airport you could hear some people saying 'No chance'. Some of these people have been spotted out and about. Only people from mainland Europe and Eurasia are required to self isolate and it is not enforced. Guernsey on the other hand has said that anyone coming into the island from anywhere must self isolate for 14 days and they have emergency powers to detain them if they do not comply.

As for food and supplies, apart from a very small amount of food, typically milk, some bread (but not much), some vegetables and fish everything is shipped in. It gets pretty bad if we have rough weather for a few days but fortunately the weather is good, we just have the morons stripping the shelves as fast as they can be filled. Loo paper and kitchen paper, plenty be had, or would be, if people didn't panic buy. Pasta, tins, shelves stripped. Paracetamol, anti bacterial wipes and gel, gone.

I refuse to panic buy, I had gradually filled my larder etc with a few additional bits when there was speculation several months ago about Brexit and how our supply line might be temporarily disrupted. As I open a packet, let us say flour, then I replaced it. I really need just fresh food.

Almost all flights have ceased and the ferries are stopping too for a while. They are supposed to be maintaining twice daily flights so that people having medical treatment in the UK can get back and forth.

For those who rent their homes, the rents are high, I cannot see all of these people staying home when unwell as they have to work to earn money in order to live. Many of these people are from EU countries which are in lockdown so they cannot return to their home countries.

Now if anyone knows where I can get some wipes and hand gel from then thanks, all I have are some vinyl gloves which went out of date many years ago (but not perished) and some surface spray. I do have non-alcohol baby wipes for my craft, that is not a lot of use.

Some good news from this ghastly situation, locally for islanders here. My ISP has announced that for the short term they are switching over every user to 1GB speed for free. That will certainly benefit people like myself who are on the basic cheapest package. I just hope that they increase our monthly allowance, now that would be most welcome as I don't have much, I cannot watch films for instance, just browse and do emails, plus a little bit of youtube at present.