Covid 19: The Coronavirus

It is difficult to know where to start with  this post, but I think it is important to talk about this now, while it is happening. Sometimes, it is easy to see read about someone, like Nephi, and say, "Of course, he had faith, look what happened, because we have the advantage of reading or hearing the story after the trial of faith. With that in mind, let's consider this the first of the Corona virus updates. Who knows how many of these we'll need.

I can only think of one time in my life when all journalists (sports, news, politics, comedy), and I mean all, were covering the same thing. That happened on September 11, 2001. It was a tragic day, and it is a day I will never forget.

This is the second time when all eyes have turned to the same thing. However, I truly think this is different, because it is the whole world and it will be going for a while.

I started to take notice of the Coronavirus in mid-January. This is long before most people in the US. Over the next month as it progressed, I realized, that it was coming to the United States and that it would have a significant impact. The Coronavirus is a respiratory illness that can lead to fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Most cases are mild, but severe cases, typically those who are older or high risk health situations can lead to death. By mid-February the US started to see multiple cases and it became a story as US citizens oversees became infected. Cases increased over the next month. By March 8th or 9th, there started to be discussion about potentially playing NBA games without fans. However, it was not until Wednesday March 11 that the virus became something much bigger. That day the NCAA determined that March Madness would be played without fans. The NBA was deciding what to do. Then Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz got sick and was tested for the virus as a precaution. That night the Jazz and Thunder took the floor and were about to tip off when a doctor ran onto the floor and informed them they had to wait for the NBA approval to start the game. That approval never came. Rudy Gobert was diagnosed with Covid-19 and shortly after the NBA season was suspended. When I got that news, that was the moment that this got much bigger.

Over the next two days essentially all sporting events including March Madness were cancelled. School was cancelled for two weeks (not a huge deal for us because we homeschool), church and all church activities were cancelled. Any major event has been cancelled or postponed.

Temples are closed.  We have been encouraged to practice "social distancing" as much as possible. On Friday night we had previously scheduled a date night with some friends and enjoyed going to dinner with them. Garret and Karli are wonderful friends. Who knows when we will be able to go out again. 

I don't think I have had a conversation with anyone in the last week that was not about the Coronavirus. 

In truth, I don't know about bad this will be, but I sense it will be very bad for a long time. I don't think we'll be going to back to school or church for months. Already there are food shortages at the grocery store due to panicking people. Even bigger, the economy is going to slow to a halt. Almost all travel has stopped. Leisure and entertainment has stopped and as those workers lose out on paychecks, the economy will struggle. In truth, we are in the last days and these are the signs of the times. There is worry everywhere. 

For our family, I'm not worried about us getting the Coronavirus, most people younger than 60 with strong systems are not severely impacted. However, I worry for my Mom and Dad, because if they got it, it would be a worst case scenario. We are going to self-quarantine from them to avoid spreading the disease to them. 

With all the doubt and uncertainty, there is certainly stress. However, as we look to Christ and the gospel, we find peace. We have been authorized to prepare and bless the sacrament in our home tomorrow and I am excited to be able to use the priesthood authority to administer that sacred ordinance in our home. Our Prophet was inspired to prepare a home centered, church supported curriculum that will help us continue to provide gospel learning in our home for our children and ourselves. I know that God is there and he loves us. He knows what is happening. He sent a Savior to help heal the wounded heart, because we will face challenges and we will be wounded in this life. As we go through the uncertainty, we will try and rely on Christ. The last three days have been change every day, the situation is constantly changing and I expect more to come.