March 20, 2020

I forgot in my previous entry, not sure how, but there are massive shortages of things like toilet paper in stores. It’s heavily talked about. There are plenty of questions like, “why is everyone hoarding toilet paper? It doesn’t make you have to poop.” Yeah … that’s true. But with it being in such short supply, I’m not going to fault anyone that buys two packages if they find it when they’d normally just buy one …

Today we had to take our smaller dog to the vet to get his bandage changed. We were surprised how many people are still out, seemingly living their life like nothing is different. Maybe I’ve overreacted some, but I tend to think it’s more a case of others not taking it seriously enough. It seems like Italy is often being used to show us what could happen here in the States. I guess there are still a lot of people that just think it’s like catching a normal flu.

After getting back with our dog, I ran to the grocery store (Short Pump Wegmans) to get a few things for us that we needed and to pick up some things my in-laws needed. I was again surprised by how many people were there shopping.

• There was still rationing of certain things going on (toilet paper, chicken, red meat, frozen vegetables, rice, etc). These sections that were being rationed had very low stock.
• Check-out lines were fairly long. You had to stay behind a line and wait for the cashier to call you up to check out. In between each customer checking out they would pause and spray down the register area and wipe it down.

They’ve been extending tax payment deadlines. Virginia is pushed out to June 1 so far. However, apparently interest will accrue, so they recommend paying on time if you’re able to do so.

Things like evictions, utility shut-off’s, etc have been stopped. I imagine this will leave people in a bad position when the halt is lifted, but I suppose it’s still better to not leave people without a home or utilities while going through this.

California has been ordered to stay at home, state-wide.

Those living in New York City have been told to stay inside as much as possible, facing a civil fine for violations. Though the Governor says that it is not a shelter-in-place order. Sure sounds like one though.