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I have been living in Portland Oregon last few years. I saw it coming soon as it hit the news during the holidays. We talked about it, my wife went out to the Asian grocery and laid in some supplies including a couple big bags of rice. Good thing I like rice!
I am a member of the city's volunteer neighborhood emergency response team (NET) and did raise a concern up the chain of command. First week in march we saw the virus hit Washington State so we knew it was coming here. The city, county and state convened an emergency response on 3/12 and I volunteered during the setup of the command center. At that time there were fewer than ten cases in the state. They all took it pretty seriously city, county and state, and there was not a lot of politics involved (surprisingly). I took notes in meetings and typed them up - everything is being recorded. On the 13th we all watched the President's pre4ss conference where he first admitted there might be a problem. Everyone was waiting for some kind of leadership, but all we got was a dog-and-pony show where he introduced all these CEOs and said the situation was under control. With that we all knew we were on our own. The governor declared a state of emergency and closed the schools and parks right away, plus large gatherings of people. Then they decided to send the over-60 volunteers home. Oh well.
The next week the quarantine got tighter and by week two all non-essential businesses were locked down. People have been pretty much complying, at least in Portland. As of now the disease is manageable, with around 1100 cases statewide and 30 deaths. The whole idea was to slow down the rate of infection so everyone did not get sick at the same time. The state was able to lend 140 ventilators to New York City last week because we had some to spare.
So far it seems to be working. You can still buy groceries, utility service is uninterrupted, some people are driving. On the rare sunny days people have come out on the street, whole families. They all stay clear of each other. All the bars, restaurants, clubs, movie theaters, bookstores, etc are closed down except for take-out service. I ride down to the Laurelwood pub, wave at someone through the window. They come out and sell me a 32 oz. can of their IPA for $7.00. (They can it on the spot)
My wife is staying inside, writing her memoirs she says. I've been doing the errands also getting the garden in shape for the summer, playing the trumpet, writing, making bicycles a little. Supposedly the next 10 days will show us whether we have dodged the bullet.
If we had waited another week it would have been different I think. It was that week, March 8-13, that was make-or-break.
I am a member of the city's volunteer neighborhood emergency response team (NET) and did raise a concern up the chain of command. First week in march we saw the virus hit Washington State so we knew it was coming here. The city, county and state convened an emergency response on 3/12 and I volunteered during the setup of the command center. At that time there were fewer than ten cases in the state. They all took it pretty seriously city, county and state, and there was not a lot of politics involved (surprisingly). I took notes in meetings and typed them up - everything is being recorded. On the 13th we all watched the President's pre4ss conference where he first admitted there might be a problem. Everyone was waiting for some kind of leadership, but all we got was a dog-and-pony show where he introduced all these CEOs and said the situation was under control. With that we all knew we were on our own. The governor declared a state of emergency and closed the schools and parks right away, plus large gatherings of people. Then they decided to send the over-60 volunteers home. Oh well.
The next week the quarantine got tighter and by week two all non-essential businesses were locked down. People have been pretty much complying, at least in Portland. As of now the disease is manageable, with around 1100 cases statewide and 30 deaths. The whole idea was to slow down the rate of infection so everyone did not get sick at the same time. The state was able to lend 140 ventilators to New York City last week because we had some to spare.
So far it seems to be working. You can still buy groceries, utility service is uninterrupted, some people are driving. On the rare sunny days people have come out on the street, whole families. They all stay clear of each other. All the bars, restaurants, clubs, movie theaters, bookstores, etc are closed down except for take-out service. I ride down to the Laurelwood pub, wave at someone through the window. They come out and sell me a 32 oz. can of their IPA for $7.00. (They can it on the spot)
My wife is staying inside, writing her memoirs she says. I've been doing the errands also getting the garden in shape for the summer, playing the trumpet, writing, making bicycles a little. Supposedly the next 10 days will show us whether we have dodged the bullet.
If we had waited another week it would have been different I think. It was that week, March 8-13, that was make-or-break.
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