” Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”-Victor Hugo

We can begin to see the glimmer of first light before the dawn. Some countries are beginning to let their people go back to work. We have not finished with this epidemic as yet in the US and people are still suffering from it. We are still having many deaths. But I have read the number of cases have started to decrease in many places around the country. So there is hope that we are seeing the beginning of the end.

My state of California is actively planning for the time when we will be able to end our quarantine.  It may not happen for a few months yet. Some states will not be ready at the same time if their infection rates are peaking later. But eventually we will all be ready. We are not sure here in California what this will look like at first. People will probably wear masks in public places and no large gatherings.

From LA Times 4/15/2020:

Easing California’s lockdown

The governor said the stay-at-home mandate can be altered only when the state is able to:
Closely monitor and track potential cases.
Prevent infection of high-risk people.
Prepare hospitals to handle surges.
Develop therapeutics to meet demand.
Ensure schools, businesses and child-care facilities can support social distancing.
Develop guidelines for when to ask Californians to stay home again, if necessary.

I find myself upset by the thought of this changed life and that we could be asked to stay home again. People don’t like change in general and we have been going through major change. I don’t want fear to be in control of my life, however. I must find a way to live with all that may be coming and be able to find peace in my life each day.

While saying this I remember that there are people who had to continue to work during the epidemic and provide critical and essentially needed services to us all. They had to face the risk of infection every day. All the health workers, pharmacy, police, firefighters, truck drivers, grocery, delivery, and trash removal. Los Angeles County has created regulations to protect grocery workers and grocery delivery workers.  Masks, gloves, and hand sanitizers must be provided to delivery workers. I counted on the delivery workers to bring my groceries for the past couple of weeks. I always thanked them and gave them a tip. Los Angeles County and my local city has provided assistance to those who need help with grocery and pharmacy pick up and delivery.

We will have to look back at all that happened and continue to grieve as well. We have to look how we handled the epidemic and be sure to learn from it.

NPR interview with David Kessler, a grief expert, on the grief associated with Coronavirus pandemic:

What Day Is It Anyway? #WDIIA, is hosted by Linda G Hill.

Blogging for A to Z April Challenge 2020

Featured image ‘Dawn in Joshua Tree, California’ by Jessie Eastland on Wikimedia.org