CO-rona-VI-rus D-isease

May 14, 2020

 





Van



It is raining, finally. After a drought that saw the island of Key West receive little to no rain over the past few months, basically during the entire time we have been on lock down due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the skies have opened up this week and the rainy season as it were has finally arrived. We have been hoping for rain for weeks and this week brought nice long rainy days that are nothing if not a change in pace from what we have been experiencing.

Sammy



The rain has not really limited us all that much from the limited schedule that we have been living during the shelter in place order, it is just a tad too cool to use our new pool and walks have been limited to walking our dog Jack. On the plus side, we are getting in a lot of binge watching of TV programs with the Showtime series “Homeland” the latest to captivate us. I know we are late to the party as the show just finished its 8^th and final season, but we generally don’t watch a lot of television so being isolated inside is allowing us to catch up on shows we have missed.

 





The pandemic continues to rage, though we have settled into a sort of rhythm to pandemic life, balancing work, time at home, time walking or exercising, communicating with friends and occasionally braving the real world to do grocery shopping. Which in itself is a surreal experience. Everyone is required to wear masks or face coverings, aisles are all one way to encourage social distancing and the number of people allowed in stores at any one time is limited. We tend to seek out off hours when there are not many people shopping.

Martina 







Unlike early in this situation when there were numerous product shortages including paper supplies like toilet paper, paper towels and tissues as well as bleach, cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer among others that were impossible to find due to hoarding, the stock at local groceries at least are back to mostly normal and all products can be acquired generally. People here, unlike some we have seen on the national news are very compliant about wearing masks and following guidelines so far. 

 



Patience is beginning to run thin and the pressure is mounting to continue with the gradual reopening that has been underway in Florida since last week, even though the overall numbers in the country and state continue to climb on a steady and upward trajectory. 







To date there have been 1,384,930 confirmed cases with a tragic 83,947 deaths in the United States, numbers that are leading all the other countries as far as cases go. Locally the numbers hold steady today at 95 cases in the county with 39 in Key West and 3 deaths confirmed to be Covid-19 related.





For the first time here locally, a protest was held- organized by Ed Swift, the owner of Historic Tours of America which runs the tourist dependent Conch Train and Trolleys. The protest, just a couple of blocks from our house drew about 80 sign holding residents, many employed by HTA and other tourist industry folks demanded that the roadblock checkpoints that have been keeping non-residents from entering the Keys come down and that hotels here reopen to welcome back tourists.





Ed Swift

I disagree with their feelings, at least at this point, but I can understand the hardships that many here in this tourist fueled economy are facing. Businesses continue to fail and a ton of people are out of work, but sadly the virus is still out of control, especially in the counties that are just north of us, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach which all remain hotspots for the virus.









If I felt I could trust people to do the right thing and safely practice the guidelines set up by the Center for Disease Control, I might feel better about reopening sooner, but people around the country have proven time and again that they simply can’t or won’t abide by them and so I am afraid the best and safest course of action is the status quo.

 





During this time, without the crush of tourists and no cruise ships in town, a group of locals has formed to reimagine what Key West’s future might look like, that maybe the constant chase of tourist dollars at all cost might not be in the best long term interest of the island and they have begun an on-line discussion group to explore other possible futures including limiting the size and scope of cruise ships that utilize Key West as a Port of Call. They have begun circulating three petitions to get referendums on the fall ballot that would limit cruise ships. Kathy and I went over and signed the petitions and will be interested followers to see if they can get the ballot initiatives passed. 

 



 





Finally the creative people on Stock Island created yet another scavenger hunt this past weekend, this one was a Mother’s Day graffiti search with clues leading followers around Stock Island to check out the many creative murals that adorn the walls of many local businesses there. I dodged the raindrops and headed over on Sunday to check out and photograph the walls. It was another fun diversion from the monotony of social isolation, one that could be done without really interacting with others at all.





 

Mounting Pressure

May 12, 2020



 







Mounting Pressure

Throughout the shelter in place phase of the Covid-19 Pandemic lockdown here in Key West, things have remained rather static for the better part of the nearly two months that we have been basically shut down, but as time moves on, the pressure is mounting to reopen and try and get things back to “normal”. This in spite of the fact that the virus has continued its rampage and the numbers both throughout the country and locally have continued to rise.





 

Jack

As of today there are 1,346,177 confirmed cases in the United States and 80, 354 deaths, both figures continuing their upward trajectory with little abatement. Here in Monroe County, the numbers are on the rise as well, after a brief respite as we currently have 95 confirmed cases with 39 here in Key West and holding at 3 deaths here. This in spite of the lockdown and roadblock check points that have been turning non-residents away at the entrance to the Keys on US 1 and Card Sound Road.

 







But this week, Governor Ron DeSantis, following the lead of President Trump has begun the phased reopening of the state, including the Keys by allowing restaurants to reopen partially and beginning to ease restrictions on various other businesses as well. The phased reopening has not gone so smoothly here as some places have had trouble adhering to the guidelines including crowd limitations, social distancing and requiring masks to be worn while customers are there. In fact the manager of the Smoking Tuna restaurant and bar had to issue a public apology after photos surfaced of a packed crowd and none of the guidelines being followed.

 







It is a tough situation to be sure as the pressure is building as each day passes with a large percentage of businesses and their employees continue to go without the much needed funds that they depend on from both locals and the tourist trade. I really sympathize with them, but personally feel it is too soon to open the floodgates. I state this knowing that it means that even more local businesses are doomed to go out of business altogether.



 





It has already started here as a number of local establishments have closed their doors forever as the tragic consequences of the pandemic are starting to really take a permanent toll on the economic health of the community. Among the businesses that have shuttered are favorites like the Coffee Plantation, Kojin Noodle Bar, Loose Cannon Bar, Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar, Turtle Kraals, Fresh Produce and more. With this certainly just being the first round of more closings to come. Small independent, family owned establishments are especially vulnerable and it is incredibly sad to hear of new closings almost daily. 









Kathy and I took a long walk around the island this week, checking out the few places that were reopened, with varying degrees of success and mourning the loss of so many places. The number of vacant storefronts on Duval Street is growing each day and it is a truly sad and tragic time. I totally understand why desperate business owners are pressing to reopen. 

 









The thing that really irks me though is how the topic of reopening has like so many other things in our society has become so political. The us against them mentality seems to permeate the discussion with those in favor of reopening cast as greedy, uncaring villains and those interested in keeping things in lockdown mode as non-patriotic scardy cats who want to bankrupt the country. This is of course reinforced by those in authority and the media coverage and it seems that it has taken all sensible discussion off the table altogether, it is either all or nothing and you must choose a side. 



 





I think these feelings and the battle lines are only going to intensify and get worse before they get better and it scares me tremendously because common sense and compromise seem so impossible to those dug in to their beliefs. I fall on the side of putting the safety and health of our country and its people first. I believe in and listen to science and feel like the only way to truly defeat the virus is through following the recommendations of scientist who know the most about viruses. 







 



This isn’t to say that I do not empathize and feel for those who are being crushed economically by the situation. I fully support the gradual and safe reopening of the economy if we actually have the testing capacity, contract tracing and guidelines that people actually follow as we move forward. This doesn’t have to be all or nothing, now is when we really need to come together and look out for everyone’s interest as best we can.