For the last few weeks I have been keeping a photo journal of how Memphis has responded to the Covid 19 Pandemic.
It took a bit of time for this to sink in to the community. However, as I write this, the Daily Memphian reports that the count of confirmed coronavirus cases in Shelby County stood at 405 as of Tuesday afternoon, March 31, 2020. There have been three deaths in the county and four in the Memphis metro, with 536 confirmed cases in the metro area. A total of 4,665 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Shelby County. Map https://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2020/04/01/midtown-east-memphis-coronavirus-hot-spots
Much of the community is still struggling to practice “social distancing,” the art of staying apart, so that as few people possible become hosts to this deadly virus.
I am describing this in detail because I don’t think people could have imagined this a few months ago, and hopefully in a year this will be a distant memory and we may not remember some of the details.
There is a “safer at home” mandate from Mayor Strickland, who has asked all non-essential businesses to close. People are ordering takeout, groceries are being delivered, non-emergency surgeries are being cancelled.
Schools and universities are teaching online, some university students can’t go home for a variety of reasons. High school students will miss their senior prom, their graduations, wedding are being cancelled, funerals are kept to a minimum.
Not all children are safer at home, some of their teachers worry about them. Children who relied on school breakfast and lunches are hungrier. There are some lunch giveaways in the neighborhoods. Many of these children seldom leave their neighborhoods anyway, some are being raised by grandparents who are vulnerable to the virus.
Several pastors have tested positive for the virus, a few have even died. Some preachers are preaching online, others say they will NOT close their doors and they pray together and just can’t seem to stop touching each other.
The younger people seem to not be as concerned, many continue to gather in groups, play ball, socialize and go about their lives as if nothing has changed. The elders remind them that they could be bringing home the virus to their parents and grandparents. The parks are too full and now the streets leading to them are being closed.
Families and friends are connecting through social media, having family reunions and happy hours on Zoom. Our pets are bringing most of us great comfort.
The usual spring tourists that flock to Memphis in the springtime are not here. Beale Street is empty on a Friday night, B.B. King’s club is boarded up, the home of Elvis Presley, Graceland, is closed. The Memphis is May festival has been cancelled.
The scariest part is what is coming next. I fear for the time when the hospitals are overwhelmed, the staffs dwindle, the beds are full. It is just a matter of time before our hospitals are overwhelmed. Memphis is a tristate area. Other mayors in areas that border Memphis are not requiring strict social distancing. Many of those people will be using the hospitals in Memphis when they get sick.
Hospital and nursing homes are keeping family members away. People are missing the opportunity to say goodbye to their loved ones. That seems to be one of the most difficult things for people to accept, leaving a loved one to die alone.
I just heard on the police or fire radio that someone in the “alpha shift” has tested positive for the virus. The voice on the radio reminded his staff to wear masks. People are worried about the homeless here. Another officer calls in after checking out a lifeless body. “No problem here, the party is taking a nap.”
Every day that passes, the virus moves closer and closer to home, to people we know, to people we love.
My daughter is holed-up in her apartment in New York. They have set up tents in Central Park to handle the overflow of patients. The mayor of NYC is calling for outside help. My daughter’s co-worker’s mother just succumbed to the virus.
We had to send toilet paper and a thermometer to her in the mail. I am concerned for her; she can no longer leave the city. She is very brave.
What is happening there, will be here soon.
Some people here are scared. Already there are shortages of toilet paper, cleaning supplies, flour, yeast, thermometers and many other things are gone that people are hoarding. Distilleries are making hand sanitizer. The line of cars flows down East Parkway leading into the fairgrounds where people can get tested for the virus.
President Trump is asking everyone to stay home another 30 days. “Its a matter of life and death” he says. Projections could be as high as “ thousands dying every day.”
What the mayor of Memphis wants is empty streets.
The nation is partially shutting down.
I find the rhythm of spring to be reassuring. A beautiful pink flower blooms on the end of a stark bare branch signaling the end of winter. The sun rises and the sun sets, the river flows and birds build their nests, as they always have since the beginning of time.
~As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end.