2020-03-30_People

March 30, 2020 41

to death. She isn’t sick enough

to be taken to the hospital, but

if she gets sicker, she could die.

That’s why my sister and I are

there, bringing her breakfast,

lunch and dinner, trying to

make her laugh while we sit

outside her window, trying to make it seem like

we are dining together.

At the Stafford Springs nursing home in Vernon,

Conn., which closed its doors to visitors on March 9,

90-year-old Bob Shellard and his wife, Nancy, cele-

brated their 67th wedding anniversary on March 14

the same way—from opposite sides of a window. The

former graphic artist

made a sign—a red felt

heart with glitter trim

and the message “I’ve

loved you 67 years and

still do”—and asked

the staff to bring Nan-

cy to a window to see it.

I knew I couldn’t

go inside and she

couldn’t come out, so I

thought I would make

something I could

show her from the street. I just did the best I could.

She seemed to be quite happy about it. I try to get

there every day still. I miss just being together.

Before schools in Arlington, Va., closed for at least

four weeks on March 16, high school physics teach-

er Aaron Schuetz, 47, and fellow teachers Deborah

Waldron, 52, and Laurie Vena, 50, worried about

where their students would eat. They started a

GoFundMe to raise enough money to give $100

grocery store gift cards to every one of the district’s

8,300 students.

SCHUETZ There’s a lot of anxiety in the community

those in quarantine. I just offered an online class

called Spiritual Resilience in Times of Crisis, and

we had 120 people in the class. I can’t tell you the

last time I taught an in-person class to 120 peo-

ple. In this moment —a time of crisis, trauma and

fear—people are yearning for connection.

Bridgett Parkhill and her sister Carmen Gray sit out-

side the window of their mother, Susan Hailey, at the

Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., its own locked-

down containment zone. A staggering 30 patients

and 43 staff had COVID-19 at press time—including

Hailey, 76, who was there rehabbing a broken ankle

after hip-replacement surgery. The center has been

associated with at least 19 deaths from the virus.

She wanted her knee replaced so she could

chase her grandkids around. It was Feb. 23 or

24. Mom said, “I’ve had a cough. They say this
    little bug is going around, and the nurse was nice
    enough to give me some cough syrup.” We found
    out March 8 that she tested positive. I’m scared

‘YOU SHOULD

PAY ATTENTION

AND FOLLOW

GUIDELINES,

BUT NOT PANIC

THE WAY WE’VE

SEEN HAPPENING’

—CHEVON JONES,

PUBLIC-HEALTH

NURSE

After spreading through Asia and Europe

over the first two months of the year,

the coronavirus is now solidly in the U.S.,

reaching every state except West Virginia

tests, Òvery few can get

tested,Ó says Haseltine,

who expects that to

change over the next

week. Hospitals currently

prioritize testing people

with severe symptoms

or those who’ve been

in close contact

with someone who has

already tested positive.

• Why do kids seem
  less susceptible?
  ÒAs of yet there’s no
  definitive answer,Ó says
  Norton. The prevailing
  theory is that kids are

constantly battling milder

forms of coronavirus and

their immune systems

may be able to fight it off.

• Is there hope for a
  vaccine or cure?
  Researchers around the
  globe are working on
  vaccines and a cureÑand
  Haseltine expects a cure,
  in the form of an antiviral
  drug, to come first.
  ÒAn antiviral drug can
  prevent infection if you’re
  exposed, and it can save
  you if you’re infected,Ó
  he says. ÒThat may be the
  way this infection ends.Ó

T CORONAVIRUS

The truth about animals and the

COVID-19 coronavirus

IS YOUR PET SAFE?

A New

Vaccine?

A volunteer

in Seattle is

injected with

the first dose

of a potential

vaccine for

COVID-19.

Even if it

works, it likely

won’t be ready

for a year.

West

Virginia

Animal shelters have

reported people abandoning

pets because they fear they

can transmit the coronavirus.

But experts say that’s not

the case. ÒThe CDC states

that there’s no evidence that

pets or other animals can

become sick with or spread

COVID-19,Ó says Julie Castle,

CEO of Best Friends Animal

Society. So skip the doggie

mask but do remember

to stock up on pet supplies

if self-isolating. Your pet,

says Castle, Òcan be a real

comfort during a crisis.Ó

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: BACKGRID; GETTY IMAGES; TED S WARREN/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK; THE ECONOMIST/ADAPTED FROM CDC

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