Los Angeles Times - 04.04.2020

A2 SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2020 LATIMES.COM

COCONUT CREEK, Fla.

—Gone are the weekly

bingo games at Temple

Beth Am. Gone too are the

daily shuttles around the

golf course and the Friday

bus trips to the mall.

A vast game room, typi-

cally full of bridge players, is

locked up.

“Nothing,” said Carol

Friedman, a 70-year-old

resident of Wynmoor, a

south Florida retirement

community of 9,000 resi-

dents, just a few miles from

the ocean shore. “Can’t do

nothing now. Everyone just

sits here bored.”

“I don’t want to get sick,”

Friedman continued with a

shrug, as she complained of

dried-up tips from her job at

the on-property restaurant

after it switched to takeout.

“But if I die, I die.”

Retirees and snowbirds

have long flocked to the slew

of country club-like gated

communities in Florida

known for their communal

amenities, low taxes and

year-round sun. The elderly

account for close to a quar-

ter of the state’s 21 million

residents.

But now, as nearly half of

the U.S. adjusts to stay-at-

home orders put in place to

limit the spread of the co-

ronavirus, life at many of

Florida’s retirement villages

has come to a standstill,

with complaints from some

and calls for additional

safeguards from others.

Republican Gov. Ron

DeSantis had resisted a

statewide shutdown of

nonessential activity, leav-

ing senior communities here

to navigate local restrictions

and their own heightened

health concerns in deciding

how to battle the virus. The

state has advised those who

are 65 and older or have

underlying health condi-

tions to confine themselves

at home.

The governor relented

Wednesday and announced

a statewide stay-at-home

order to replace restrictions

in a few counties. As of Fri-

day evening, 170 deaths and

more than 10,000 confirmed

infectionshad been re-

ported in Florida.

Assisted-living facilities

here have shut out visitors

for weeks to protect their

residents. Retirement com-

munities have stayed open

while increasingly curtailing

services — some to angry

response — and dealing

with an exodus of the snow-

birds, headed home early to

their cooler northern

climes.

Northwest of Orlando at

the Villages, home to 125,

retirees, the nightly happy

hours at the southwestern-

themed Spanish Springs

town square have ground to

a halt. Pools were recently

shut down after residents

broke rules against gather-

ing in groups larger than 10.

At Broken Sound, a

golfing community of sev-

eral thousands in Boca

Raton, an on-site restau-

rant has been converted

into a drive-by grocery store

so residents don’t have to

brave the crowds at Publix.

A half-hour north of Fort

Lauderdale at Wynmoor,

where dozens of two- and

four-story apartment com-

plexes are spread over 453

acres of streets named after

Caribbean islands, recent

changes have brought a

mixture of reactions.

“Everyone is talking

about it,” said Patrick

O’Brien, 62, who lives on

Lucaya Lane with his 77-

year-old husband, a lung

cancer survivor who has

mostly stopped leaving his

residence. “And if they’re

not talking about it, then it’s

their kids and grandkids

calling them to talk about

it.”

“I think it’s very real, and

I’m very worried for those

who have weaker immune

systems,” said O’Brien, who

moved to Wynmoor seven

years ago from upstate New

York. “But I’m not worried

about myself unless some-

body around me is obviously

sick. I’ve seen so much

death in my life and, living

here, you just end up know-

ing people who die.”

Having outlived two

siblings and resided in New

York City during the HIV/

AIDS epidemic in the 1980s,

he said he accepted death as

a “fact of life.”

Still, O’Brien, the op-

erator of a one-man tech

support company who is

among the few working

residents, has adopted a

new routine. “When I get

home, I sanitize, strip off all

my clothes and take a

shower before my husband

will greet me.”

He’s also recruited new

customers. He’s taught

residents who stay indoors

how to use FaceTime, Face-

book and email to keep in

touch with loved ones.

“All from six feet away,”

O’Brien said.

While the Villages, the

country’s largest retirement

community, is grappling

with a surge in coronavirus

infections — at least 33 have

been reported — the Wyn-

moor Community Council

has so far announced none.

The Coconut Creek

development shut down all

indoor activities on March

11, before restaurants and

bars closed in many states

across the country.

As a result, no more

spring arts festival where

residents would display

homemade clay figurines.

No more Hebrew, pottery, or

stained-glass clubs. The

Rod Stewart impersonator

concert was canceled, along

with scheduled appearance

of the real Marilyn McCoo

and Billy Davis Jr., the lead

singers of the chart-topping

5th Dimension from more

than 50 years ago.

Some residents have

sought to skirt the rules by

running club meetings

outdoors at the “cove,” a

patio overlooking an 18-hole

golf course in the center of

the development.

But the 19 pools have

remained open, with lounge

chairs rearranged to en-

courage physical distancing

guidelines.

Security officers are

stationed to keep residents

from moving them.

“We will get through this

crisis together ... stay heal-

thy,” said signs posted

around the community last

month.

Mall buses head only to

grocery stores and the

pharmacy, with a new “gold-

en hour” route at 6:30 a.m.

for senior-only shopping.

“It’s horrible,” Wynmoor

resident Joel Fish, 61, said

on a recent afternoon as he

waited in his wheelchair

outside Bistro 19 for a tuna

sandwich. “I used to ride on

the bus for an hour, talk to

the driver, then go to the

movies, talk to people there,

go to bingo, talk to people

there.”

“I get sick of being inside

all day,” said Fish, who is

single with no children. “I

just watch ‘Law & Order’

over and over.”

Fish worries about his

sister and brother-in-law, in

their 80s, who live nearby

outside Wynmoor and

hadn’t left home in days.

Despite no announced

cases at Wynmoor, fears of

an outbreak have grown.

O’Brien’s 77-year-old neigh-

bor, a seasonal resident who

usually flies northeast in the

late spring, instead sum-

moned her nephew last

month to drive her up Inter-

state 95, leaving O’Brien the

apartment’s key. He now

has a deal with his husband:

If one of them gets sick, that

person will quarantine in

the neighbor’s empty home.

Many of Wynmoor’s

Canadian winter residents

have also left for home early

after President Trump’s

announcement that the U.S.

would close its border with

Canada.

Meanwhile, rumors and

concerns mount.

Some have asked

whether any Wynmoor

residents were recently

aboard Florida cruises

popular with retirees.

The community council

has told those who had

recently been out of the

country on ships to not to

leave their apartments for

two weeks.

And after the governor

ordered anyone traveling to

Florida from the New York

area to do the same, resi-

dents called security on a

woman visiting her father.

They accused her of going to

the pool despite the quaran-

tine.

On March 28, the Wyn-

moor Community Council

issued new restrictions.

“Outside guests are not

permitted at all swimming

pools, as well as the golf

course, the racquet center,”

the council said, “If resi-

dents cannot follow simple

rules, we will have no choice

but to close them.”

At Bistro 19, Friedman,

the restaurant server, got

into a debate recently with a

co-worker. As they rolled

napkins over plastic cutlery

between taking phone or-

ders, they discussed precau-

tions to take and wondered

when life would get back to

normal.

“Social distancing is the

only way we’ll get this done,”

said the colleague, Eileen

Martin, 58, who lives outside

the property.

“If it’s going to happen,

it’s going to happen,” replied

Friedman, referring to

potential infections.

Then they acknowledged

how they were actually

going about their daily lives.

“I’m still hugging,” con-

ceded Martin, despite her

belief in social distancing.

“I’m not shaking hands,”

said Friedman, despite her

“whatever will be” outlook.

“No hugging, no kissing.”

BACK STORY

‘Everyone is talking about it’

Florida retirement villages, once bustling, come to a virus standstill

By Jaweed Kaleem

ARESIDENT of the Villages, northwest of Orlando,

Fla., gets a coronavirus test from his golf cart.

Joe BurbankOrlando Sentinel

PERSPECTIVES

Dear Reader,

I woke up New Year’s Day convinced that 2020

would be the most consequential year in recent

memory. It would be all about politics. How could

it be otherwise? The incumbent in the White

House, having been impeached by the House of

Representatives, was certain to be acquitted in the

Senate. Our team of reporters and editors would

cover months of rancorous debate, certain only

that the election would leave the country divided,

no matter which Democrat was nominated or

which party won in November.

If only we had celebrated a little less on New

Year’s Eve and had paid more attention to a report

from Wuhan, China, where officials were investi-

gating a suspicious cluster of respiratory cases

apparently tied to a seafood market.

The story remained mostly offshore until Jan.

30 — less than a week after Kobe Bryant died in a

helicopter crash — when the World Health Organi-

zation declared a global health emergency. Even

then, few experts were predicting the ways in

which public life across our city, state and country

would grind to a halt, changing our lives and our

way of life.

It’s also been a time of remarkable change and

challenges for the Los Angeles Times and its jour-

nalists as we strive to keep you informed about a

story unlike any we have ever imagined or wit-

nessed.

It was Friday, March 6, when a small group of

editors met with our executive chairman, Dr. Pat-

rick Soon-Shiong, to discuss the science behind

the highly contagious coronavirus. Soon-Shiong, a

scientist and surgeon who has spent his career

studying the human immune system while devel-

oping therapies to fight cancer and infectious

diseases, urged us to take the virus seriously. He

told us to adhere to self-quarantine protocols

following travel, to wash our hands with soap and

to avoid touching our faces.

Soon afterward, the largest newsroom west of

the Potomac went virtual, with most reporters and

editors working from home. A few of our journal-

ists continue to report on the street, taking great

care to protect their health and that of the commu-

nity.

As we receive daily and often contradictory

updates from federal, state and local officials, we

have dedicated ourselves to reporting and explain-

ing what every facet of this novel global pandemic

means for you. We know your health and safety,

your jobs, even your children’s schooling, are at

risk. Our oft-proclaimed commitment to public

service journalism has been put to a test. We must

be the destination that best provides you with the

facts and analysis you need to protect yourselves.

We increasingly see the world as a global village

where news from abroad and from down the street

can be of vital importance. A report from our Bei-

jing correspondent, Alice Su, about China’s latest

recovery efforts, a story from Richard Read, our

bureau chief in Seattle, questioning deaths among

members of a choir, and a look at how students are

adjusting to online learning from staff writers

Howard Blume and Sonali Kohli are all critical to

understanding this crisis.

If you subscribe to our print edition, please

be sure to sign up for our digital services at

latimes.com/activate so you can receive alerts and

reports at any time, on any device. Here are a few

examples of the important information available

to you:

· Coronavirus: What to know now.Twice each

weekday, a group of our reporters provides the

latest on the news that we believe matters to you.

It’s information to help you stay safe, healthy and

sane. This is also where we answer many of the

questions we receive from readers.

· Tracking the coronavirus in California. This

project from our data and graphics team allows

you to monitor how testing, diagnoses and deaths

are tracking over time. It also shows how and

where the virus has spread and gives you current

information about what’s open and closed in coun-

ties across the state.

· Coronavirus Today.Keeping up with the con-

stant breaking news can be overwhelming. This

daily newsletter, delivered by email in the eve-

nings, rounds up the top headlines and links to our

best stories each day.

· The Science Behind the Coronavirus.In a

series of short videos, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong

tells you what you need to know to understand

COVID-19.

While we prioritize coverage of the coronavirus,

we recognize that we must also continue to publish

stories that matter to Californians and to people

everywhere who count on us for news from and

about the West. We hope that projects including

our virtual Book Club events, cooking demon-

strations that show you how to make nutritious

meals and great comfort food, and expert advice

on what to watch, listen to and read help keep you

connected at home.

We appreciate the trust you place in us, and

your choice to become a subscriber. With so many

businesses in the region and around the world

dealing with this crisis, most of our advertisers are

unable to continue advertising, which makes your

subscription and support of our journalism more

important than ever.

Your comments and criticisms are always

welcome.

Thank you.

Norman Pearlstine

Executive Editor

Los Angeles Times

A Letter

to Readers

With residents sheltering indoors during the coronavirus crisis, mountain goats have taken to roaming

the streets of Llandudno, a seaside town in North Wales. The goats normally keep to themselves in an

adjacent park, but with the streets empty of people, they have been pushing deeper into town, said Andrew

Stuart, a video producer for the Manchester Evening News. “There’s no one around at the moment,

because of the lockdown, so they take their chances and go as far as they can. And they are going further

and further into the town,” Stuart said. His videos of the animals, munching on neatly trimmed hedges

and trees or lingering on streets, have been a hit on Twitter, racking up hundreds of thousands of views.

1,000 WORDS: LLANDUDNO, Wales

Pete ByrnePress Assn.

THE GOATS HAVE COME TO TOWN