The Washington Post - 14.03.2020

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SATURDAy, MARCH 14, 2020. SECTION C EZ RE

PHOTOS BY JOHN TAGGART FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

BY KIM BELLWARE

AND LISA BONOS

Pre-wedding day jitters are

common for any couple about to

say their I do’s, but instead of

stressing over weather or seating

arrangements, 31-year-old emily

Connolly is contemplating a pan-

demic.

“I keep waiting for the other

shoe to drop, waiting for people

to tell me they have to cancel,”

Connolly told The Washington

Post on Wednesday — two days

before her Pennsylvania wed-

ding. “Most of our family is not

from around here; we do have a

lot of people traveling, but not a

lot of people flying.”

As the novel coronavirus offi-

cially hit global pandemic status

on Wednesday, Connolly and her

fiance, Jon, are among the count-

less brides and grooms in the

United states who are figuring

out how to adapt the celebration

of a major life event — often a

carefully planned, emotional

and costly affair — as the virus

outbreak has started to signifi-

cantly disrupt daily life.

“everything is staying the

same, except I bought two giant

bottles of hand sanitizer for the

see weddIngs on c3

BY DAN ZAK

now we’re all u nder the m icro-

scope. An invisible virus will

make visible our true strengths

and w eaknesses. It w ill expose the

faults in our systems, the sinceri-

ty of our relationships, the ways

in which we work together or

don’t. The week started out with

cute quips about chapped hands

and voyages of the damned. It

ends with few certainties except

these: There will be more sick-

ness and death. The farther we

remove ourselves from each oth-

er, the more we will need each

By every measure, a new way of life

Navigating the world amid pandemic

I n new Rochelle, n.Y., t op, a one-mile containment zone was set up because of

the coronavirus outbreak. above, members of the national guard prepare to

hand out groceries at new Rochelle High school. says microbiologist siouxsie

wiles: “this is not going to be ‘Mad Max.’... we can self-isolate physically,

but that doesn’t mean that we have to mentally isolate ourselves.”

Saying ‘I do’

when the world

says, ‘I distance’

other. our way of living will be

upended, and for how l ong?

It’s t oo early to tell. T his could be

very bad, or not as bad as we think.

either way, life has begun to rear-

range itself in both time and space.

each of us now has a radius of

concern that measures six feet —

the distance sneeze droplets can

travel. some of us shouldn’t be in

crowds greater than 250 (if you’re

in Washington state) or 500 (if

yo u’re in new York City) or 1,000 (if

you’re in Washington, D.C.). Col-

lege semesters have been scotched.

Parades will not run on st. Patrick’s

see dIstance on c2

BY PEGGY MCGLONE

More cultural organizations

announced closures and post-

ponements Friday as the effort to

prevent the spread of covid-19

impacted even small theatrical

spaces.

Arena stage and signature

Theatre in Arlington announced

cancellations, while the Phillips

Collection and t he national Chili-

dren’s Museum decided to close

for the month. And the Hirsh-

horn Museum and sculpture Gar-

den, part of the smithsonian In-

stitution that announced Thurs-

More theaters and museums closing

day it would close indefinitely,

has pushed its Yayoi Kusama

show from April to June.

Arts leaders described the tur-

moil of the last few days, when

guidance from government offi-

cials seemed to evolve at light-

ning speed.

“To have a world premiere that

is sold out a nd t o have to cancel is

heartbreaking,” signature The-

atre Managing Director Maggie

Boland said about “easy Women

smoking Loose Cigarettes” by

Dani stoller, a production in its

100-seat venue that was s upposed

see closIngs on c2

episodes of a coming revival of the

game show “Who Wants to Be a

Millionaire,” which, Buttigieg

quipped, “Michael Bloomberg

won 5 6,000 times i n a row.”)

Buttigieg talked some about t he

coronavirus pandemic and how

it’s reshaping American economic

and social life, urging viewers to

call their congressional represen-

tatives and ask them to take action

on virus testing and paid emer-

gency leave. America, he said, will

always be America — what better

proof, he said, than a clip from

see ButtIgIeg on c4

former south Bend, Ind., mayor

and Democratic contender of a

full studio audience. Instead he

settled for a sparse but supportive

gang of Kimmel staffers and a few

guests, including his husband,

Chasten. They gamely, if lamely,

chanted “Boot! edge! edge!” a

couple of t imes.

“When you don’t have a real

audience, you have to fake one,

just like T rump’s inauguration,”

Buttigieg joked during his open-

ing monologue — which was writ-

ten, he r eminded v iewers, by K im-

mel’s staff. (Kimmel is off taping

BY HANK STUEVER

Pete Buttigieg, a jobless Ameri-
can who only days ago was still
running for president, filled in as
guest host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kim-
mel Live!” on Thursday night, in
the kind of comfortable, aiming-
to-please m anner that can be both
irritating and inviting. Is it the
boyish s mile? Is i t the rosy cheeks?
Whatever it is, B uttigieg proved
once more that he always shows
up prepared. T he night’s only awk-
wardness came courtesy of the
coronavirus, which deprived the

TV REVIEW

If not president, king of late night?

RANDY HOLMES/ABC

Pete

Buttigieg,

center, filling

in as host of

“Jimmy

Kimmel

live!” plays

star trek

trivia with

Patrick

stewart, as

leVar Burton

does his best

alex trebek.