Sunday – Wednesday, March 8 – 11, 2020

After time with Amy I called our friends Jeanne and Chip Frost from Melrose who were scheduled to stay with us Wednesday and Thursday, March 11 – 13.  I had said I did not think it was wise for them stay with us.  We did decide to have them, and their friends Cathy and Doug Yingling from Kings Point come for dinner.  At first it was to be cocktails in the screen room and then we relaxed a bit and had them come inside for dinner and games on Tuesday.  Wednesday, Chip and Jeanne came for lunch and we gave them a tour of Sun City Center.  Wednesday I also volunteered for my Kindergarten class at the Ruskin Elementary School. That turned out to be the last time for the rest of the school year. 

Thursday, March 12, 2020

We went fishing with Pat and Dick Wulff at Little Harbor.  We figured being outside with one person would be an alright thing to do.  We also had dinner outside at Little Harbor.   During that week, we did also go golfing that was outside. One day we also went to Ellenton Outlet Mall, which is outside, to do some shopping.  This week was really focused on trying to figure out what we could do and still feel that we were being safe from the coronavirus.

Friday, March 13, 2020

Pat has had a cough that is allergy related but it has been keeping her awake at night.  They had planned to go to Venice, FL to visit friends but because of the coronavirus they had decided to not go visit anyone else.  I could tell they were also feeling like they would just like to be home given the current situation.  So they decided it would be best if they head home before it gets difficult to travel.  They left Friday morning and were home in Minnesota by Sunday at 4 PM.  A quick trip.  We were glad they were safely home. 

Friday evening, we did go to the Concert Series dance.  There were less people than usual, and we tried to dance at a distance since there were less people.  We had left over New England Boiled Dinner, so we invited Jay and Carol to help us eat it up before the dance.  

Sunday, March 15, 2020

We attended the Oldies dance from 7 – 10 PM.  Following the dance all of Sun City Center closed. We were glad to have the one last dance. We wondered if we would have any more dances during this season.  We took a picture of all of us.  At the dance we talked about some card games with just a few people.  Since that time, we have realized that is not a good idea, so we have not had any direct contact with any of them. 

Friday, March 6, 2020

This is the first day the coronavirus became very real for me in the USA.  We were at my brother Dave and Ro’s Beach House in Indian Shores, FL with our friends Pat and Dick Wulff, from Minnesota.  Amy Hempstead, Dave and Ro’s daughter, was there and all-day she was receiving text messages from her co-workers at Biogen in Boston.  They had an International Conference at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf in Boston on Feb 27 – 28, 2020.  Two people who attended the conference from England tested positive for the Coronavirus when they returned home to England.  Amy did not attend the conference, but she knew many who did.  She had spent time with her boss on Friday, Feb 28, before heading to FL, but had not been close to her and had not touched anything in the room.  I am not sure if the boss had been at the conference or just been with Amy’s former boss who had attended the conference.  Amy’s former boss lives in Windham, NH and had all the symptoms but could not get tested in NH anywhere.  While we were eating dinner, Amy received a text from him saying he was told to be at The Brigham Hospital at 9PM tonight.  When he got there, they came to the car to test him and sent him home.  It was several days before he got the results that he was positive. He lived in his basement for 14 days.  

Sunday, March 8, 2020

Fifteen Biogren people have tested positive for the virus.  By Monday, March 9 the number had jumped to 28 and 23 were from the Biogen Conference.  This number is only the Massachusetts cases and we know that 2 were in England and Tennessee’s first case was from the Biogen Conference.  This thing really spreads quickly and easily.  We are nervous after being with Amy and hearing how fast everything is happening.  We decide to stay away from large gatherings and did not go to church on Sunday.  Jon and I did go to the dentist on Monday.

This is an article in the New York Times written on April 12, 2020 about the Biogen spread of the Coronavirus.  It really demonstrates how easily and quickly this virus can spread!

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/us/coronavirus-biogen-boston-superspreader.html

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Lue Rutherford, Lisa’s Mother, posted from China that they are wearing masks to go to the grocery store and Dave is working from home. 

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Lue posted that in the city of 9 million people the streets are deserted.  Buses and escalators that are normally packed, are empty. They are hunkering down. 

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Lue and David Rutherford have made it to Hawaii and plan to stay there.  They had left China one week before and plan to stay in Hawaii for a week before returning to where their family is. 

Saturday, February 14, 2020

Lue and Dave are in NH with Jeff’s family and able to attend Reagan’s state swim meet and Carter’s hockey games.