How much are you social distancing?

[ellies mom]

Well, I’m working outside of the home with the general public, so as far as that goes not well. Outside of work, I probably hit a store of some sort 1-2x weekly. Sometimes I bring one or both of the girls to the store with me. But no social interactions outside of work for any of us yet.


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[PunkyBoo]

We drove out to see my dad and stepmom today, 80 miles away. We haven't seen them (other than on zoom) since Christmas and hadn't been to their house since last August. That's the first time DS2 and I have gone anywhere to see anyone socially. I was very hesitant but their house is set up for a lot of outdoor living, so we swam, they bbq'd and we ate outside. DS2 and I both happen to have pinkeye right now (almost better after a couple days of antibiotics drops) so we were careful with hand washing and no face touching anyway. DH is working OOH daily and has visited his parents several times, and took DS1 once and they wore masks. He really wants us to all go see them tomorrow for his mom's bday but I'm really really hesitant because we would all be inside their very small house with a/c running and their other grandchildren (2 of which work for food delivery services right now) were just there today.
DH went golfing with friends yesterday and he said the course was requiring social distancing (no sharing carts, no flags to touch, no ball washers, etc).

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[Snow mom]

We’ve largely been keeping to ourselves. I’m the designated errand person and have been grocery shopping every 10-14 days. While just about everyone “wears a mask” here in stores many wear them hugely incorrectly. I’m not the mask police so I try to get in and get out and stay away from people in stores. I’ve done some porch pickup type stuff where it was contactless exchange and then I leave things in my car or garage for days. DH has been working from home for the most part. He’s had to run into his office a couple of times but it’s a small building and he’s avoiding seeing people there. He will work at home through the beginning of phase 3 it seems which will be no earlier than end of June. Our family spends a lot of time outside but we know of a lot of off the beaten path places where there aren’t other people. We’ve been avoiding the busier outdoor places. We say hello to neighbors from a distance but haven’t purposely met up with anyone, even from a distance. That part we might relax a bit after DD has her surgery. She has been waiting 10 weeks now for a “non-essential” surgery and we finally have it rescheduled but she absolutely must not be exposed to COVID before that. She will be tested the day before surgery and both for her safety and the safety of the surgeon I can’t allow ANY risk of her testing positive. Once she’s recovered we might start socially distanced outdoor outings with a few friends who have been similarly strict with social distancing.

[basil]

Well, I've been to the grocery store twice since my last Costco run on 3/13. (This is partly because I totally have enjoyed not having to physically do the grocery shopping more than fear of exposure, Instacart FTW)

I've been working but not seeing as many patients/doing as many procedures as pre-COVID, but still going to my office full time. I wear a surgical mask at all times inside except when inside my own personal office (that no one else goes into). I wear an N95/goggles when seeing patients. All my patients must test COVID negative before having a procedure.

DH has been working partly with his regular patient population, partly on COVID units. He also wears N95/face shield/gown/gloves/etc. with all patients, and surgical mask when interacting with any office staff.

My kids' first trip in the car since 3/13 was a 2 mile drive to a little hiking trail in our town yesterday. Obviously our nanny has been coming to our house, she has also been socially distancing but her husband works as an apartment super so not totally isolated either.

My brother and his family have I think not left their own property since March. I asked them if they would be willing to come to an outdoor BBQ (not enter my house, sit at different tables, wear masks when not eating) at some point in June, and he basically acted like I had suggested a flying leap off a tall building without a parachute. I admit it felt like a pretty big punch in the gut. I don't see any of the components of our risks changing anytime soon, so it is basically saying I can't see my nieces until there is a vaccine, which I think is a pretty extreme viewpoint. He also felt my parents' trip to Home Depot's outdoor garden center to buy mulch was "high risk", so I dunno.

Social distancing was meant to buy us time while we prepared our hospitals, identified our riskiest areas, got our tests up and running, and learned how to treat it and how it was transmitted. We know much more about this now. I am still firmly in the camp that the way forward is to create situations (like in hospitals) where even if someone is COVID+, the rate of transmission is low. This includes masks, outdoor settings, physical space. I think the people in my social circles have vastly overestimated the ease of transmission when proper precautions are taken, and how few of those precautions were taken early on.

[gatorsmom]

Other than not traveling or going to canceled events, it almost feels like normal for us. Our county has not had a positive case in a week which amazes me considering our bars are filled at night with people not wearing masks. I’m guessing it’s because we are a land-locked small town. Our universities are closed down as well as any super spreader-type large gatherings. Yesterday my older 2 boys went to a graduation party that was outdoors. I doubt they were 6 feet apart. The food was in the garage so they didn’t eat. They don’t want to be in any enclosed spaces. On Friday we went to an outdoor ice cream party for an hour and a half. We all had a cone of ice cream. For the last 2 months we have gone to outdoor masses. Families stay in groups spread out doors. We wear masks and bring hand sanitizer although we don’t touch anything. Some of our stores are still enforcing masks, the pools are closed and park and rec activities are canceled so we don’t have many plans for the summer except virtual classes with occasional pool parties at our house (with people bringing their own food, towels while social distancing).

I’m having my groceries delivered but DH and I have gone to Home Depot for supplies for our victory garden. We always wear masks and bring hand sanitizer. It’s a new garden and have needed supplies to fight off the dear and rabbits so it’s taken a few trips. Home Depot doesn’t enforce masks so only half the people wear them. We do. We do some restaurant pick-ups but not often. Maybe once a week. Dh and I are watching daily the reported positive cases in our area and we would lock ourselves back down if they started to climb.

I’m so appreciative for this blog. Thank you to whoever here first posted it!!! It’s helping us form our decisions: https://www.erinbromage.com/post/how...c-memorial-day

[nfowife]

My husband is high risk due to a medical condition and treatment he is currently undergoing that makes him immune-suppressed. Since March 16, he has left the house 3 times: twice for medical things (once for a blood draw and once for a treatment), and once to do a drive by for our niece’s birthday parade; he and my son stopped at Starbucks drive through on the way home. My older kids had an orthodontist appt. last week with heavy precautions and masks; and I have gone to the grocery store 1-2 times per week with a mask.
We plan to continue this lifestyle for at least the summer. My older kids have been able to see friends to ride bikes or picnic social distancing but not my 9 year-old because she needs adult supervision to remember.

We are planning a beach trip over the summer but will cook at home or get takeout and maintain distancing. Just need to go somewhere since all camps are cancelled. I’m a teacher so off this summer and DH teleworks.

[ahisma]

I've gone into work twice since 3/15. I was uncomfortable with the duration of a no-mask meeting in a closed room and have not returned (working remote from home).

None of us have gone into a store. We do plan to this week, we have a schedule shop at a local book store. It's large and there will only be 6 other shoppers. We will be there 30 minutes with masks and distancing.

DS2 (11) has seen friends with supervised distance a couple of times - brief chats when he or his buddy walk their dogs by each other's house and they chat from porch to sidewalk. DS1 (13) hasn't seen anyone.

We walked over to the park and saw another family for about 20 minutes today - distanced. We've seen MIL/FIL a few times distanced, but its hard - they don't really get it.

[Globetrotter]

When all this started there were so many questions and we didn’t know how contagious it was and what is the primary source of contagion. Now it appears that surfaces are not so much an issue but it’s important to stay away from people. I have never been so thankful to live in a place where people generally believe in science and following these regulations, And that makes me more inclined to start going out to do things. It must be very stressful to live in a place where people around you are not Following guidelines or, worse yet, when the governor doesn’t believe in them.
I went to Trader Joe’s for the first time since March 13! My first time in an enclosed place, other than the post office. We’ve been doing takeout twice a week recently, in an effort to support local restaurants. I’ve decided we will start doing groceries with masks, but stick to places where people Are also required to maintain distance. We are fortunate that we can go at off times. The research and commentary I have read leads me to believe that objects are not a huge risk. While I haven’t completely stopped sterilizing LOL I am a lot less paranoid than I was initially.
Yesterday was a huge milestone for me. I met a couple of friends in a park for a social distance meet up And sat in a circle facing each other, probably about 10 feet apart. We are all super conscious so I felt comfortable with that And I think it helped that we were stationary. I think it gets harder when people move around and they have to avoid bumping into each other. I think we’re going to have to figure out ways to make this work safely, for the long term. It felt really good to meet in person and at the same time we were not being reckless. Since my friends are all like-minded, I would feel comfortable meeting outside SD in small groups. Interestingly, Dd has not asked to meet her local friends and they are actually quite cautious! However, they are thriving on video chats/ game nights and she’s meeting frequently that way with various groups of friends, Most of whom live far away as They are college friends.

[essnce629]

I'm in Los Angeles where masks are pretty much required at all times. We've walked the neighborhood just a handful few times, with masks on, to go get Starbucks, ice cream, and beignets. DS1 is the biggest homebody of us all and has only left the house once since March 11th. It was his friend's birthday and about 8 friends met up at the eSports gaming lounge parking lot to celebrate while distancing and wearing masks (although they had to take them off to eat their take out). They were together for about 2 hours. For the first time last week, I met up with 3 other mom friends. We met in one of their backyards and sat distanced around her fire table. I brought my own chair and kept my mask on the entire time. We never went into her house. I chose not to bring my own food or drink because I didn't want to have to take off my mask. Other than that I only go to Trader Joe's every 3 weeks, although I may start going more often now since the lines to get in aren't so long anymore. I also go to the pet store once a month to buy more frozen cat food. DH is still working from home full time, but he goes running almost daily and goes to Costco about every 2 weeks. My mom has been living with us since the end of February I think and I don't let her go anywhere besides walking the neighborhood! She has had to go back home to San Diego twice to water her plants and get more stuff to bring up here, and that's when she's done her own thing and gone to Costco to pick up her prescription, get gas, etc. I've organized 4 ongoing Zoom sessions a week for myself to keep connected to friends. Twice a week with my 5 best friends from high school, once a week with mom friends from DS2's class, and once a week with mom friends from DS1's class. I find we all have stuff to vent about and it's good to get that out regularly. I think we all look forward to our meetings.

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[wendibird22]

DH and I are starting to plan for how we can have SIL and BIL over to enjoy our pool. SIL and BIL moved to the next town over back in January to be closer to family. I feel horrible that they packed up their lives, got new jobs, all to be able to see my ILs and us and my kids only to have everything go on lock down two months later. BIL is working out of the home (and is currently under precautionary quarantine because a coworker tested positive...BILs test was neg). SIL is working from home. We thoroughly enjoy SIL and BIL...I could hang out with them all the time...and so them moving here was a real treat for us and the kids. If BIL was not working outside the home, it would be a really easy decision and planning, but since he's at increased risk of exposure, we then are too. But we have a big back yard and our pool deck is pretty spacious, plus we have a patio. So I think we could have them over, BYOB/food, and just make sure that the 6 of us are not all packed onto the deck (probably can't have more than 3 people on deck with 6ft distancing). I think we'd avoid a meal time so that we don't have to worry about shared cooking. I know we could use the social contact and so could they. I think the hardest part would be keeping the kids separated from my BIL (who's a big kid himself) in the pool as they are used to horsing around with him.