Including Covid-19 in your personal documenting
I’m going to post my regular March roundup prompts tomorrow, but I feel like we all need some extra resources for recapping what is going on in our world right now. This is definitely the most difficult topic I’ve ever posted about and I’ve struggled with this whole concept for the past few weeks. I’ve always been an advocate of including the good and the bad in our stories, but this is just soooo bad on so many levels. It’s up to you how much you want to include in your personal documenting, but I would encourage you to at least include a few details. This will be one of the most historic and memorable times of our lives and it is worth including in our journals, scrapbooks, blog or social media posts. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on the things that are positive as well.
I’m going to start out by saying that I would love to know if you have resources that have been helpful for you as you keep track of these COVID-19 related events. Please leave me comments or send me an email if you would like to share. I will add to this post as I learn about more sources to share.
While it might seem dark or morbid to keep track of cases or even deaths, it is important data right now that helps us understand the spread and exponential growth of the virus. We are all hoping to see these numbers go down soon, but it may be a while. I hope and pray that nobody you love is part of these awful statistics.
Here’s my list of resources: (last updated April 29, 2020)
Twitter - following accounts of local government leaders and Coronavirus-related hashtags and accounts such as the Covid Tracking Project
Here’s how I’m using the resources in my personal memory keeping:
This Johns Hopkins University map is one of the best resources I have found. I try to check it regularly to see what the count is for cases (and deaths) in the world. I try to take a screenshot once a week, but you may want to use a different time frame. It certainly would make sense to do this as part of your month-end roundup. Here’s what the world snapshot looked like while I was writing this post on Sunday afternoon.
I also look at the same data for the country (U.S) that I live in. Unfortunately, the United States is leading the world in cases now. I’m making a note that New York City is the hardest hit at the moment with 678 deaths (at the time of writing) and that other areas that are the worst hit include New York, Washington state, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and California. The virus is everywhere in the country though and spreading rapidly.
There is not as much data available on this site about individual states, but I can see that there are 720 cases and 2 deaths so far in Utah. We haven’t been hit as hard yet as other areas, but we made worldwide news by having the first NBA players (Rudy Gobert & Donovan Mitchell) to test positive for the virus.
When I open up my phone app for Twitter, I often check the COVID-19 update link at the top of the screen.
Then I screenshot the headlines for my reference.
When it comes to the local picture, I like to turn to a local source. I’m still trying to figure out the best online resource for Utah numbers. So far, I have found this article from ABC news 4 to be fairly accurate with their updates. KSL has also been updating this link. I follow our Governor, Lt. Governor, and the Utah Coronavirus task force on Twitter. Our Governor has issued a stay at home directive. This is not a shelter-in-place order, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that happen in the near future. Make sure you are documenting what the guidelines are in your area.
I do like using social media and screenshots to do my documenting right now because then I can add them right into the Momento app I’m already using. I know many of my readers use the Day One app in a similar way. Screenshots are also easy to include on scrapbook pages.
Besides checking statistics, I’m trying to keep a list of changes that have happened in our daily living.
What has been canceled/closed:
Schools - most are doing online learning of some sort. Universities have gone to all online classes.
Church
Some workplaces - many are still open in Utah
Restaurants - only open for takeout and delivery
Movie theaters, museums, salons, and public gathering places in general
Social gatherings
New norms:
Social/physical distancing. Keeping at least 6 feet away from others
Frequent washing of hands
Avoid touching your face
Working from home where possible
Staying at home as much as possible
Disinfecting groceries (and everything really)
Stores are out of toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, hand soap, disinfecting wipes, bottled water
Many groceries are scarce (such as eggs, yeast, and milk in my area)
It’s also interesting to note that most of these changes have happened over the last few weeks. Things are changing so quickly right now. I’d love to hear how you are keeping up on all of this.
Stay safe and stay healthy! ❤️