We came to Key Largo for a few days over the July 4th holiday… Honestly, I didn’t think we would get here.
I have been googling “Florida Keys Coronavirus” for a week now. I was really expecting the Keys to close again. They haven’t. Not yet.
Now, it’s not business as usual here. Things are closed. Resorts are not operating at full capacity. I wonder how long this can go on? How long can the economy sustain the effects of Coronavirus?
So far, it’s not as terrible as I might have thought. A better-than-expected unemployment report for June. Down to 11.1 percent. Yes, that’s down from 14.7 percent in April.
It’s still monstrously high.
The New York Times calls it “still a deep hole and new worries.” I think we have a long way to go to get out of this hole.
New cases of the virus are not helping either. States like Florida, Texas, California and New York are rethinking their reopening strategies. It’s just not going well.
The Coronavirus isn’t done. It’s not going to be done until there is an effective vaccine. Dr. Fauci still says late this year or early next. As far away as that sounds, it doesn’t sound as far away as it did in March.
I wish we as Americans could learn to just do the right things. Wash our hands, socially distance ourselves, and wear masks. We could get through this together until there’s a vaccine.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about everyone’s health and safety. That’s it. Why we have a divide and pick sides over this I will never understand.
So, here we are, Enrique and I, in the Keys. Enjoying a few days away. You can never really get away from Coronavirus, though. Not even here. The consequences are all around us. Signs everywhere to wear a mask. Tables spread apart at restaurants. Closed parks and boat ramps.
For now, it’s our life. I’m tired of saying it’s a “new normal.” I’m going to say it’s “our life.” Because this is a journey to normal. I still believe this gets better. That this gets solved.
For now though, we do what we have to do to get through it. I’m looking out on the Atlantic Ocean right now. So peaceful. So pretty. For a few days, I’m going to try and let go of all of this Coronavirus stress. But you know me… I never let anything really go.
I’ll check in again soon…