Churchill: As coronavirus spreads, lives are changed

Photo by John Minchillo of The Associated Press / A woman holding an Irish themed flag is driven by St. Patrick's Cathedral after the annual parade was cancelled due to coronavirus concerns omn Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in New York. New York state entered a new phase in the coronavirus pandemic Monday, as New York City closed its public schools, and officials said schools statewide would close by Wednesday. New York joined with Connecticut and New Jersey to close bars, restaurants and movie theaters along with setting limits on social gatherings. Photo by John Minchillo of The Associated Press / A woman holding an Irish themed flag is driven by St. Patrick's Cathedral after the annual parade was cancelled due to coronavirus concerns omn Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in New York. New York state entered a new phase in the coronavirus pandemic Monday, as New York City closed its public schools, and officials said schools statewide would close by Wednesday. New York joined with Connecticut and New Jersey to close bars, restaurants and movie theaters along with setting limits on social gatherings.

By Chris Churchill / Tribune Content Agency March 17, 2020 4 min read

ALBANY, N.Y. – So this is life now. Until the risk subsides, this is how it’s going to be.

Shuttered schools and empty restaurants. Staying home as much as possible. Lightly trafficked roads. Cabin fever amid crowded houses for some, terrible loneliness for others. Worry about what this coronavirus will do and ultimately mean.

The weeks and maybe months ahead will not be easy. That became clear on Monday, when the shutdown forced by the spreading pandemic took hold and the extent of the crisis became impossible to ignore.

What am I going to do? It’s a question being asked by working parents whose kids attend shuttered schools, by business owners alarmed by disappearing customers, by workers facing financial devastation, by sons and daughters who have elderly parents made especially vulnerable by the virus.

On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that all bars, restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and casinos must close – the latest economic shutdown forced by the spread of a virus that had infected nearly 1,000 New Yorkers. Bars and restaurants can remain open for takeout and delivery only.