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This is continuing coverage of the Coronavirus pandemic on MotherNature CSI. Since I can’t get out and about to ask how you’re doing – I’m talking to family and friends around the country. My family is much like yours, and we’re all dealing with a lot of the same issues.

Today, you’ll hear from my cousin Georgia. She lives in New York City with her husband and 20-year-old son. New York is now being called the epicenter of the Coronavirus pandemic.

We’re luckier than most. We’re safe, we have food, supplies, we have love, we have each other

Georgia wants others outside of New York City to know that while they’re scared, they are continuing to live their lives.

Georgia and her husband are both working from home. Her husband, Bart, is a psychotherapist who spends his days talking to patients by phone, Skype, and Zoom. She works for a company providing counseling services to corporations, many of whom are hospitals and organizations based in New York.

“We’re luckier than most,” Georgia says. “We’re safe, we have food, supplies, we have love and we have each other, but we’re frightened.” “At night we hunker down, watch the news, get nervous and try to find ways to distract ourselves.”

We’ll get through this. One day at a time

The first case of coronavirus in the U.S. showed up in Washington state at the end of February. But now the concern has turned to New York, where more than 4,100 people have died and 122,000 have tested positive for COVID-19. There was some good news this weekend when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the hospital discharge rate is way up and Sunday New York saw the first daily drop in fatalities.

Right now, 40 states are under some kind of stay-in-place or shelter-in-place order. Here in San Diego, we are on our third week of staying at home. We don’t leave except for essential travel, such as going to an essential job, for groceries, a doctor’s appointment or to get exercise in our neighborhood.

The trails, parks, national forests, and beaches are also closed to discourage gathering. This week a no swimming or surfing order was added for public waterways and beaches in San Diego – apparently, surfers were gathering in groups in the ocean.

Going out in public now means staying six feet away from everyone and we are required to wear some type of face mask in public. I’ve seen them in all shapes and sizes. My mother has been keeping busy sewing face masks for a relative who needs them for his military unit at a nearby base. She’s made three dozen so far.

Schools remain closed in San Diego County and they won’t reopen this school year. The elementary school near my home handed out Chrome tablets this week to parents so their student can do schoolwork and keep in touch with others while staying at home.

If you’d like to share how you’re coping with COVIDd-19, how it’s affecting your family, just record a message on your mobile phone’s voice memo and email it to me at: MotherNatureCSI@Gmail.com We look forward to hearing from you and adding your voice to our podcast. Stay safe.

Additional info: CDC Coronavirus page

How to make a face mask