I don't know what to think Deb. Staying off public transport is something we are doing and apparently if you are within six feet of an infected person for 15 minutes, that can lead to the spread of the virus. Being proactive seems sensible to me.

I am not worried, my husband is worried. We have stocked up with groceries, we will keep away from public places as much as possible and we will wait and see.

Our children work, one is a doctor so with sick kids all day every day. Eat well, stay healthy and fit and hope!

Personally I am trusting the LORD to keep my husband and I ok. We are washing our hands, and doing all that we know but not stressing out. We are both seniors in years but our health over all is fair. We do not travel outside our area so this helps too. GOD bless all of you and keep you safe.

So, as of tonight at 9 pm, all restaurants & bars in Ohio will be closing, due to the Corona Virus. Well...I guess they aren't totally closing (unless they choose to), but will only be open for carry-out or delivery of food. It's really getting scary

Same here. Ours close as of end of business tomorrow, carry out only and they may change that. Of course in my little town, the grocery store has pretty much food, it is the alcohol that is getting empty. LOL

I'm getting concerned with the people. The meat aisle, dairy, produce, fruit is so hard to find. No water, no paper products. It's concerning that things are flying off the shelves. I bought yesterday meals for the next 3 days and it had to be all red meat, which I was not happy with. But I have 3 teenage boys I have to feed. If it was only me and my husband it wouldn't be as bad. So I'm now a little concerned, not about the virus, but of society. I would love to find chicken this week. I will try again tomorrow.

News from the UK today, from the weekend everyone has to avoid social contact and non-essential travel, not go to bars, cinemas and anywhere there are people. Also from the weekend anyone over 70 has to go into self-isolation for 4 months. We can hardly believe that - 4 months, not 4 weeks?!?

Wow! That's a long time Gwen! Things change daily here. Ohio was suppos d to have voting tomorrow but the Governor is trying to get it postponed until June. He said it's not fair to ask seniors to stay home and then ask them to go vote.

Holy moly Gwen, that really is a long time!

It really is one day at a time! Light and Love to you and yours

I just watched a pharmacist talking on Facebook about staying in the best possible health. He recommends taking Vitamin C, Vitamin D, zinc & probiotics. If you don't already take these supplements, it may be a good time to start. Anything we can do to stay healthy is good, right? And eating a healthy diet and getting some fresh air & exercise will help as well! Stay well my friends!

Gwen, that is ridiculous. They should take it week by week and just monitor the situation. I think saying 4 months might freak people out a little.

Stay healthy my friends. Get some natural vitamin D by going outside for a little bit.

I've been telecommuting for 15 years so to stay home is no big deal. But, I'm on vacation this week and had plans to meet up with people and go out to eat, etc.....but I can't due to the restaurants being closed except for pickup or delivery. I feel for the number of people that these closures are putting out of work and the small businesses that will not make it through this time.

Well... Trump has said he will be putting something together that will help those out of work & without a paycheck. Hopefully it will come to fruition!

@ Time Out Alex - it HAS freaked everyone out - I mean 4 months is a very l-o-n-g time, no question. It is hard to know why, but the general feel is not positive, I can tell you.

Geez Gwen, I do hope this thing isn't sticking around for that long and they lift it. Stay safe!

As of today, our Governor has closed hair salons, barbershops, & nail salons. I guess I will soon find out how much gray hair I actually have!

Deb... what state are you in?

Nevermind.... I see. Ohio! Me too! I'm in Cincinnati.

@Alicia ~ how are things in Cincinnati?

Wet! Hasn't stopped raining for 3 days.

Most everything is closed except grocery stores.

Everything is gradually shutting down here and from tomorrow, Saturday 21st March all over 70's have to self-isolate for 12 weeks. That's right, there has been no change to this ruling. Also everyone has to socially distance themselves. Schools finish today and public transport will be cut in half next week.

I am not yet 70 but social distancing is required. Our restaurants have not yet been required to close down but many of them have as they have no customers. People are in different categories, those who are in total panic, the seriously worried, those who are not taking on the enormity of the situation, and the stupid who are putting everyone else at risk.

I agree Gwen, some of these people just start talking to me at the Grocery store. I get it we all concerned but we really don't need to have a five minute conversation. I don't know you and a smile is good for me. My husband and I went to the grocery store and this couple probably in there 60's just wanted to have a conversation. We started backing smiling and nodding and kind of wondering what you doing. They were telling us to buy ice cream, because if we're all going to die we might as well be happy. I was a little stunned. I think my husband started pushing me the other way.

I was only allowed to buy two small packs of meat for a family of 5. The grocery store wouldn't let us buy anymore than that. Two small packages per household they said. Seriously, that's only enough to feed maybe 2 of my kids maybe the 3 and I guess my husband and I will just watch. All because people decided to hoard and now we have to starve our kids. So I had to buy frozen pizzas, because you can buy as many of those as you want!!!

We go on a mandatory stay at home here tonight at 5 through April 7. I went to Costco Thursday and have to say I was pleasantly surprised, they had signs up about self distancing, they had a list of things that were out of stock (and it was a very small list) and they had all the carts pre-sanitized and also wipes so you could do it yourself again if you wanted. The people were all good about keeping their distance, it was quiet in there and people just got what they needed and went on their way. And everyone was kind to each other. It was really nice to see, restored my faith in humanity a little.

Thank you Lyn! I appreciate the positive you saw. It's nice to hear.

Today all our restaurants, cinemas, gyms, clubs are closed and cannot operate a sit in service of any kind. I think they might be able to deliver food. So it looks like we are all pretty well in the same boat. Hugs to all!

Hey we still have SYD to write to each other. We can give our thoughts and feelings and know that we are not alone.

@Gwen ~ all our restaurants, bars, salons, gums, tattoo parlors, schools, adult daycare centers, senior centers have been closed for several days. The Governor came on today and so far we are just being asked to stay home ~ no state orders yet!

We have had most restaurants close and those open are only doing carry out. Some have started delivery. All non essential businesses are closing up. There are still lots of people at Home Depot and I have truly never seen it so busy as I did a ride by. I have stayed in for the most part. I will need some grocery items this week but decided to do it during the week when I saw the number of people out there. I do now know a 10 yr old that possibly has it and is in ICU at CHOA in Atlanta. Her mom is a labor and delivery nurse so not sure how she got this or if the mom will now be tested as well.

I am absolutely encouraged by the decisiveness of our president and the government. We started seeing soldiers on the streets and he just announced a lockdown starting Thursday to 16April. There's a lot of measures they will put in place and some people are definitely pointing out all the negatives regarding the economy but I honestly feel that containing this as much as possible and for it not to spread to the larger population because it would be devastating for a longer time than the 21 days.

We just received work texts still insisting that it's business as usual but I think we can fight to work from home now.
They said maintenance of Telecommunications is part of the critical services and this is what our work is trying to use to keep us going to work.
Maintenance and running call centres are 2 different things in my opinion.

We have 402 confirmed cases but there's been a shortage of tests already and people have been turned away simply because they are not symptomatic yet even when they reported possible contact. So it is really critical to curb it at this early stage

Britain was locked down last night for three weeks. All non-essential shops to close, no-one to go out except for essential food or medical needs. We can exercise once a day in the fresh air but not gather with other people at all. We saw this coming and pray it will stop the spread of the virus.

It is very confusing here in the Dallas, TX area, because our governor left decisions to cities and counties, so city mayors and county judges say they are consulting each other; but the result is inconsistency and confusion. In a metro area this size, there are multiple counties and cities that we all are a part of between home, work, and essential outings, and we are receiving no official notifications. I refuse to just scroll through the negativity for hours and still not getting a clear answer. So frustrating for a rule follower like me! I am doing the obvious wise things, but wondering which businesses I can still support within social distancing guidelines, and which things are considered "essential." This is greatly affecting mental health, and so many families are just not equipped to properly nurture and educate children in times like these. All I can do is stay connected to my spiritual foundation and do the best I can, which may be spirit vs. letter of the law.

We are now seeing that here in the Atlanta area and north. Each county is now implementing different things. If it will keep people in that don't need to get out then that is good. Some people just don't understand.

I agree. Things should be uniform throughout the cities & states. We are on a "stay at home" order until at least April 2nd, if not longer. I cannot for the life of me understand why Trump came on and said he expects things to be open by Easter! He needs to think of other things other than $$$. I know there are people without jobs now and we all want the economy to be strong again, but not at the cost of lives!,

Amazingly England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are all doing the same thing so we know where we stand. The lock down seems to be working and we hope and pray the number of people getting the virus will peak as a result. My prayers are better than my food choices right now, and maybe I just need to settle for that. Praying for you all. Hugs xx

I wish the USA would do that too Gwen. It might makes things go away faster.