Happy 🥧 Day!
It's been 373 days since I started my COVID-19 quarantine. I remember it like it was yesterday.
At the start of 2020, I was in Markham, ON visiting my parents for the holidays. I remember watching some news about an unknown virus spreading in China. At the time, I thought nothing much of it. I was busy preparing for my university classmate's wedding. I never expected it to escalate into a global pandemic.
About a week later, I returned back to Redmond, WA for work. From then until March 6, 2020, I was mostly preoccupied dealing with some personal stuff and new feature work. The stock market appeared to be doing very well.
Two weeks before the start of March, things really started to get bad. COVID-19 had reached the US and was spreading in WA state. Within two weeks, my workplace shutdown as a precautionary measure. We were to WFH until at least the end of April. Evidently, it's March 14, 2021 now and I'm still quarantined at home.
Things were chaotic from thereon. Hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, masks, rubbing alcohol, and toilet paper were sold out everywhere. Early on, the government recommended against purchasing masks and to reserve supply for hospitals. So when I went grocery shopping to stockpile on food and other supplies, I did not wear a mask. Still, I was weary about becoming infected with COVID-19.
I recall that in mid-March 2020, there was a week and a half where I had nausea. At one point, I woke up with cold sweats and felt like vomiting. Up until now, I still don't know whether it was just the common cold or if I had a mild case of COVID-19.
It's been just over a year since I started by COVID-19 quarantine. During that time, I've mostly been shut in my 516 sqft apartment. Work has become life and life has become work. I've also gained a bunch of weight from stress eating and not being able to move around. Not really safe to go anywhere while COVID-19 pandemic is in effect. I'm an introvert by nature, but this is ridiculous.
Late 2020, the first vaccine for COVID-19 was finally approved. Since then, the number of severe cases for COVID-19 appear to be dropping, as the most vulnerable are innoculated against the virus. The US government recently said that there should be enough vaccine for the rest of the US population by May 1, 2021.
Here's hoping that the pandemic is over by Summer 2021. I'd like to be able to visit places again...