Locked down, trying to stay busy in distressing times

Our real coronavirus lockdown began this week as the number of confirmed cases topped 1 million worldwide. Everything but supermarkets shut their doors in Bien Hoa. A couple of odd businesses -- a sports clothing shop and a Korean beauty salon -- stayed open after the lockdown was ordered on Monday. The government sent out a no-nonsense message on Tuesday this week via internet telling residents to mind their social distancing, stay indoors, and forget about shopping (except for necessities) for 14 days. The two businesses closed. On the website worldometers.info, which updates throughout the day, Vietnam has reported 233 cases of the virus overall as of Friday, April 3. The total has been rising about 10 cases a day the past 10 days, so I think the government is trying to snuff out the spread of the virus before it gets a real foothold here and picks up momentum. I have no complaints about how the government here is responding to the crisis.

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Joanna and I sometimes take a 30-minute walk with our masks on and marvel at the lack of traffic. Kids still play soccer in the street and there are a few badminton players in the park.  Almost all of them are not wearing masks. Joanna is aware that things are abnormal because the coffee shops we frequent together are closed. She doesn't even ask for videos when we watch CNN or France24.
I fill my time with assorted house chores like laundry, dishes, and cleaning. I've been reading everything Jack Vance has written that I can buy on Kindle, but that's been going on for the past 120 days in a row.  Of course there's lots of Joanna care, including two hours of kiddie pool time. I read to Joanna in the morning, and we watch two hours of Peppa Pig videos each day. I know that's a lot, but we are locked down and Peppa Pig is quite entertaining, even for adults. I also listen to a slew of Brian Jonestown Massacre music I purchased on iTunes and Amazon.  I got on board after watching the documentary Dig! on YouTube. I stopped teaching.  I'll resume when the 14-day isolation period ends. My pregnant wife is enduring, but it's not easy. At least her back pain subsided.

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Rainy season is approaching and more folks tend to get sick in Vietnam this time of year, but I have no idea how rainy season will affect the spread of the coronavirus. This virus seems resilient regardless of weather conditions since it has spread to more than 200 countries in both hemispheres.
My heart goes out to anyone suffering from this virus, but I feel especially distressed for the U.S., Italy and Spain.  If blogspot stats are to be believed, I have more readers from Italy and the U.S. than any other countries the past two years. Be careful and follow the guidelines, folks.

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I have read about and I have watched officials on TV who were dismissive about the virus when it was initially identified and started to spread. Some are even dismissive now, especially about the guidelines and tactics recommended by scientists to combat the virus. I don't think a comment about these people is particularly necessary from someone like me. The soaring death count, especially in the three countries I mentioned, speaks volumes about their comments, actions and attitudes.