‘I’m being very, very cautious. That’s all you can do.’ Stanislaus residents talk COVID-19
The coronavirus outbreak had Raymond Cox, 89, somewhat nervous as he arrived for an appointment at the Gould Medical Group building on Coffee Road on Monday morning. They’d just been dropped off, and in her own wheelchair next to his, wife Patricia assured him she’d help him steer clear of as many people as they could.
The couple of 58 years had good reason to be on guard, because they’re in the demographic the virus has hit hardest: senior citizens with underlying health conditions.
As of Monday, however, Stanislaus County did not have any confirmed cases of the virus. A total of 23 people have been tested; of those, seven have returned negative for the virus and 16 are pending results.
“His condition is very touchy,” Patricia said of her husband. He recently had open heart surgery on a valve and had stents put in, she said. “And I have bronchial asthma and I’ve had a lot of medical issues, also.”
The couple are exercising precautions such as making only essential trips out, liberally using disinfectant wipes — Patricia had a tube of them in the cup holder of her chair — and “vetting” anyone they let into their home, which is pretty much no one these days.
“I’m being very, very cautious,” Patricia said. “That’s all you can do.”
Schools and colleges in Stanislaus County are preparing contingency plans for protecting students and staff against coronavirus outbreaks.
Superintendents and other top administrators met with the county’s top health officials Friday.
In a letter to parents Monday, Modesto City Schools said it was restricting or canceling non-essential out-of-county travel and field trips to locations where the illness has spread, such as Santa Clara, Solano County, San Francisco and Seattle.
Families were urged to cooperate with measures to prevent the spread of contagious illness, such as staying home when sick and regular hand-washing.
Modesto Junior College and Columbia College near Sonora have begun emergency planning and are working on contingency plans, including online course instruction, in event students need to stay home due to infectious disease risk.
An informal survey of people out and about in Modesto and Ceres on Monday morning found a few like the Coxes saying they’re being very cautious, while more are simply taking the normal precautions of cold and flu season, like regular hand-washing and avoiding hand-to-face contact.
Still others — about 20 people, including nine 20- and 30-somethings packed around a table at a Ceres diner — said they’re not at all concerned about the virus. “It’s the flu — get over it, people. That’s what I have to say about it,” one woman said as she walked into the Walmart Supercenter on McHenry Avenue.
Another Walmart shopper, Rena Davis of Oakdale, said this coronavirus, called COVID-19, isn’t on her mind much. “I mean, we’re careful. We’ll wash our hands — and the kids, we make sure they keep their hands out of their face and wash their hands diligently.”
Those are habits her family practiced long before this virus, though, she said. “I haven’t gone out and rushed and bought sanitizer and all this stuff people are going crazy about. Just be careful like you do every day.”
Sitting in the Hot Rod Diner in Ceres with his wife and grown kids, Waterford resident Robert Bennett said he’s not giving the virus a whole lot of thought, either. “We’re not changing the way we live because of it.”
While filling up at the Chevron station on Herndon Avenue near the diner, Teresa Williams said she’s very concerned about the virus and is trying to educate herself.
“I’m doing a lot of searching online just to find out really what the truth about the matter is and trying to learn about what symptoms to look for. There’s a lot of disinformation online, so I’ve had a hard time trying to find just the basic truth about what it is, what to look for and what to do about it, other than wash my hands.”
With children ages 3 and 4, washing hands is a big deal in her house, said Williams, who added she’s not yet taking any extra steps like limiting outings or stocking up on canned or frozen food, or on toilet paper, hand sanitizer and other products that some people are reporting difficulty in finding.
She said she’s a little concerned about a trip she’s set to make to Detroit in July, but feels keeping herself informed is the most powerful thing she can do.
Fueling up at another pump was Edward Sibaja, who studied nursing at Modesto Junior College. His coursework helped him understand how to keep healthy and prevent pathogens from entering the body.
“Usually that happens when you touch your eyes, nose or mouth after touching contaminates surfaces and from touching other things and other people,” he said.
It’s also important to know whom COVID-19 is most affecting, “which is people who have weakened immune systems and the very old and the very young,” he said.
Just as his education prepared Sibaja, Orlando Martinez’s occupation did the same for him. Outside the MaxxValue Foods store on Paradise Road in Modesto, the plumber said he’s cleared countless clogged toilets and drains of about the grossest stuff you can imagine.
On the job, he wears protective gloves and washes his hands a lot. The hand-washing habit carries over to his life at home, where there are also kids ages 2 and 3 to keep healthy, he said.
“I try not to watch the news too much, because it’s always bad,” he said about the virus coverage. “It’s going bad, spreading quick.” In the way of extra precautions his family is taking, though, “we buy sanitary wipes a lot. That’s about it.”
Darice and Robert Howe were heading into MaxxValue and said shopping trips are one of the things they’re trying to keep to a minimum. “We don’t go as many places now where there’s a lot of people,” Darice said. And in case the outbreak situation worsens and gets closer to home, they’re stocking up a bit on nonperishable food such as dried and canned foods.
Another way they’ve changed their habits for now: “We usually go to movies a lot here, at least a couple times a month,” she said, “and we haven’t been doing that. And travel, we haven’t made any travel plans for this summer yet.”
Outside the Walmart on McHenry, Esmeralda Rocha shared, “My husband said you’ve got to have faith. You have to be cautious, but not live in fear.”
She’s not stocking up on groceries and other items, she said, but is taking common-sense precautions like frequent hand-washing, and she was pleased when her 9-year-old daughter said her teacher ensures that all students wash their hands upon returning from lunch and recess.
Fellow shopper Michael Elkins said it’s hard for COVID-19 not to be on his mind when it’s constantly on the news. It has him a little concerned, he said, but he figures that if he gets it, his chances are pretty good.
His kids have been more concerned, Elkins said. His youngest, age 6, “was kind of scared.” Without sugar-coating it, Elkins simply explained that it’s unlikely anyone in the family will contract the virus and even more unlikely it would prove fatal.
In daily life, his concern has translated into things like fewer handshakes and more deliberate washing of his hands, he said.
“I’m just kind of more aware of it.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 4:35 PM.
