How to Survive Staying at Home

I spent most of the morning reading Examine.com's Coronavirus: A guide to staying healthy (and sane) while stuck indoors. It is a lengthy summary of general health guidelines that aims to answer the question, "How can you focus on what matters most to your health? (And, relatedly: How can you avoid spending all your time stressing about the pandemic, and all your money on the latest “miracle cure”?)" I found it to be thorough and, as always, they include links to all 155 references they cited. The topics cover lifestyle & immune function, dealing with information overload, mental health, and sanitation & safety practices. And its not just a lot of words, there are also helpful infographics that summarize some key information such as these answering the questions, "How can I reduce my chances of getting sick?  

 Which lifestyle changes will most benefit my health?


How does physical distancing help? Link to video here.


What is the evidence for face masks?


Since you're on the Internet anyway, you might want to check it out! Since SARS-CoV-2 is a new organism and there was no information about it before, the knowledge base is changing rapidly. Examine.com will be reviewing new studies and updating this guide as new information comes along.

I like that it leads with good hand hygiene! I need to work on "lifestyle changes that will most benefit my health", specifically sleep; I have made use of my quarantine period to sleep in. A lot. But not quite in the way I need to. Previously my day started at an hour before sunrise, then I did my sunrise walk & birded along the way for about 35 minutes. After my cool down stretches I went in, changed my clothes, and sat with Dad, helping the nurses & aides with getting him to eat and take his meds. At about 10, I did a 35 minute mid-morning walk, returning in time to help Dad with lunch. I frequently took a short nap after lunch, sitting in the chair; not ideal. Then in the mid-afternoon, when Curtis arrived, I did one last 35 minute walk. I went home after my walk, made dinner, watched the 5 o'clock news, went through the mail, played with the cats, worked on the blog, showered, watched a couple of interesting shows, watched the evening news, sat through Stephen Colbert's opening monologue, then went to sleep. I got about 6 hours of sleep; according to the National Sleep Foundation I should be getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep. During the quarantine period I have slept in longer giving me between 7 and 9 hours of sleep. But that will be changing once I am out of quarantine and can walk again.

I started the walking both for my mental health and for exercise; since I was previously active it was difficult for me to sit still all day. And sitting all day is also bad for your health anyway. Walking at sunrise is the best time for birding, which helps "exercise" my brain since I identify the birds both by what they look like and the sounds they make. I also keep a running tally in my head of 5 or 6 species before I transfer the data to the eBird app on my phone. I keep the tally in my head in taxonomic order and also run through the birds by their Hawaiian name (if there is one) and their common name; for some I also use their scientific name. When I transfer the info to the app I need to know the 4-letter code for the bird which is based on the eBird/Clements taxonomy common name. All of this has been great for exercising my brain!


I was able to get on to the Farm to Car on-line farmers market site today and place an order! I got kicked out once but was able to get back in and finish the order. Next Saturday I drive to the pick up site and stay in my car; the staff at the pick up site do the rest of the work. Starting next Wednesday, they are expanding the program; they're adding a pick-up site on the east side of the island.

This reminder popped up in my email.

This email came with my e-receipt.

I found a tool for cleaning windows; none of The Roommates claimed it. It's one of those As Seen on TV type of products so it's probably something Mom bought during the last few years as the dementia started getting worse. I am taking it to Kohala; I think I'll clean the windows while I'm in quarantine!


My Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) economic impact payment arrived yesterday; I opened Notice 1444 (EN-SP) today. Since my income tax refund is done via direct deposit, this check was also received via direct deposit. My credit union's website is down for routine maintenance today so I was unable to see exactly when I received the payment.

Because Tropical Depression 1-E is occurring outside of the normal hurricane season, a text issued about it (and others outside the normal season) is referred to as a Special Tropical Weather Outlook; today's says, "Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days." In fact, it is expected to dissipate some time tonight. FYI For the eastern north Pacific the season starts on May 15th, a couple weeks earlier than our season.

Eastern North Pacific.

Central North Pacific, note date of last info.

There were 2 new COVID-19 cases reported today, bringing the total known cases up to 606. The death toll and people requiring hospitalization has remained unchanged. About 80% of people have been released from isolation and about 2.1% of the population has been tested.

Here is the calendar where I have been tracking the number of COVID-19 cases and the number of new cases since April 12th. Over the last week the number of new cases has remained in single digits, which makes it tough to show a steadily declining number of new cases. Statewide we have not had a 14-day period without new cases, but Kaua'i County has; they are in discussion about relaxing some restrictions.


I leave you with this from Examine.com:


Hauʻoli lā Hānau e koʻu mau hoa hānau Karen, Daniel, & Kenley!