Isolation Photo Project, Day 97

The outdoor seating areas set up by the township looked like a large family picnic.

Since last week I have stressed over something that I am dreading. I think it is affecting my sleep patterns, and my anxiety is heightened.

In February, Mom had come to New Jersey for an extended stay with us. But after just a few weeks her hip started bothering her, so she travelled back to Charlotte, North Carolina for physical therapy and was expected to return to New Jersey in two weeks. But then our governor put the state on lockdown, and she couldn’t return. She's been in Charlotte since then.

Mom has had enough of being cooped up inside my brother's home. She’s not happy with the situation. I have spoken to my brothers about what to do, but Mom wants to wait out the global pandemic in the family home in Kingstown, St. Vincent. The airlines serving St. Vincent & The Grenadines are running weekly flights out of Miami, but there are no flights directly from Charlotte to Miami. She would fly to Florida, stay overnight in a hotel, and then take the next early morning flight to St. Vincent.

I am concerned about the exposure risk from two plane flights, an overnight stay in a hotel, and the Uber car ride to the airport. Because of her hip, Mom sometimes needs a wheelchair. I do not trust the cleaning and safety protocols of the airlines and random Uber drivers.

Then there are the requirements set by the government of St. Vincent for passengers arriving from non-CARICOM countries. She will need an IgG and IgM COVID test taken 2-5 days before travel. The results have to be negative. If she does not have these tests done, they will test her at the airport, but she’ll be quarantined for 14 days in a government facility at her expense. I am anxious about solving the logistics of transportation from the airport, acquiring food, stocking her suitcase with essentials for 14 days.

My anxiety isn't helped by news of the rapid spread of COVID-19 in states like Florida, Texas and Arizona. People in those states are behaving like they had immunity to the virus. Or they don't care about society. But perhaps I am too harsh. Bhavna and I were in Princeton for a walk, but after just two blocks, we realised that social distancing on the sidewalks was not possible. The outdoor seating areas set up by the township looked like a large family picnic. We gave up and went home.

I use Ritchie's CineStill 800T Film Simulation recipe for this shot.

Argh!

Submitted for the 100DaysToOffload project.