The City of Winter Park blocked off Park Avenue to car traffic while offering outdoor seating for Mothers day, May 10, 2020. It was marketed as a “weekend opportunity.” Twenty two of more than 400 eligible businesses within city limits offered seating and merchandise indoors and on sidewalks and the street. A reader sent me photos of people not social distancing. Although visitors are merely encouraged to bring and wear masks, workers were required to wear masks when within six feet of anyone. No one in the photos I was shown wore face masks. I did not paint this event but instead the Sidewalk At Festival that happened pre-pandemic.
Covid-19 has shut down the U.S. for two months, but the pandemic is just getting started, says Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Osterholm said only an effective vaccine can slow the virus before a large enough segment of the population becomes infected and develops some level of immunity. A CDC covid-19 Chicago case study showed that 1 person spread the virus to 15 other people in February, 2020 Three of those infected died.
As of yesterday May 12, 2020, 1,385,834 people in America have been infected by Covid-19 with 81,795 dead. One single spark can create a flash fire that spreads fast.