On March 19, 2020, I did this last sketch for the Orlando Significant Trees series before settling in and isolating for the Covid-19 pandemic. This tree in Big Tree Park, (930 Thornton Avenue Orlando FL) is likely 350 to 400 years old. It is the oldest tree in Orlando. Live Oaks can live for centuries.
While doing this sketch a woman walking her dog approached to see what the sketch looked like. Because she got closer than 6 feet from me, I decided it was no longer a good idea to be doing drawings on location. The Covid-19 Pandemic had been announced on March 13, 2020 so it was rather foolish of me to have been thinking I could still sketch on location safely. Several other trees need to be sketched But I decided to wait to do these until after the new cases of Covid-19 infection level off for 14 days. That has yet to happen as new cases rise each day here in Florida.
On March 19, 2020 more than 14,200 people had tested positive in the U.S. and at least 187 had died. These numbers seem so small looking back. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide order for residents to stay at home. Floridians would not be asked to stay at home until April 3, 2020. The State Department told citizens who traveled abroad they should come home immediately or prepare to remain overseas. This rush back into the United States would result in a huge spike in cases in New York City as people who went untested upon return, poured into the city airports.
Projections models at the time predicted a possible 1.1 million deaths in America assuming there was little to no social distancing. A better scenario envisioned Americans embracing drastic restrictions and school closures, which would reduce the death toll closer to the thousands as the country prepares for a grueling but surmountable road ahead. We are today somewhere between these very different scenarios with almost 2 million cases and 111,390 dead and rising.