Masks are mandated in Salt Lake County, so everywhere we go here, people are masked, and there are signs on all the businesses that say you need to wear a mask to enter. While in Cache, Davis, and Utah counties, we have been the weirdos wearing masks. As we were leaving a Utah County restaurant (where the majority of customers, the people taking our orders, and some of the people preparing the food were not wearing masks), I heard a customer say to one of the employees, "I don't have to wear a mask here, do I?" This was after we walked past her in our masks, which must have made her uneasy.
I say this not to make a statement about being pro-mask or anti-mask, but just to acknowledge that I have a bit of culture shock over how different my COVID experience is because of where I live. Which leads to my topic for today - I decided to document how things are operating under our current COVID restrictions in my community. That way I have something to look back on to see how things change over time. As of today, August 14, 2020, here is how things are going in my little corner of the world:
The Library
After a very long closure, library books can now be put on hold and picked up by appointment. For a while they were just offering curbside pick-up. The employees have the items checked out for you already when you arrive. They are bagged and placed on a chair. You have to get out of your car and retrieve your bag from the chair. Just a few weeks ago they started letting us in the library by appointment. We have ten minutes to go inside, pick up our holds, browse a small selection of books, and check out. I did one appointment like this, but I prefer the ease of curbside. An employee met me at the door and walked me in. There was a table with masks and hand sanitizer in the entry.
After books are returned, they are quarantined for 72 hours. The library is not issuing fines during COVID, which is good because I have two books I checked out in February that I can't find anywhere. I'll have to pay for them eventually, but it's nice that I don't have to worry about it right now.
Masks
As I mentioned, masks are mandated in Salt Lake County. I'm actually glad about this because it eliminates some of the discomfort I felt prior to the mandate, and there is far less tension when everyone has a mask on. There are still people sneaking around without masks, and I feel bad that the burden has been placed on businesses to enforce the mandate, but most people are abiding.
Church
Church is one thing that varies a lot even just within a small geographical region. Our ward started up in June. We had four sessions to begin with, and now it has narrowed down to two. Last I heard, ours is the only ward in our stake that is meeting. My family has not yet attended church. The other day I realized we're less active now. We go everywhere else. Just not to church.
Gas Stations
As a person who enjoys the occasional caffeinated beverage with pebble ice in a styrofoam cup, I have to discuss the nature of obtaining a beverage at a gas station. We must use fresh cups (we aren't supposed to refill or bring our own), and then the lids and straws are kept at the counter and distributed by the cashiers. This is one thing that surprised me a little bit when I went to Maverik in Davis County. They have the lids and straws just sitting out like normal, and refills are allowed.
Restaurants
While I'm on the topic of beverages, let's go ahead and transition to restaurants. Some of our food places allow you to fill your own drink, but you have to get a new cup if you want a refill (Cafe Rio). Others have the employees fill your drink for you (In-N-Out).
Every restaurant is handling things a bit differently, so it's interesting to see how things are done at each place. I'll share some with you if you promise to not judge me about how much I eat out:
- Chick-Fil-A puts everything on a tray at the drive-thru and has you take your items from the tray so there is no contact.
- McDonald's (and many other fast food places) just hand you stuff.
- The server at Olive Garden told me she is not allowed to clear any dishes from the table. Only a manager can. Nicky and I had unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks. They placed a serving tray next to our table so we could put our dishes on it.
- At Moochie's they have a section by the counter roped off so you have to stand at least a foot from the counter to order (this makes it hard to run your card in the machine) but they still have bottles of fry sauce sitting on the counter that you can take to your table, and they allow you to fill and refill your drink. Aside: I regret to say that I no longer care for Moochie's. I still love their fries and fry sauce, but I don't like their sandwiches anymore. I'm really sad about this. Their sandwiches used to move me to tears, they were so delicious to me. Something changed. I don't like their sandwiched at all now.
- Tucano's had us fill out sheets of paper indicating which meats we wanted and what we wanted from the salad bar. Then everything was plated in the kitchen and brought to us. This may have changed since our visit because the governor recently allowed buffets to reopen. We ate at Tucano's at the beginning of July to use Scotty's free birthday meal (Scotty's birthday meals are what pushed us to start “dining in” again because FREE FOOD).
Many restaurants have modified their menus to make things simpler for their employees right now. McDonald's has stopped serving some of our go-to's like ice cream cones and parfaits. Some establishments are using disposable menus, and others (like Red Robin) have you scan a QR code and look at the menu on your phone.
School
Our district starts on August 24. This could all change but currently, elementary school is set to resume a five-day schedule with the option of distance learning. Secondary is doing Monday-Thursday (with distance learning option) and then all students do distance learning on Fridays. Students won’t have lockers. Masks are required. Each school has their own COVID plan which takes into consideration their floor plan, their enrollment, etc. Those plans have been made available to parents. We’ve been asked to commit to either in-person or distance learning for first quarter. Then we can change for the next quarter (extenuating circumstances allow immediate changes, but they don’t want people changing back and forth constantly). If at any time the schools need to close, everything is in place for all students to transition to distance learning.
Grocery Shopping
I do most of my grocery shopping online, so I don’t go in grocery stores very often. Some stores are starting to extend their hours again, which is nice. It’s been hard for me to not be able to make early morning grocery store runs. I found myself at Smith’s this week during senior hours (6:00-8:00 MWF) and even though it probably would have been fine for me to go in, I didn’t want to be “that” person, so I went home and came back later. I’ve had to wait outside for Walmart to open at 7:00 many times.
It seems like most food/household items are back in stock. Now it's trampolines, camping gear, and Nintendo Switches that no one can find.
Other Stores
While I haven't done a lot of in-person grocery shopping, I have done some "other" shopping. As you know, I took my kids back-to-school shopping. I also ventured to IKEA (I still think I deserve a trophy for that one). I go to Sam's Club pretty regularly.
I used to feel weird going to stores, but now I'm pretty comfortable.
Except at IKEA. IKEA is wiggety wack.
Most stores have their dressing rooms closed right now, which is a bummer for back-to-school shopping.
The Dentist
We have a pediatric dentist, a regular dentist, and an orthodontist. At both dentist offices we've had to stay in our car and call from the parking lot, then they let us know when to come in. They take our temperatures upon arrival. There is no one in the waiting room. At the "regular" dentist, we had to fill out a form online asking things like, "Do you have a cough? Have you had a fever in the past two weeks? Have you been in contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID?" etc. We also had to sign a consent form to receive treatment during COVID. We had to wash our hands when we came in, and use mouthwash. The dentist and hygienist had double PPE on their faces. We were escorted everywhere we went, and they always made sure to not enter the hallways or the waiting room until all was clear.
We haven't been to the orthodontist since May, but back then it felt like a frat party in comparison to the dentist’s office. The waiting room was full of people, and no one wore masks - not even the staff, save for when they were working directly in a mouth (that was before masks were mandated - I'm sure it's different now).
Piano Lessons
Obviously this ranges from teacher to teacher, but our piano teacher (who is actually my aunt) has been doing lessons via FaceTime. We have a phone holder hooked to our bookshelf in the living room that allows us to position the phone so the teacher can see our kids and the piano keys. It's nice that our kids have been able to continue piano lessons throughout the pandemic, and I kind of like not having to drive them to and from lessons for the time being.
Deseret Industries
The DI is where I normally donate the stuff I'm getting rid of. Currently, in order to donate, you have to schedule an appointment. You are supposed to sort your items, and when you get there, you unload them and put them in the proper bins yourself. I went last week, and the employee told me he's not allowed to touch my donations, but then he followed me around and touched everything after I put it in the bins anyway.
So that's how things have been as of late. It's kind of wild to think about the route this year has taken. I often think of what it would have been like to foresee all of this in January. If I'd looked into a crystal ball and seen August 2020, what on earth would I have thought? Luckily I didn't get the whole picture at once. I've just been given one day at a time.
Pandemics, amiright?
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