Steve 

Arizona

Things here are probably not as bad as other places in the country.  Those over 70 have been asked to restrict travel to necessary trips we are pretty much doing that although I do still go to the grocery store, gas stations, etc.  I try to avoid large crowds.  Some of the grocery stores have shopping hours for seniors several days a week.  Stores are out of toilet paper, most bottled water, paper towels and sanitizers.  I noticed yesterday that some meats were in less supply and lots of boxed type dinners were gone, but other than that there was most everything else including milk.  The southern border with Mexico in closed for non-essential travel, but the workers from Mexico can still cross to work in US and that is a big issue for the agricultural areas along the border.  We were in Mexico at Rocky Point last week for three days, but came back the day we heard that some restrictions on the border were being discussed and wanted to get out while it might be easier.

Lots of people here working from home, although the roads are still busy during rush hours.  Schools have been closed through April 7.  I am not sure how many cases of the virus we have in the state now, but have had only two deaths and that may be amazing given the number of old retirees living here and the number of snow birds that come here for the winter.  They say that as the temperatures heat up it might help reduce the spread as heat kills the virus quicker.  

I have been somewhat concerned that the country may be over reacting to this situation and we certainly cannot collapse the entire economy with the actions we take to address this.  I realize New York and parts of California and Washington are having serious issues. Coming up with a balance is critical otherwise we will cause great harm to the entire nation if we over reach on this.  Very difficult for politicians to balance the political impacts given people's reactions and we are already such a polarized and opinionated country.  The answer is always to throw money at any issue and that seems to be the measure of how dedicated you are to fixing it.

Did not mean to get off on a tangent there.  Overall, we are still in pretty good shape here in Phoenix.  I hope things can stabilize in a few more weeks, but I also realize it will be months if not longer before we can ever get back to even close to normal in the country.