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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Before the pandemic, I had begun to hike every Sunday with a group of four friends. Although Covid-19 hit New Mexico hard and early, the state government did not prohibit hiking in small groups, so we were able to continue to hike together. We've hiked many trails, familiar and novel, throughout the year. It has been mentally, physically, and socially stabilizing. We've noticed more people out on the trails as well. Sometimes we see folks out on the trail with their dogs, or children; on horseback; on bicycles; or like us, just walking along. Some people wear masks while hiking and some do not. We are grateful every week to be able to enjoy the natural resources in New Mexico and especially the Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, City and County Open Space and other government administrators and workers who have kept the trails open and maintained.
February 22, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
I am still on disability leave, and I am still struggling with my Post-COVID symptoms. I'm getting some of my energy back, but it's almost impossible to concentrate. My fiance and I were able to go to Downtown Disney to celebrate our engagement, though. That was our first "real" date in over a year! That was very exciting. It was fun to be able to safely go out and enjoy ourselves. The CDC issued guidance saying that vaccinated people can forego mask-wearing. Everyone is excited about this. I'm concerned that the people who weren't wearing masks all along and are anti-vacc will just say "oh I'm vaccinated" and then not wear masks. Trader Joe's and Costco and Wal Mart have already issued statements saying that they won't require masks even though CALIFORNIA LAW says that we still have to until at least June 15. The problem with all this is that the more people who are unprotected (no mask/ no vacc), the more opportunities there will be for the virus to mutate. It's these mutations that we need to worry about because the mutated virus may easily change the spike protein that the vaccines protect against. It's a game of probabilities and numbers, and no one wins.
May 19, 2021