Day #166 Writing Through COVID-19: Can Someone Explain?

I'm worried about my parents. When I moved them back to their care center four weeks ago, the facility was maintaining its strict months-long policies of limiting residents' interactions with the outside world. They'd convinced me they'd protect residents, learning from mistakes and successes of other care centers across the country and the world. They'd managed to contain the virus to only two cases among their more than 400 residents.

A month ago, they were cautiously beginning to allow 30-minute outdoor, distanced family visits. They took every resident's temperature daily.

Then this week the care center experienced a devastating sprinkler-system malfunction that caused significant water damage to an independent-living building. People in the damaged area--who have not been under the strict COVID precautions of my parents' building--were suddenly without housing. As the care center scrambled to find rooms, they looked to my parents' building. 

Solution?

How do you tell people that, not only have they been flooded and displaced, they will now be moved into a section of the facility that is in COVID lockdown?

I understand this is a beyond-2020 difficult problem. (Hey, the term "2020" is destined to mean "worst ever.") 

But as my parents' daughter, I am dismayed that the "solution" is to intermingle residents who are not restricted with those who are.

In other words, the facility is flinging open the doors. 

While my parents met this announcement positively ("Can we go to the family reunion next weekend?"), my siblings and I are beside ourselves with concern.

How can we keep our parents safe within these drastically loosened mitigation strategies? When my sister called to ask administrators this very question, she was told we need to learn to "live with the virus." In no uncertain terms, she told them that our parents, should they contract COVID-19, will not be "living" with it.
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My dad's sister Frances died shortly after COVID grabbed us by the throat. His last living sister, Edith, died on July 4 at the age of 104. 

A two-day reunion/double funeral is planned for next weekend in Buffalo Center, where the Berryhills grew up. Their mother was a school teacher who met their father (a farmer) when he stopped to ask for a drink of water.

Because my parents' care center has rescinded COVID restrictions, my siblings and I must explain why we will not take them to the funerals. 

We can do this because our parents understand and trust our judgment. They have been accepting of our guidance and decision-making over the past five months. 

But with their care center's decision to loosen COVID precautions, I am panicking.

My dad can't remember how to open an email. My mom can't remember what she said two minutes ago. 

How are these (dear) people supposed to remember to wear masks, maintain 6-foot distances, avoid touching (any!) surfaces?
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I do not understand the logic in loosening nursing-home COVID precautions at the same time our state is topping out as the #1 increase in positive testing.

The explanations as of now are falling short. 

Enough.
Be well.
Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing.

Allison

This dear bald baby looks so much like my own! These grandma arms need to hold him.