A Timeline of How the Coronavirus Impacted My Life and Travels in the Last 7 Days

A personal recount and timeline of how the coronavirus has impacted my life, professionally within the travel and media industry and personally, in the last 7 days. And why we should be staying at home now more than ever to help expedite recovery.

Never have I seen something make waves and move so rapidly throughout the world, changing lives in a matter of hours, like the Coronavirus or Covid-19. Days begin to feel like weeks. Not only because we’re spending the majority of our time indoors, but because the speed at which information is released and changes are occurring around us are moving at an unprecedented pace. This speed makes days feel like weeks, and weeks like months.

It’s now Wednesday night and just this Monday I was convinced I was going to make my trip to Japan. Now, I find myself social distancing in the comforts of my parents’ home. Things are moving at such a rapid pace that I thought I’d share a timeline of how the coronavirus has impacted not only my personal life, but my professional life working in the travel industry as well.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020:

Things seem normal, flight changes, Trump bans travel to Europe, Tom Hanks

Normal day at work in the office in Manhattan, New York. I work within the Marketing department at a travel media company. Advertisers are still running ads, IOs are being signed, print pages and digital articles are being finalized. There is talk of the coronavirus in the office, but it has no direct impact on our daily lives or business as of now. Just some postponements need to be made to some Asia and South Pacific advertiser campaigns.

On a personal note, I have an upcoming trip to Japan scheduled from April 1st to April 15th. The flight includes a layover in Seoul. At this time we find out that all flights coming from Seoul, China, and Hong Kong are not allowed to enter Japan, so we cancel our flight. My mom and I are still determined to visit. We decide we will layover in Toronto, a place that has not seen any coronavirus cases and hasn’t closed its border to any country. A few hours later, my mom realizes that according to NYC government regulations, if we visit Japan, upon our return we need to be quarantined for 14 days. She isn’t sure if her boss will allow her to quarantine for 14 days, so we wait to book our new flights and layover in Toronto.

Later in the afternoon, we hear the news that Trump has banned all travel to Europe. Legal US residents are able to return, but he bans any Europeans from entering the US. Flights are canceled or include multiple layovers and ridiculous flight times. We start to think…will this happen to Japan as well?

This same day, Tom Hanks (what an icon!) and his wife test positive for coronavirus while filming a movie in Australia.

Thursday, March 12, 2020:

WFH begins, supermarket is chaos, tense atmosphere, Broadway shutdown

Today was the start of our work from home policy, but we work from home once a week so have all the infrastructure necessary to work remotely. Patrick made waffles for breakfast, while I was on H5 for my daily Marketing meeting. This set up doesn’t seem to shabby!

I get a message from my co-worker who lives nearby who let’s me know that the Whole Foods is completely ransacked. Most supermarkets have been rampaged at this point, to the point where the Trader Joe’s next to my house has a line that wrapping around the block starting at 6AM–for context, the Trader Joe’s opens at 9AM. Pat and I decide it might be best to stock up on food at Pioneer, while there still is food available.

That evening, subways are a bit emptier than usual as I go to a dance class, it’s a rainy winter day at 6PM. A few people are wearing masks and gloves, I’m not sure if they know that the masks don’t do anything unless you have the coronavirus. The dance class was very somber in tone, much less peppy than usual. You can really feel the tension in the air, but I try to make the best of it and keep my spirits uplifted. As I get home, I hear the news that Broadway will shut down that night.

Later that evening I find out a patient tested positive and is being held at Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut, where my parents live.

Friday, March 13, 2020:

Spending time with Expedia, things start to look up, dinner out

Everything feels normal: workload is normal, life is normal, and restaurants, cafes, and gyms are opened. The only difference is we’re working from home, there are less people on the streets, and the grocery stores are empty. But that jolly-not-to-shabby work from home vibe I had days prior when enjoying waffles for breakfast begins to fade as I start to feel the containment of our small New York apartment. Waking up, working, eating, and relaxing all starts to blend into one given the small space we have to live in. This is not healthy in the long run.

My mom’s boss says it’s ok for her to quarantine for 14 days when she gets back from Japan. She spends all Friday on the phone with Expedia trying to get our flights and hotels refunded. She’s on hold for over 6 hours, she has PTSD from the jingle which is now stuck in her head now.

Patrick and I decide to go out for sushi for dinner while we still can…we have a feeling all restaurants will be closed soon given what’s happening in San Francisco.

Saturday, March 14, 2020:

Is Traveling during Coronavirus safe?, flight date changed

My mom and I start to worry about what the situation may be like in Japan. After some careful research Saturday morning, we determine that Japan has everything under control and cases are very minimal. Life is moving like always over there with the exception of a few closed museums and art galleries, but our trip is still happening. We decide that to minimize the risk of anything happening in Japan we should leave earlier for our trip. We decide to leave Friday, March 20th instead of Wednesday, April 1st.

Patrick and I walk from the Upper West Side down to Gramercy Park in order to get some exercise in. Streets are empty so there is plenty of space for social distancing. We end up eating at Tacqueria Gramercy. The place is empty except for a few locals, but the food is good as always. That night our friends come over to play some board games. Of course we ensure they are all healthy before they come over, but we needed some contact before everything goes dark.

Sunday, March 15, 2020:

Spending time with Expedia, run in Central Park, local UWS farmers market going strong

My mother spends her entire Sunday trying to cancel all our hotel stays with Expedia. She ends up spending over 4 hours on hold and on the phone with them before she can get them to refund us.

We begin to look into our new travel dates for Japan to decide what’s the weather like, what do we pack, are the cherry blossoms in full bloom, can we rebook the same hotels?

Pat and I go for a run in Central Park. It’s pretty empty, but nothing too crazy. It’s a sunny day in New York City so people are taking advantage of the weather and getting out of their houses for walks.

Following our run, we visit our local farmers market on the Upper West Side. The local vendors say they’ll continue to come until they’re told they can’t anymore. Most of the food is sold out, but we’re able to buy some maple syrup and flowers to cheer us up.

Monday, March 16, 2020:

Canada closes borders, Japan trip canceled, San Francisco “shelter-in-place,” escape to Greenwich

Today we buy our tickets to Japan. Patrick does not feel comfortable with me going. He notices how fast all the changes are happening in New York and fears I might get stuck in Japan for over a month and not be able to return home. I dismiss his concerns and tell him not to worry, I’ll figure it out.

That afternoon I get the news, Canada has closed borders to all countries, except the U.S. (for now). This was hinting at the fact that they would be closing their borders to the U.S. as well. We officially decide to move our trip to Japan to the Fall, at the pace that things are evolving, we risk getting stuck there or worst, not being able to get back home for months. As the founder and travel writer for Svadore, I had a ton of collaborations lined up with unique one-of-a-kind stays in Japan that were excited to welcome me with open arms during this time. I unfortunately was not able to collaborate with them and had to reschedule to the Fall.

Later in the evening, we find out San Francisco put into effect a “shelter-in-place.” Shelter-in-place means you can’t leave your apartment unless it’s for essentials such as grocery shopping, tending to an elderly person, working out outdoors, or going to the pharmacy or doctor. Patrick thinks New York is next and will follow in the footsteps of San Francisco. He decides it’s best to get out of the city, we’d lose our minds being stuck in a 500 square foot apartment with no outdoor space for who knows how long.

We begin to pack our suitcases with essentials, food, toiletries, work tools, etc. Enough to last us two to four weeks in the suburbs. We’re off to Greenwich, CT, where we’ll be staying with my parents. They have a nice house with plenty of room and an outdoor space. Self-isolation and shelter-in-place will feel a lot more humane from Greenwich than it would from our small New York City apartment. My parents pick us up and take us to their home.

Tuesday, March 17, 2020:

Work takes a turn, potential for New York “shelter-in-place,” Italian classes are still happening

At work, advertisers begin to cancel or postpone campaigns till May/June. RFPs have significantly slowed down, stocks are dropping across the globe, travel is being banned left and right, airlines are being bailed out of debt, hotels are laying off thousands of workers…the travel industry has taken a huge toll because of the coronavirus. It goes beyond just the airlines and hotels and extends to the millions of jobs travel creates.

De Blasio announces he’s considering shelter-in-place for New York, Pat and I had gotten out of the city at the right time. All restaurants and cafes can only serve take out or delivery, no one is able to eat in restaurant. The stores that suffer the most are mom and pop stores. Patrick and I had been trying to order locally while we could in New York to help support our favorite, yet now empty restaurants. Coronavirus is going to hit their business hard and we want them to still be here when we get back.

Patrick’s Italian classes are still happening every Tuesday night at 7PM. But rather then have them at the Italian Consulate on Park Avenue, they are being held virtually via Zoom. Patrick enjoys the class and feels like it helps him escape from his otherwise every day reality.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020:

Round 2 in New York, people leaving New York, New York is empty, work takes another turn

Wednesday was a slower day than usual. Pat and I get dropped off in the city by my parents who still need to go to work a few times a week. We walk over to our apartment to pick up some last minute belongings we had forgotten. While walking to our apartment we see people packing cars or moving out of apartments with suitcases. It looks like people are getting out of the city and into the suburbs where there is a bit more space before the situation gets any worst. It’s a beautiful sunny day.

Before leaving we stop by our local deli Columbus Gourmet and grab an egg sandwich and a coffee. Got to continue to support our local businesses. We sit in Central Park, now empty compared to Sunday aside from some dog walkers and occasional runners, and eat our egg sandwich as we watch a few people running or walking their dogs. We take the subway back down the Grand Central. The subways are empty, grand central is empty, and the streets are spooky.

In the afternoon, I receive an email from my company. Due to the impact coronavirus has had on the travel industry our working hours are reduced and pay is reduced until further notice or upswing in the travel industry.

To think that just two days ago I was convinced I would be on a flight to Japan by Friday. To think that just two days ago I was eating out at a restaurant, sleeping in the comforts of my own bed, and was able to walk outside New York without being contained to my apartment. In the course of just seven days, my life was flipped upside down both personally and professionally. The repercussions coronavirus will have on the travel industry and the millions of people it provides jobs and income for is as of now undetermined. We will recover, don’t get me wrong. Travel always does. But how long it will take for us to recover all depends on how long coronavirus will be around for. Covid-19 could be over in a month like in China, just like it can be over in a year as some speculate.

The point is travel has come to a halt and the world is at a stand still. The only way to help things get better is to stay indoors and prevent the spread of the virus from infecting more people and wreaking more havoc on these industries. I’m in my 20s and am staying indoors as much as possible to stop the spread of coronavirus. Not for myself. Not because I fear that something may happen to me–I’m a healthy 20-year old, the odds are in my favor. The reason why I am staying home is to help expedite the recovery that Covid-19 is having on our economy, the elderly, hospitals, those who actually need to be taken into urgent care for everyday reasons (such as accidents, labors, cancer etc.), local stores, and something that’s near and dear to my heart–the travel industry and it’s people. The more we stay home and stop acting as transmitters of the coronavirus, no matter your age or gender, the faster we can help revitalize the travel industry. The more people stay home, the faster our personal lives and professional lives can go back to normal.

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