Name: Meet the people still sheltering in place in the Bay Area: ‘I don’t see an end to it’
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Meet the people still sheltering in place in the Bay Area: ‘I don’t see an end to it’

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Josh McManus has not left his home since March. Apart from a handful of walks on an isolated trail in the hills near his Richmond home — and one emergency visit to the dentist — the 39-year-old project manager and his wife have strictly adhered to the message issued by public health experts at the outset of the : Stay home. Save lives.“We have had moments of reaching the breaking point,” McManus says. “But then we get better.”They are not the only ones. While many Bay Area residents clamor to as counties ease restrictions on restaurants, bars and , many others are choosing to wait it out.Whether they have immunocompromised family members or simply lack clear information, they all have their reasons for staying in. But the main reason appears to be the least apparent to the people who pour into with friends from different neighborhoods, or toss their face masks aside as they drink and dine on crowded Marina sidewalks.The pandemic is not over.Gov. Gavin Newsom warned last week that the rate of virus transmission is creeping back up in California, putting at risk the decline in new cases that the state has seen in recent weeks. In the Bay Area, the effective reproduction number of the virus, the number of people that one infected person passes the virus on to, has risen slightly over the last month to a nearly 1-1 ratio.State health officials have also raised concerns that an tied to September’s Labor Day celebrations could lead to an 89% increase in hospitalizations over the next month.“I just don’t know what we would do if we got sick,” says Julie House, 64, who has stuck close to her home in San Francisco’s Diamond Heights neighborhood for nearly seven months with her 73-year-old husband. “My children are not here. Who am I going to call?”Last month, the official COVID-19 exceeded 1 million people — a figure many experts say is far less than the actual number of casualties. For the people who have decided to avoid putting themselves at risk, there is no compelling reason to race toward normalcy.As , people have started venturing out again to meet up with friends, go on vacations and flock back to businesses, causing the virus to surge and abate over and over.For those who are sheltering, seeing the wildly fluctuating case counts has affirmed their decision to carry on staying inside.“There seems to be a big disconnect between how people see their place in the world and the level of responsibility they have to those around them,” says McManus, who has cystic fibrosis, a hereditary disease that affects the lungs and makes them vulnerable to respiratory infections. “You can drive down the freeway and pretty much witness the sheer number of people who drive like their interests are the only ones that matter. It is a little depressing knowing that as strict as we are, we can only do so much.”On a national scale, we have seen the disparity play out with the way people have and social distancing measures. Even government officials have left people to weigh their own risks rather than coming up with meaningful enforcement measures for containing the spread of the virus.“I had a Tele-physical with my primary physician and told her I needed an eye exam,” says House. “She said, do not go out right now if you don’t need to. She was pretty firm. If she’s going to say don’t go out, I’m not going out.”According to data collected by , a company that analyzes anonymous cell phone location data, an average of roughly 11% of the people in the Bay Area stay at home all day.McManus says he realizes sheltering in place . He is married and has a job that allows him to work remotely. But it does not make dealing with the isolation any easier.“I am very politically engaged,” he says. “I see the Black Lives Matter protests, and I want to support everyone as much as possible, but I can’t put myself at risk.”“I’m very wary of things opening up,” says Maya Rath, who has remained rigid about sheltering in place with her husband, , at their home in Piedmont. “The way this thing is going to die is by everybody just staying in and not doing their regular activities.”Rath and Ring have an adult son at home with ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease treated by an immunosuppressant that makes him susceptible to a poor COVID-19 outcome. They have given up seeing their friends in person or even going to the grocery store. They have all their groceries delivered and sanitize them in the backyard before bringing them in.They realize that what we know about the transmission of the virus has evolved since March — that is of less concern than aerosols in unventilated spaces — but the virus is so new that they are wary of letting down their guard while there are still so many unknowns.“I come from a family of physicians,” Ring says. “I’ve been brought up to pay attention to science and listen to the people who know. I’ve been getting all my information from people who I trust and not people who have a vested interest, like businesses and airlines.”Their older son is in Washington, D.C., but they decided it is not safe for him to come home.“We have a friend who works as a virologist at UCSF and he said ,” Rath says. “It’s frustrating, because how many opportunities would we have for the four of us to be together for an extended period like this?”Ring, who is a brass player with the San Francisco Symphony, has also put his career on hold.“When I see people who are out walking around and not wearing masks, I think the longer you do that the longer you’re keeping me from going back to work,” he says.Only recently, House started going to the Safeway down the street, but only once or twice a month.“That is my big adventure,” she says, adding that she buys as much as possible during each visit to minimize the number of times she has to go. “I never spent so much in my life.”An avid dancer, she now takes Zumba and line dancing lessons in her bedroom via Zoom. She is also taking an online memoir class and joined two book groups. She says she occasionally waves to neighbors from her front deck, but now prefers virtual dates with friends since they do not have to wear masks and can see each other’s faces.Related Stories“Sometimes we go sit at a bench in the Diamond Heights community garden,” House says. “That’s as naughty as I get.”One of House’s adult daughters is in Lima, Peru, and unable to return to the Bay Area. Another one is in Brooklyn, which was briefly the epicenter of the disease.Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.“It’s getting long in the tooth,” House says of her shelter-in-place routine. “I miss my hugs and my children. But it’s OK.”McManus, who moonlights as a DJ and used to stage parties and events, says he has mostly managed to keep his spirits up, but it is not always easy.“I have a social side that’s not getting fulfilled,” he says.His wife is a teaching coach for Contra Costa County schools, which has given him a glimpse at some of the struggles other people are experiencing, especially parents who have to weigh the risks of keeping their kids at home or sending them off to school.“It’s ridiculous to be even having the conversation of sending kids back to school,” he says. “I get the drive to reinvest in the systems we built over the years. But the problem isn’t that schools are closed. The problem is the pandemic. We are dealing with an unprecedented situation right now.”Across the board, they said that friends and family members who have resumed going out and socializing are respectful of their decision to stay inside, especially recognizing that some are more vulnerable to the virus than others.So when will the people who take the threat of the pandemic more seriously than others feel safe stepping back out into the world?For many, the end date of their shelter in place was the development of an effective vaccine. But as the pandemic has and production and distribution plans appear hastily pushed forward, they say that feels like a less reliable benchmark now.“There has to be a vaccine that is effective and widely available, but I’m not going to be the first in line,” Ring says. “From a strictly personal place, the effects of getting COVID on your heart and lungs can be devastating even if you survive. The only way I’m going to feel safe is when I know I’m not going to get it. As a professional wind player, it could ruin my career.”Each person laments the lack of clear direction around the pandemic. While the Bay Area has stood out in terms of leadership, the national response has undermined their confidence that they will be able to leave their homes for some time to come.“I tend to be an optimist,” McManus says. What will it take for him to feel safe going outside? “In the past, I would have said that for the infection rate numbers and hospitalization rates to be extremely low. Because so many of the systems I rely on have been undermined, I don’t know if I trust that anymore.”A group of researchers at Cornell University in New York who analyzed 38 million articles about the pandemic published from Jan. 1 to May 26, found that more than 1.1 million contained false information. “ is a serious threat to global public health,” according to the study published last week.Until that changes, many will not feel safe making a return toward normalcy.“I ask myself that question and I just don’t know,” says Rath. “The way this country is opening up, I don’t see an end to it.”House has filled her schedule so much that it almost does not matter. She said she had end dates in mind when the lockdown started in March but now is more occupied with keeping up her streak of learning Italian on Duolingo.“You revise your thinking of, ‘I won’t be able to stand it anymore after this date,’” she says. “You’re always pushing what you can do. Just make sure it’s safe.”Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email:Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.

Josh McManus has not left his home since March. Apart from a handful of walks on an isolated trail in the hills near his Richmond home — and one emergency visit to the dentist — the 39-year-old project manager and his wife have strictly adhered to the message issued by public health experts at the outset of the : Stay home. Save lives.“We have had moments of reaching the breaking point,” McManus says. “But then we get better.”They are not the only ones. While many Bay Area residents clamor to as counties ease restrictions on restaurants, bars and , many others are choosing to wait it...

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Aidin Vaziri

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Meet the people still sheltering in place in the Bay Area: ‘I don’t see an end to it’

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