A large number of Chicagos restaurants have shut down for the duration of Illinoiss ban on dining room service, now slated to potentially end in late June as part of Gov. J.B. Pritzkers Restore Illinois plan, but a growing group has closed permanently as the hospitality industry across the country grapples with an uncertain future.
Among the losses are beloved neighborhood institutions like Jeris Grill, as well as more recent establishments like Luellas Gospel Bird in Bucktown.
These closures are likely to mount in the coming months as restaurant owners face ongoing rent and utility payments. Some Chicago hospitality leaders are calling on the governor to allow dining rooms to open as early as June 1, but much still remains unclear about what a return will look like for workers and diners.
Below, Eater is cataloging permanent restaurant closures in Chicago. If you know of a restaurant, bar, or other food establishment that has permanently closed since the start of the pandemic, please email chicago@eater.com. We will continue to update this post.
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Bowmanville: Barbecue spot Baobab BBQ, which served ribs, rib tips, and brisket, is closed after two years. The restaurant added a South African touch to American barbecue, borrowing from several regions. Chef Andrew Dunlop made the announcement via Facebook on May 4.
Bucktown: Luellas Gospel Bird, chef Darnell Reeds (Luellas Southern Kitchen) fried chicken restaurant, is closed permanently, he told Eater Chicago on April 8. Prior to the pandemic, Reed was handling operations at both of his restaurants while also caring for his children. The restaurant relied in large part on catering orders, but the pandemic lead to mass cancelations and Reed decided to close the business.
Bucktown: Lauded local chef Mindy Segal told Eater Chicago on April 29 that shed permanently closed her popular restaurant Mindys Hot Chocolate after 15 years. Segal already had plans to close the restaurant by the end of May before the COVID-19 pandemic, but mandated dining room closures expedited the process. Shes transitioning toward converting the space into Mindys Bakery selling bagels, coffee, hot chocolate, and pantry items.
Bucktown/Lincoln Park: Toast, a much-loved 24-year-old breakfast and brunch restaurant with two Chicago locations, is permanently closed due to the impact of the coronavirus, according to owner Jeanne Roeser. She announced the closures on April 22.
Edgewater: The owners of Income Tax, a popular neighborhood restaurant and wine bar, announced it would not reopen in a Facebook post on May 9. The North Side restaurant managed to deliver an adventurous menu without alienating residents. Owners say theyll continue to sell alcohol to go while thinning inventory.
Hyde Park: Local dessert mini-chain Vanille Patisserie closed its Hyde Park storefront permanently on March 17. In a Facebook post, ownership pointed to the devastating economic situation caused by COVID-19. The business also has locations in Lincoln Park and in Chicagos French Market.
Lincoln Park: Specialty chocolate company Vosges Haut Chocolat has closed its retail location in Lincoln Park. Prior to the pandemic, the company operated another store on Michigan Avenue and two shops inside OHare International Airport. The Armitage shop served coffee and hot chocolate.
Lincoln Square: Iconic North Side 24-hour diner Jeris Grill is permanently closed after nearly 60 years. Jeris Grill was a part of the past living in a modern world, owner Di Piero writes in the closing announcement, posted May 9. Unfortunately the past can no longer survive in this post pandemic world...if these walls could talk they would tell beautiful and sad stories of many lives.
North Center: Gastropub and sports bar Monty Gaels Tavern and Grill is permanently closed after seven years. A for-sale sign hangs in the window.
Logan Square: Pioneering Macanese restaurant Fat Rice is closed for the foreseeable future after eight years. Adrienne Lo and James Beard Award-winner Abe Conlon also operated a neighboring bakery and a cocktail bar, and last year debuted a stall inside Fulton Markets Time Out Market Chicago. The pair have since transitioned the Fat Rice space into Super Fat Rice Mart, a general store sells $99 meal kits, groceries, and more.
Rogers Park: Family-owned Mexican restaurant Restaurante Cuetzala Gro is permanently closed after owner Saul Moreno died of coronavirus on April 15 at age 58, Block Club Chicago reported. Family members told reporters that the restaurant would never be the same without him and they felt it was best to shut down completely.
Streeterville/Lombard: Chicago-based 4 Star Restaurant Group has permanently closed two of its venues the Windsor in Streeterville and D.O.C. Wine Bar in suburban Lombard because of the coronavirus-related dine-in closures, according to social media posts from May 4. With a heavy heart, we are sad to announce that we are closing our doors for good due to the challenges surrounding the coronavirus shutdown, one post reads.
West Loop: New Orleans-style lounge the Front Room is for sale, according to a Facebook post from March 9. The spot opened in 2018 along Randolph Restaurant Row.
1747 N Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647 773 489 1747
3243 N Broadway St, Chicago, IL 60657
160 E Huron St, Chicago, IL 60611
In 2004, 60 Minutes aired a segment on what it called virus hunters, scientists searching for bugs that can leap from animals to humans and cause pandemics. What worries me the most is that we are going to miss the next emerging disease, said a scientist named Peter Daszak, describing his fear of a coronavirus that moves from one part of the planet to another, wiping out people as it moves along.
In the intervening years, Daszak became president of the EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit research organization focused on emerging pandemics. EcoHealth worked with Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology to study coronaviruses in bats that could infect humans, and, as Science magazine put it, to develop tools that could help researchers create diagnostics, treatments and vaccines for human outbreaks. Since 2014, the EcoHealth Alliance has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health, until its funding was abruptly cut two weeks ago.
The reason, as 60 Minutes reported on Sunday evening, was a conspiracy theory spread by Representative Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican who in March wore a gas mask on the House floor to mock concern about the new coronavirus. On April 14, Gaetz appeared on Tucker Carlsons Fox News show and claimed that the N.I.H. grant went to the Wuhan Institute, which Gaetz intimated might have been the source of the virus the institute may have birthed a monster, in his words.
The first of Gaetzs claims was flatly false, and the second unlikely; the C.I.A. has reportedly found no evidence of a link between the virus and the Wuhan lab. But at a White House briefing a few days later, a reporter from the right-wing website Newsmax told President Trump that under Barack Obama, the N.I.H. gave the Wuhan lab a $3.7 million grant. Why would the U.S. give a grant like that to China? she asked.
In fact, Trumps administration had recently renewed EcoHealths grant, but Trump didnt appear to know that. The Obama administration gave them a grant of $3.7 million? he asked. Then he said, We will end that grant very quickly.
And they did. But ending the grant dealt a blow to efforts to find treatments and a vaccine for the coronavirus. Remdesivir, the antiviral drug thats shown some promise in Covid-19 patients, was earlier tested against bat viruses EcoHealth discovered. Now the nonprofit is facing layoffs.
This political hit on Daszaks work is far from the only way that the Trump administrations contempt for science has undermined Americas coronavirus response. Conservative antipathy to science is nothing new; Republicans have long denied and denigrated the scientific consensus on issues from evolution to stem cell research to climate change. This hostility has several causes, including populist distrust of experts, religious rejection of information that undermines biblical literalism and efforts by giant corporations to evade regulation.
But its grown worse under Trump, with his authoritarian impulse to quash any facts, from inauguration crowd sizes to hurricane paths, that might reflect poorly on him.
Until recently, it seemed as if Trumps sabotage of efforts to combat climate change would be the most destructive legacy of his disregard for science. But the coronavirus has presented the country with an emergency that only sound science can solve. That means that the Trump administrations disdain for expertise, its elevation of slavish loyalty over technical competence, has become a more immediate threat.
Months before this pandemic began, Reuters reported, the Trump administration axed the job of an epidemiologist working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in China to help detect emerging disease outbreaks. As the pandemic raged, the administration removed Rick Bright, one of Americas premier experts on vaccine development, from an agency overseeing efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine. Last week Bright filed a whistle-blower complaint claiming hed suffered retaliation because he resisted funding potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections and by the administration itself. (A federal watchdog agency has called for him to be reinstated pending its investigation.)
Another whistle-blower complaint, filed by a former volunteer on the coronavirus team assembled by Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, claims the effort has been beset by inexperience and incompetence. The Associated Press reported on how the White House buried guidance from the C.D.C. on how communities could safely reopen. Now the president is urging Americans to return to work even as the White House itself has proved unable to keep the coronavirus at bay.
According to Axios, Trump has even privately started expressing skepticism of the coronaviruss death toll, suggesting its lower than official statistics say. (Most experts believe the opposite.) A senior administration official said he expects the president to begin publicly questioning the death toll as it closes in on his predictions for the final death count and damages him politically, reported Axios. The Trump administrations approach to the coronavirus began with denialism, and thats likely how it will end.
Any progress America makes in fighting Covid-19 will be in spite of its federal government, not because of it. I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science not politics or cronyism has to lead the way, Dr. Bright said when he went public with his complaint in April. Trump wont let that happen. Hed rather essentially give up on combating it at all.
SACRAMENTO In the most sweeping sign yet of the long-term impact of the coronavirus on American higher education, California State University, the nations largest four-year public university system, said on Tuesday that classes at its 23 campuses would be canceled for the fall semester, with instruction taking place almost exclusively online.
The system is the first large American university to tell students they will not be returning to campus in the fall. Most of the nations colleges and universities have gone out of their way to say they intend to reopen, but they are also making backup plans for online classes.
The pandemic has had a devastating impact on the finances of colleges and universities, a large number of which were already struggling before virus-related closures. Many are concerned about growing signs that a large number of students will choose to sit out the fall semester if classes remain virtual, or demand hefty cuts in tuition.
A $14 billion federal bailout passed by Congress this spring will not be enough to save some universities if enrollment drops significantly, experts said, and for many students, the in-person experience is a significant part of higher educations draw.
But the chancellor of the California State University system, Timothy P. White, told the board of trustees on Tuesday that the risks were too great for the more than 480,000 undergraduates enrolled at the Cal States, as they are known, to return to campus in the fall. Classes will continue virtually, as they have since March.
Our university, when open without restrictions and fully in person, as is the traditional norm of the past, is a place where over 500,000 people come together in close and vibrant proximity with each other on a daily basis, he said. That approach, sadly, just isnt in the cards now.
Mr. White allowed for the possibility of exceptions. If health and safety precautions permit, clinical classes in the nursing program could be held in person, he said, as could certain science labs and other essential instruction.
Experts said Cal States decision could have a significant impact.
Cal State is an extraordinarily large and important university system and an awful lot of other institutions will watch this development carefully, said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, a trade association of college presidents.
The Chronicle of Higher Education has been keeping a running tally of what American colleges are planning to do for the fall. Only a handful of schools, mostly small ones, have said they are leaning toward online-only classes, including Wayne State University in Detroit, a virus hot spot, and Sierra College outside Sacramento. A few say they are planning a hybrid model. But the vast majority say they are planning for in-person classes.
Brown Universitys president, Christina Paxson, said in a New York Times Op-Ed late last month that reopening campuses this fall should be a national priority.
Size, location and population density could play a big role in what universities decide, Mr. Hartle said.
On Monday, Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., population 111,000, announced its commitment to resume on-campus classes for about 5,000 students in the fall, saying, The midsize of Bradley and the small-city setting of Peoria make it easier for students to maintain safe distances and avoid unnecessary exposure to potentially dangerous germs.
Californias other four-year university system, the University of California, with nearly 300,000 students on 10 campuses, has not announced whether its fall classes will be held online, in-person or a mix. But faculty members there say plans are being drawn up for all three contingencies. The Board of Regents is expected to discuss systemwide plans at a meeting next week.
Cal States announcement came as Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, told a Senate panel on Tuesday that needless suffering and death could result if states move too quickly to reopen schools and businesses.
Mr. White, the Cal State chancellor, noted that academic researchers and public health experts were predicting a second, smaller wave of the coronavirus this summer, followed by a very significant wave in the fall and another wave in the first quarter of next year.
With no vaccine on the immediate horizon, Mr. White told the systems trustees that it would be irresponsible to postpone a decision on in-person classes until summer, only to be forced to retreat hastily to remote learning in the fall.
Better, he said, to plan for the worst and hope for the best in September.
This, he said, is our new and expensive reality.
Anemona Hartocollis contributed reporting from New York.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) Gov. Tim Walz is expected to extend the peacetime emergency order through June 12, according to WCCOs Esme Murphy.
Both Republican and DFL Party legislative leadership say they fully expect the peacetime emergency order to be extended on Wednesday. However, Walzs office is not commenting on the proposed extension.
The states peacetime emergency was set to expire on May 13. The peacetime emergency gives the governor power to issue executive orders, stay-at-home orders and close businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It would also allow him to keep schools closed.
This is not to be confused with the stay-at-home order. That is currently set to expire on May 18.
In late April, Walz relaxed the rules for businesses slightly, allowing up to 20,000 companies to resume operations, impacting about 80,000 to 100,000 workers. Curbside pickup for retail stores was also allowed, as long as certain guidelines were followed.
The "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" actor revealed the news on the new Peacock web series, "The At-Home Variety Show," and compared his real life experience to playing germaphobe detective Adrian Monk, who lives with obsessive compulsive disorder on the TV series "Monk."
"I hope you are all being careful and following the protocol. We really are all Monk now," he said. "Last month, my wife Brooke and I came down with the virus, and it was a pretty rough few weeks. But we realize that so many other people have and had it a lot worse."
Now recovered, Shalhoub remains hunkered down in New York City, he said. He participates in city's nightly ritual of cheering for the frontline workers.
"Time to go out and show our appreciation to all our heroes -- the health care workers, the first responders. Let's go. Stay safe and stay sane," he said.
The show, hosted by Seth MacFarlane, is aiming to bring awareness and raise money to support essential workers and communities most in need.
ALBUQUERQUE Tribal nations around the United States are facing their most severe crisis in decades as they grapple simultaneously with some of the deadliest coronavirus outbreaks in rural America and the economic devastation caused by the protracted shutdown of nearly 500 tribally owned casinos.
The Navajo Nation, the countrys largest Indian reservation, now has a higher death rate than any U.S. state except New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Across Indian Country, more than 5,200 cases have been confirmed in communities from Arizona to Minnesota a number that might seem small compared with those in major urban centers in New York and Los Angeles, but which in many cases represents significant local clusters that are challenging the limited resources of tribal clinics and rural hospitals.
On reservations in the Dakotas and Montana where good housing is scarce, extended families have been forced to shelter together in tiny homes with no clean water and no internet. On the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, the Northern Arapaho Tribe opened its casino as a quarantine site.
The collective perils fragile health care systems, large numbers of people with pre-existing conditions and the collapse of tribal economies have prompted Native American leaders to warn that serious havoc may be ahead, especially if closed casinos prevent tribes from battling to recover on their own.
Life and death, said Bryan Newland, tribal chairman of the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigans Upper Peninsula, who estimated that about two-thirds of tribal employees were out of work. Were just going to write off 2020. Theres no sense in trying to work under the delusion that well be able to claw back to normal life this year.
The closure of the tribal casinos, which have emerged as one of the largest new sources of employment of any economic sector in the United States in recent decades, is eviscerating the revenues many tribal nations use to provide basic services. In one of the most important shifts toward increasing self-determination since the start of the century, more than 40 percent of the 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States now operate casinos.
Now these operations are hemorrhaging jobs. After the entire industry shut down in the early days of social-distancing measures, more than 700,000 people were left out of work, according to Meister Economic Consulting, which specializes in the tribal gaming industry.
In Michigan and Indiana, almost 1,500 workers were laid off at casinos owned by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. Up and down California, tribal nations have laid off or furloughed casino workers. In Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot Nation announced last week that it was laying off the majority of its nearly 5,000 workers, while the Mohegan tribe has furloughed thousands of its casino employees.
Non-Native Americans account for about 70 percent of workers in tribally owned casinos, reflecting the economic importance of such operations in many rural parts of the country. Altogether, tribal gaming enterprises generated $17.7 billion in local, state and federal tax revenue in 2019, according to a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in April by members of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.
In an interview, the Harvard scholar Joseph Kalt likened the far-reaching devastation caused by shutdowns of tribal businesses around the country this year to the demise of the bison herds in the 19th century and the contentious attempt in the 1950s to disband tribes and relocate Native Americans to cities.
Youd have to go back to the 50s for something of this magnitude, said Mr. Kalt, a co-director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.
What youre seeing right now is simply a symptom of a much deeper problem facing tribal nations for over a century, said Fawn R. Sharp, president of the National Congress of American Indians. The failure to fund us has left us incredibly vulnerable.
It was not until the beginning of the 21st century that tribal gaming began to gather considerable momentum, providing tribal nations a crucial source of funding that could not collect taxes.
Some tribes have continued paying their employees despite the closures, in attempts to stave off the economic pain. But after federal authorities delayed providing tribes with their portion of $8 billion in assistance from federal stimulus measures, the losses are accumulating.
But the Treasury Department has been slow to disperse the aid, and tribal leaders have expressed exasperation over the delays at a time when the virus is hitting them hard.
In Michigan, the closure of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Communitys casino has already produced monthly losses of about $2 million, depleting funds for police patrols and the health clinic serving the 3,600-member tribe. As a result, fewer people are receiving basic health care and authorities have had to cancel daily lunches for tribal elders.
In the meantime, tribes are trying to plan for the uncertain weeks ahead.
In Oklahoma, where Gov. Kevin Stitt was already demanding more money from tribal casinos before the pandemic as part of a simmering feud, the Cherokee Nation, the largest tribal nation in the United States, is still paying its employees and planning to open parts of their gaming operations in early June.
But what that will look like remains unclear, said Brandon Scott, director of communications for the tribe. I think it would be irresponsible of us to open the doors and go back to exactly the way we were, he said.
Tomorrow if we saw a huge spike in incidents in the state of Oklahoma, our plan would change dramatically.
Already, the Navajo Nation has seen a serious spike, with a rate of 62 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 people. In New Mexico, which includes part of the Navajo reservation, Native Americans account for 57 percent of confirmed cases in the state, though they comprise only about 11 percent of the population.
A lack of basic infrastructure has further complicated thoughts of reopening. A business incubator on the Navajo Nation once offered internet access, tax-education seminars and work space to dozens of tiny start-ups before being forced to shut down in March. Now, the lack of plumbing or running water in the groups shared work space poses a huge obstacle to its future.
The virus is really showing years and years of neglect, said Jessica Stago, a director of the incubator Change Labs. Everythings sort of collapsing at this point.
Meanwhile, unemployment rates on some reservations that were 50 percent or higher during normal times have now soared to catastrophic levels, and tribal leaders worry that their budgets will be the last places in America to recover economically.
Scott Russell, a former tribal secretary of the Crow in eastern Montana, said the throngs of summertime tourists who come to boat and watch re-enactments of the Battle of Little Bighorn were a critical source of revenue and jobs on the reservation. He said the tribe was preparing to open up, but it was unclear whether people would return.
Its a ripple effect we feel right down to our cafe, Mr. Russell said.
The economic pain has been getting worse as people lose even the odd jobs and piecework that helped them pay bills. Cedar Rose Bulltail survived by selling handmade beadwork at indigenous art fairs, cooking fry bread for neighbors and making yarrow balm in the kitchen of her tiny rural home with no running water on the Crow Reservation.
Now, the festivals and fashion shows that were an economic lifeline have been canceled. Her 18-year-old daughter is back home from boarding school and straining to keep up with her schoolwork without any reliable internet connection. And with hand washing now an urgent health need, Ms. Bulltails hopes of saving enough money this summer to buy a new well pump to bring reliable, clean water into her house have been dashed.
I just feel robbed, Ms. Bulltail said.
As tribes measure the economic fallout, some leaders are hitting back at pressure from state and federal authorities to reopen. The demand by Kristi Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota, that tribes remove checkpoints on roads has flared tempers around the country, showcasing how tension is building over what happens next in many tribal nations.
Heads would roll if that kind of discussion were to happen in New Mexico, said Rep. Derrick Lente, a Democratic state legislator and member of Sandia Pueblo, which operates a large casino and hotel complex on the outskirts of Albuquerque that has been closed for weeks.
Tribal sovereignty needs to be respected if were to get back on our footing, Mr. Lente said, citing the reach of tribal gaming operations. You dont do that by disrespecting tribal nations that have created thousands of jobs.
Simon Romero reported from Albuquerque and Jack Healy from Denver. Reporting was contributed by Graham Lee Brewer from Norman, Okla., Mitch Smith from Overland Park, Kan., and Alex Schwartz from Sarasota, Fla.
David Edwards was the team mascot for the Quad Cities River Bandits in Davenport, Iowa. David Edwards hide caption
David Edwards was the team mascot for the Quad Cities River Bandits in Davenport, Iowa.
David Edwards thought he'd be spending this baseball season prowling the ballpark in Davenport, Iowa, trading high-fives and cheering the home team.
After all, it would be his second season playing mascot for the Quad Cities River Bandits.
"I am the big raccoon," Edwards says. "It's the most fun I've ever had."
But there's no joy in Davenport the River Bandits aren't playing ball this year because of the pandemic. While major league teams hope to revive their season for a TV-only audience later this year, Single-A clubs like the River Bandits depend on in-person ticket sales and concessions to pay the bills.
David Edwards (left) and Ray Hernandez, manager of the Quad City River Bandits. David Edwards hide caption
David Edwards (left) and Ray Hernandez, manager of the Quad City River Bandits.
Edwards lost a second job, showing visitors around a regional zoo, when that also closed to the public.
"All the plans for this year went out the window," Edwards says. "Guest relations aren't essential when nothing is open."
Edwards, who majored in music at Iowa State University, also planned to audition for classical singing gigs this summer. But with most big cities under lockdown, that's on hold, too. That's three strikes, and Edwards is worried.
"I feel very scared about my future," he says. "I just don't know what funding is going to be, what festivals or programs are going to survive."
For now, Edwards is living off savings, trying to figure out what life's going to look like after the summer and keeping a positive attitude.
"Just trying to do what's right and what's recommended and what's healthy," he says. "I just don't want to be part of the problem."
Read more stories in Faces Of The Coronavirus Recession.
They left Turkey on one of the last flights out to London in March. My son, Alex, is used to me traveling so our goodbyes were relaxed and I was content, sure that if I needed to, I'd be able to just jump on a plane and catch up with them.
In the days after they left, I kept convincing myself that it would be fine, that there was no way Turkey would just stop all flights.
But it did.
After a couple of weeks of separation and self-isolation, I had to get back with my family. But with shut borders and airports it seemed impossible. Until my hours on Twitter proved fruitful, with advisories from the UK and US embassies about commercial flights still operating out of Istanbul for those who wanted to leave.
Qatar Airways was up and running with a #Takingyouhome campaign. Ticket prices were significantly higher than usual but I booked my route to London via Doha.
The thought of going through airports and sitting on planes at a time like this was terrifying, so I packed my carry-on with the essentials for traveling during a global pandemic: several masks, hand sanitizer, gloves and surface wipes.
The night before the flight I woke up several times, and nervously took my temperature, knowing that there were already fever checks in place at Istanbul airport.
Then the next morning I woke again to a message that the flight has been delayed. And from there it went from bad to worse. Another delay, then another, then what I really did not want to hear -- the flight was canceled.
Mentally, I was prepared for the trip, the risks, the restrictions, the unknown -- but I was not ready for this. I just wanted to see my family and the weeks of bottling up all the anxieties and emotions came rolling out with a flood of tears.
My booking was moved to the next scheduled flight. My husband, Matt, on the other end of the phone kept saying, "It's OK, it's just another five days."
But it wasn't. Before the next flight, Qatar Airways suspended its services out of Istanbul. Months of separation from my family was suddenly a very real possibility.
I was too emotional to think clearly, but thankfully colleagues in Istanbul and Abu Dhabi helped me look up different options. We found one way out, on Belarus' national carrier via its capital, Minsk.
I'll confess I had never heard of the Belavia airline before but some research and reassurance from coworkers in Moscow who'd flown with them made me decide to take the flight.
I fly regularly on one of the many three and a half hour daily flights to London from Istanbul. But this journey was scheduled for 28 hours -- 22 hours of them a layover in Minsk Airport.
The flight to Minsk was almost like being in the pre-coronavirus days. Many passengers wore masks and regularly used hand sanitizer, but the flight crew seemed pretty relaxed. They didn't all wear masks and gloves, and it did not seem like there were any attempts to enforce social distancing on board.
It was a similar story at Minsk Airport -- no temperature checks or social distancing guidelines, a far cry from the strict measures of Turkey where masks are mandatory.
But Belarus does impose 14 days of compulsory quarantine for anyone entering the country, so remaining in the airport was the only option for transiting passengers like me.
In the transit area, people were spaced out simply because there weren't that many passengers around. But there was no way I was going to sit in a communal area for 22 hours. I am a journalist and I usually enjoy exploring new places even if it's just a country's airport. But this time, all I wanted to do was find a corner and hide.
So I rented a "sleep box" -- a little wooden cabin in the middle of the airport. It offered a bed, an electrical outlet and social distancing -- all that I needed!
The bed had disposable linens, but I still covered the pillow with my scarf.
It was a long 22 hours. I was counting the hours to seeing my family and trying not to think of all the things that could still go wrong. A Turkish friend joked I could become stranded like Tom Hanks in "The Terminal" but I didn't want to even think of that. There was always the possibility my onwards flight would not materialize, so Matt and I had decided not to tell Alex I was coming until I landed in the UK.
I sat around the corner from the gate long before other passengers or airline staff showed up. Anxiously I watched the information board and almost burst into tears when it was time to get on.
The flight was pretty empty but again seemed to be business as usual, with the exception of a "Public Health Locator Form" we were given to fill out, to allow health officers to contact you if a communicable disease was later found to have been on board.
We touched down at Gatwick, the airport south of London that hosts many holiday charter flights. I used to fly into there regularly when I was based in Libya and I remember the long waits for baggage surrounded by hundreds of British holidaymakers in flip flops and shorts and children running around screaming and laughing.
This was a very different Gatwick. A desolate place. As we got off the plane, we were greeted by armed police officers spread out across the terminal. Elevators and escalators were turned off, ATMs were out of service and currency exchange shops shuttered. With no other flights, our baggage was straight out.
But finally, more than 30 hours after I left my Istanbul apartment, there was my husband, waiting for me in a stunningly quiet arrivals hall. We have had no airport pick-up like this one -- no hugs, not even a touch. I had been in public places and on planes for two days. The hugs and surprising Alex would have to wait until after a shower and change of clothes.
As we walked out to the car, down deserted stairwells and through empty parking lots, I realized I was still holding my pandemic tracing form. No one had asked me for it.
We are doing everything we can to ensure we stop the spread of this within our facility. Our staff and residents are following the recommended preventative actions including N95 masks while in the building and gloves when in resident rooms, said Patricia Cokingtin, Senior Vice President of Americare. As of March 13, we restricted visitors from entering our facility, and cancelled all group activities until the virus has been eradicated.
A main coronavirus vaccine trial a joint venture between an American and a German company got underway this week in the United States. Some participants are U.S. medical students. This trial joins others around the world, as pharmaceutical companies compete to discover the breakthrough for COVID-19. VOA's Carolyn Presutti takes us through whats being done and how.
