Covid-19 — Chicago — March 22, 2019 — The Bells Toll

Today, Sunday, is the first full day of the order to stay at home to fight the unseen enemy, the Novel Coronavirus and Covid-19. By order of Governor JB Pritzker, we must not leave our houses until April 07, unless it is for essential work, to go to the grocery or to help with a relative.

People I spoke with had reactions from “total overreaction” to “it’s about time.”

To me, it’s a bit fuzzy. For instance, can a person leave their house and go to a park? Will the parks remain open? The city of Aurora closed its parks. Will other towns and cities follow? If you live in a house with a backyard closing a park is no big deal, but if you live in a highrise or an apartment building, then you might feel the walls closing in on you.

Of course, no Sunday services today for many thousands. And no Sunday breakfast at the many pancake houses across the area.

The Catholic Church decided to speak from afar to its members, using church bells, an ancient but effective means of communication.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, is asking Catholic parishes to ring their church bells five times a day between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. This started Saturday.

Each of the five prayer times will be dedicated to a specific group particularly affected by the pandemic.

The groups are listed below:

9 a.m. – Prayer for those infected with the virus and all those who are ill

12 p.m. – Prayer for healthcare workers and those attending to the sick

3 p.m. – Prayer for first responders and essential workers

6 p.m. – Prayer for people of every nation and their leaders

9 p.m. – Prayer for those who have died today

Which bell tolls for you?

Which will?

The Covid-19 confirmed cases count keeps growing, statewide (1049) and nationally (33,695) and across the globe (343,021).