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While leaving an area highly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic to ride out the spread in a smaller community with fewer confirmed cases might be tempting for some, doing so could put a strain on its resources.
Visitors traveling to Hawaii right now will be placed under a mandatory two-week quarantine and officials in some East Coast states have asked people who live in New York to remain there. Meanwhile, several California vacation areas such as North Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes have urged non-residents to stay away during the statewide shelter in place order.
However, when Nuala Bishari’s husband lost his San Francisco bartending job and his health insurance after the order took effect, the couple left the city for her mother’s ranch.
“My mom lives out here on 90 acres in northern New Mexico in a very rural county,” the freelance reporter told KCBS Radio.
That county only has about 4500 residents and the nearest hospital is outside the county about 30 miles away, so Bishari and her husband self-quarantined to make sure they didn't infect anyone else around them.
Bishari recognized that her husband’s job and her work as a volunteer with homeless residents only increased their possibility of carrying the virus.
“There isn’t a single confirmed coronavirus case in this county yet that we’re aware of,” Bishari said. “So when you compare that to San Francisco, it can be very tempting to run away to the woods, but the impacts that you can have on rural communities can be really, really devastating.”
Once their self-quarantine is over, Bashari plans to support the local community by delivering groceries to seniors.
“It can be easy to hole up,” she said. “But… look around in these communities and say, ‘Where can I be helpful?’”
Bashari and her husband plan to return to San Francisco when the bars reopen.