I was going to outline 50 neat things to do while you’re all sequestered in your homes, but it doesn’t feel fitting somehow. While at first the virus seemed like a great way to get to know your family again and tackle spring cleaning projects, I think the excitement of endless free time has worn off, and I’m sensing a bit of despair in the people I talk to and in the news headlines.

Americans are extroverts by nature. Our society rewards extroversion. In fact, we systematically build and encourage extroverts over all the other personality types.

My brother is an extreme extrovert and he’s probably suffering more than anyone I know. After-work cocktails and golf outings are a thing of his recent past. And the ambiguity of when American life will return to normal makes him, as well as the rest of us, even more depressed. We all feel like a big question mark has moved into our living rooms and parked itself there like an unwanted relative eating all the chips.

I spend my time trying to understand things. How did this virus start? How many people died in China? What is everyone in America doing to pass the time?

I thought I’d share some of my observations today.

First, I don’t understand this virus. And a great many people in the medical and research community share that view. How, in a country as huge as China, did a virus begin in the same city and in close proximity to a Level 4 research lab that was, at the time, studying the coronavirus?

The coincidence is jarring. And let’s not forget the fact that bats were in hibernation at that time of year in China and that no bats were found for sale at the Wuhan Food Market. That’s according to a Lancet Medical Journal paper published this month by Lu et al. which states: “The outbreak was first reported in late December 2019, when most bat species in Wuhan are hibernating. Second, no bats were sold or found at the Huanan seafood market. Third, the sequence identity between 2019-nCoV and its close relatives the bat was less than 90%. Hence, bat-SL-CoVZC45 and bat-SL-CoVZXC21 are not direct ancestors of 2019-nCoV.”

It’s a mouthful, but you get the point. Bats don’t seem to be the culprit, according to the study.

Next, I’m curious as to how many people truly died in China. Given their propensity for secrecy, it’s hard to say, but some statistics just emerged that show that the number of Chinese cellphone users dropped by 21 million in the past three months, as Beijing authorities announced on March 19. Deaths due to the virus may have contributed to the high number of account closings.

That doesn’t mean 21 million people died in China. The Chinese must use their cell phones to deal with every facet of life in their country and some users have up to five lines. It could be with large swaths of their country closing down, lines were dropped. But does it explain all of it?

“At present, we don’t know the details of the data. If only 10 percent of the cellphone accounts were closed because the users died because of the virus, the death toll would be 2 million,” Tang Jingyuan, a U.S.-based China affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times on March 21.

That’s a far cry from the numbers we’ve been told. Perhaps time will tell what happened there.

And what are Americans doing during quarantine?

Some are fleeing to deserts and mountain areas, and even Lake Chautauqua to get out of crowded cities. An article in the New York Post highlighted people from New York City that have fled to the Hamptons on Long Island which is, at this time of the year, in winter mode and not equipped for an influx of people.

The story cited one visitor spending thousands of dollars worth of groceries in a single trip.

“I had one customer spend $8,000,” said Joe Gurrera, founder of upscale Long Island supermarket chain Citarella. “You know when you see someone with a full shopping cart? Now they have five.”

People at home are finding interesting ways to stay occupied. My extended family had a virtual cocktail party connected by the conference app called Zoom. We’ve also had a talent show competition where we recorded our entries on our phones and messaged them to one another.

I didn’t win.

We grew tired of trying to entertain one another after awhile, though. We’ve got real concerns, like the rest of you. My son-in-law, who is a pilot, may be facing layoffs, and many other family members share a similar story.

As of today, no relief is coming to taxpayers as the Stimulus Bill has been held up by Democrats who are trying to sneak green projects into it. What do windmills and airplane emissions and Planned Parenthood have to do with the virus, I ask? And the Stimulus Bill?

If you feel as if you woke up in a different world, you have.

Let’s all hope and pray that we stay safe and well as we ride this out together.