WASHINGTON, March 22, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – As Washingtonians muddled through
coronavirus-induced isolation Saturday, the city’s famed cherry blossoms
reached maximum bloom, offering an enticing temptation to test the limits of
self-distancing.
The delicate flowers opened just as many of the last vestiges of
entertainment closed in the city, which is physically situated around a core
of public attractions.
Among them are the US Capitol and Smithsonian museums, now closed to
visitors, as well as looming homages to former presidents such as the
Washington Monument obelisk, also shuttered.
On Friday the cherry trees, which line the capital’s Tidal Basin,
officially reached “peak bloom” — a time of year that normally attracts some
1.5 million visitors, many from out of state or overseas.
With tourism plummeting, global movement of populations sharply curtailed
and stay-at-home orders beginning to go into effect in a handful of US
states, many of the tourists were gone.
In their place the pandemic had churned out a new type of visitor: local
coronavirus shut-ins buoyed by the prospect of fresh air.
So much so that by Saturday, the National Park Service urged “anyone
considering a visit to see the cherry blossoms to reconsider” as it announced
traffic controls and closed parking in an attempt to prevent crowding.
Even with crowds substantially reduced compared with other years, the
recommended six-foot (two-meter) berth was rendered nearly impossible to
maintain.
Mary McGreevy from the nearby town of Alexandria, Virginia was walking
around the Tidal Basin on Thursday with her two daughters in what she called
“a rare outing.”
The 43-year-old educator told AFP she was not “terribly worried,” but noted
that “as people pass by you, you know you’re not six feet apart.”
As the pink and white flowers burst from nimble branches on the trees that
encircle the large pond-like waterway, the city announced its 98th confirmed
case of coronavirus on Saturday.
– Trees ‘there next year’ –
“I think people feel that because there’s no walls, that personal risk
assessment might have changed,” said Julie Fischer, a professor of
microbiology at Georgetown University.
“If you go outside to someplace that’s really crowded,” she noted, “then
you put yourself at risk of being in close proximity to someone who’s
potentially infected.”
Earlier in the week the city’s public transportation authority warned
potential visitors that “the trees will be there next year,” before closing
two metro stops closest to the Tidal Basin “to prevent cherry blossom
travel.”
Official National Cherry Blossom Festival organizers canceled an annual
kite festival and parade and instead installed a “BloomCam” so that the trees
could be viewed live from home. But for some the temptation of seeing the
real thing was too strong.
“It’s out in the fresh air, and I figured there wouldn’t be that many
people and there are not; this is like 10 percent of what’s normally here,”
said Mary Ann Canter.
But the 65-year-old retiree, who had a lung transplant one and a half years
ago, was forced to return to her car to get a face mask when she and her
husband found that “nobody stays away from each other.”
She paused to speak to AFP outside the entrance to a paddle-boat dock where
more than 5,000 rides were taken last March, and more than 16,500 last April.
On Thursday morning, two lonely bright-blue paddle boats plied the water,
but by Saturday, ahead of the elevated turnout, the facility had closed down
“until further notice.”
The drastic reduction in tourists meant a steady stream of Washington’s
notorious runners could make their way through.
“The risk that someone would cough or sneeze on you as you’re running by is
not high but it’s not zero,” said Fischer, noting that safe outdoor activity
is important to avoid isolation’s “mental toll.”
The scientist, who had been asked to work remotely more than a week ago,
spoke to AFP from her home, adding that it felt like “a protracted period
already.”