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HEN LIBBY AND Adam Evers found out she was pregnant December 2019, they were elated. At the same time, thousands of miles away, a new illness was just beginning to infect a small number of people in Wuhan, China. Libby said she would see notifications from The Wall Street Journal about COVID-19 in China, but the idea of the disease being a threat was not on her radar until months later. When she found out from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that she was in a high-risk category, she started her work as a financial advisor from home. "Since March 13, the only time I have left the house is for a doctor's appointment or to go walk around the block," Libby said. "I've missed friend's birthday parties, I haven't gone to work, I don't have a lot of my work files [and] I've had to work all remotely. We get all of our groceries delivered or Adam has to handle stuff, but the only time I've left has been to go to the doctor." Pregnant couples often look forward to the days when they go to the doctor and get an ultrasound, seeing their baby for the first time. When Libby and Adam arrived on March 30 for their appointment, Adam was stopped at the door. Because of restrictions put in place to try to limit coronavirus exposure, only Libby was allowed inside. "I was upset that I wasn't able to go," Adam said. "I couldn't go to the appointments but we didn't know that at the time. We even checked the website and they didn't update it. We went to the hospital and I went with her on the March 30 appointment and they told me I couldn't come in. I got to FaceTime them which was fine but it was the first one where it was the real ultrasound, where you're getting all the measurements, so I was very upset that I missed out on all that." At home, Libby and Adam said they were instructed by their doctor to be meticulous about sanitizing and maintaining social distancing. When Adam came home from a shift as a police officer, he immediately changed and took a shower. At work, measures to protect officers were implemented and he had access to personal protective equipment (PPE), but his risk of exposure was not eliminated. "I wash my hands right when I get inside. I only stay in one area of the kitchen whenever I do come home, unless I need to use the restroom or something, but when I come home to eat I just stay in one area of the kitchen," Adam said. "End of shift, I come home and right there in the kitchen. I make sure that if there is a contaminated spot, it's one area of the kitchen where Libby doesn't go and I make sure I sanitize everything else including myself."
Libby and Adam Evers
Story by LIAM JACKSON AND CHARLOTTE WITT Photo by BRIGID VAN REES
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KHS JOURNALISM CORONAVIRUS ISSUE
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