Michael Goltermann, left, and Johnny Kostrey reflect on the atmosphere of their neighborhood under quarantine: 

Michael Goltermann - “I have four dogs that I like to walk. I was doing pretty well until Los Angeles declared that masks should be worn in public places. Though the mandate doesn’t apply to outdoor activities when distance (6 feet) can be maintained, many in the community are policing those who do not wear masks outside, even when properly distanced.

Now when I walk my dogs, I’m likely to be accosted by strangers for failing to wear a mask, even though I’m a comfortable six-foot distance away. I’m happy to follow rules, even the ones I don’t agree with. But I bristle when people try to community police others under rules that don’t exist. I’d like very strict fuel standards to mitigate deadly warming, but I don’t get to yell at strangers for driving SUVs. 

With COVID, some maintain (almost always implicitly) that “saving lives from COVID” is the only value; forget freedom of movement, privacy, the ability to earn a living to survive and so on. I’ve been on board with social distancing and closures far earlier than most, and think we should continue for now.

When we decide to ease restrictions in one way or another, lives will likely be be lost as a result. But the likelihood of additional lives lost is not some bullet-proof trump card that shuts down careful, evidence-based debate about other values at stake.”

Johnny Kostrey - “I feel like I saw all this coming in slow motion so I was gradually preparing for awhile. I personally don't love it, but it's a constant internal battle to try and find the positives in an uncomfortable/new situation with new ground rules. I had one really low day after the order got recently extended to May 15, but I decided to just let myself have it and honor my feelings - I slept a lot that day! The next morning I felt better. 

Even after the vaccine comes, I feel like a certain population will remain terrified and afraid to re-enter society. I worry about the economic hardships that so many will face for many months and years to come. I hope the government is consistent with the policy provisions that motivated the shelter-in-place order, and provides economic relief to the people and small business owners that really need it.

I've been trying my best to keep some sort of steady routine. Even before the quarantine, my schedule was a combination of working at the office and at home so I've done my best to maintain that as best as possible. For the first few weeks, I stayed home as much as possible, but recently I've tried to go into my office for a few hours a day to get work done. The rest of my day involves some sort of yoga/meditation and exercise.”