MOSES LAKE — For some local people, the current restrictions on movement and business that are part of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak are surreal. Others are troubled by the role of social media during a pandemic. Still others are just trying to keep going in an uncertain time.

Those are some of the reactions gathered from people around the community during the days of the stay-at-home guidelines issued by Gov. Jay Inslee on March 16. Inslee required people to work from home if they could and only leave home for essential chores.

Earlier this week, people were out buying gasoline and groceries, buying materials for home projects in a time of enforced idleness, walking for exercise.

Everyone who agreed to talk to the Herald declined to give a name.

The man in his 50s buying lumber for a deck project found it all kind of weird, he said, and it was difficult to formulate a reaction. Nothing quite like it has ever happened in Grant County in his experience, and that included the aftermath of the Mount St. Helens eruption.

A woman in her 60s, out for a walk with a friend in Cascade Park, expressed both skepticism and frustration. The stay-home order was prohibiting her from doing things she enjoyed, including activities at her church. In her opinion, some of the news stories were over-emphasizing the danger and some were politically motivated.

A woman in her 30s, stopping by a convenience store on Broadway Avenue, said she thought social media played a role in spreading misinformation. People believe information they read on social media without checking its veracity, and that has caused a lot of unnecessary fear. Healthy people fear the coronavirus will kill them if they contract it, she said, and in most cases that’s not true. Misinformation also has led to panic buying — people don’t need a six-month supply of toilet paper, she said.

However, a man in his 30s taking a walk on Central Avenue with a relative said he thought the U.S. wasn’t doing enough to combat the pandemic. The U.S. should adopt the procedures now in place in France and other parts of Europe, he said. French residents are required to stay inside, and must have documentation that they have valid reasons for being outside. Curfews have been imposed and police checkpoints have been established throughout the country.

A nursing student from Big Bend Community College in his 20s, walking his dog on Balsam Street, said he thought people were reacting pretty well to the restrictions and social distancing. Healthy people who aren’t in high-risk groups don’t necessarily need to fear the virus, he said, but everyone does need to respect it. People need to work together, he said, to arrest the spread of the pandemic.

A man in his 60s buying plants for his garden said he agreed with the social distancing rules and restrictions on gatherings and movement. He had, however, two questions. He didn’t know why the state had closed access to fishing, since it’s mostly a solitary pastime. And he wanted to know why marijuana facilities were allowed to remain open.

A man in his 20s, walking along Central Avenue with a relative, said he was concerned about people who had lost their jobs during the pandemic. They will need financial support until conditions improve, he said.

A man picking up supplies at a hardware store said he really didn’t have an answer — he was just trying to keep going, be proactive in his precautions against the coronavirus and not worry too much. He can’t control a pandemic, but he isn’t going to live in fear, he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].