Please send your news about the coronavirus pandemic as it applies to RVers to editor@rvtravel or submit it here.
Thank you to all the RV Travel readers who have sent us information, much of which we have included here. We have been working so fast that we have not had time to thank you all. So thank you! (You know who you are.)
Read yesterday’s extensive news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and how it’s affecting RVers.
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The Forest River Owners Group (FROG) has cancelled its 2020 Tadpole Rally on April 30 to May 3, and its 2020 California Dreaming Rally May 20-26 in Hemet, California.
California’s Borrego Springs State Park, like other California state parks, is closed, as well as most local businesses. The park is the largest in the state park system and very popular with RV snowbirds. Rangers have put barricades across the entrance to most of the park’s 500 miles of dirt roads.
Closed signs are now posted on the Scenic Drive at Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. This comes on the heels of closures to the visitor center, Gifford House and Fruita Campground.
The Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico has closed all its developed campgrounds. Dispersed camping outside developed sites is still an option, and most fishing accesses are still accessible.
SAVE A TRIP TO THE STORE!
Let Amazon deliver it: Toothpaste • Shampoo • Hair conditioner • Deodorant • Lipstick • Vitamins • Shaving cream • Laundry detergent • Skin cream • Hand soap • Dish detergent • Fingernail brush (get rid of germs) •. Coffee • Batteries for your devices • Pet food
Boondockers Welcome has added more than 100 locations where its members can stay in their RVs for free. Some hosts are permitting stays longer than one night, allowing RVers to quarantine and/or hunker down as needed. Read more.
Shenandoah National Park is closed to all access from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. Skyline Drive is closed to motorized vehicles from mile 0 at Front Royal to mile 65.5 at Route 33 east of Elkton and west of Stanardsville (Swift Run Entrance). Camping is closed.
The Fleetwood Motorhome Association has cancelled its 2020 Western Rally which was scheduled April 8-12 in Yuma, Arizona.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah has closed all public boat ramps on Lake Powell to protect employee and visitor health and safety and provide resource protection by mitigating the risk of quagga mussel contamination to other bodies of water.
Not following measures in Connecticut to support safe, solitary enjoyment of outdoor spaces could result in penalties ranging from a verbal warning to a $5,000 fine and even arrests and felony charges for interfering or obstructing any lawful civil preparedness activity.
Walmart is the latest retailer to announce that it will limit the number of shoppers in an effort to promote social distancing. Stores will now “allow no more than five customers for each 1,000 square feet at a given time, roughly 20% of a store’s capacity.”
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife all announced the extended closure of its state lands to the public through May 4.
QUICK TIP
When ordering groceries online, then picking them up, it’s smart to sanitize the products when bringing them into your home or RV. Reader Gaila Mallery suggests this method: “I only sanitize the perishables and things needed that day that I take into the motorhome and then leave the rest in the car for a couple days [so any virus can die].”
All Idaho State Park campgrounds are closed until at least May 15. The parks are still open for day use.
The governor of Arizona has closed hotels and motels, but RV parks, which are regarded as essential businesses, remain open.
New order from Riverside County, California. You must wear a mask when leaving your home and no gathering with anyone who doesn’t live in your home.
Death Valley National Park, the largest national park in the lower 48 states at roughly 3.4 million acres, closed Saturday due to the coronavirus pandemic. California State Highway 190 and Daylight Pass are open for pass-through traffic.
The Puyallup (Washington) RV Show, scheduled for April 30 to May 3, has been postponed until July 13-16.
Menards plans to start taking shoppers’ and employees’ temperatures soon at its 300-plus home improvement stores.
The CARES Act, the legislation just signed into law, temporarily loosens the rules on hardship distributions from retirement accounts, giving people affected by the crisis access of up to $100,000 of their retirement savings without the usual 10% penalty.
Can’t find something at your local store? Amazon may have it.
HOW TO WASH YOUR HANDS
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this short video shows you the most effective way to wash your hands to get rid of germs.
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New Facebook Group: How the coronavirus is impacting RVers. Get updates throughout the day about park and campground closings, cancelled rallies and RV shows — and more. Join in the conversation with other RVers about what’s on all our minds right now.
If you are a member of an RV club or are affiliated with an RV-related event would you please let us know if its gatherings, meetings, etc., are cancelled or postponed because of the coronavirus? We’ll pass along the info to our readers. We appreciate any news related to RVing that’s relevant to the present crisis. Please submit it here. Thank you!
Careful about how you sanitize your produce. Most of the sanitizers are unsafe for human consumption. Settle for washing with water.
Re: Riverside Mask Order –
Don’t really have a problem with wearing a mask to go to public places – like grocery shopping. However – if just out for a walk or bike ride by myself – there is really no need,
But biggest problem is – where do I get masks? Stores have not had them for many weeks. I have no handkerchiefs, no bandannas, and cannot sew. Tried to order masks on Amazon and they promised me delivery of all I wanted – after May 22nd.
????
Google no sew face masks. There are many instructions for easy to make masks using household items.
Not so much common sense from Riverside County however.
Some common sense shown by the Governor of AZ. Finally.
How does CLOSING hotels and motels make common sense? Where am I supposed to quarantine for 14 days NOW?????
I’m saying leaving the RV parks open, along with the BLM land makes sense. Why do you need a hotel or motel for a 14-day quarantine? That’s the purpose of staying in your RV.
I would MUCH rather stay in my trailer than in some hotel where I have no idea who was there before ME. Plus, I can eat there, shower there, and use my own toilet as well.