TUESDAY May 4, 2021: 'PANDEMIC ISOLATION' by award winning ZUMA Photographer Rick D'Elia who has worked with NGO's worldwide: The coronavirus pandemic is causing an epidemic of loneliness and social isolation among adults, carrying with it significant health and emotional risks, according to the United Health Foundation. Arizona based ZUMA photojournalist, Rick D'Elia felt the need to begin to record this extraordinary time to show what life looks like during the pandemic, with its barriers of physical distance, including 10 feet or more, masks and sometimes glass windows. Rick captured simple moments of families and individuals, largely at home, while coping with these new seemingly harsh and isolating rules. The images became his way of coping and, perhaps, understanding how to process this unusual time. As we begin emerging from this unprecedented event, people are going outside, relaxing and playing more, looking for the end of the crisis, looking for a release, looking for something to celebrate. Welcome to 'PANDEMIC ISOLATION'
© Story of the Week #785: TUESDAY May 4, 2021: 'PANDEMIC ISOLATION' by award winning ZUMA Photographer Rick D'Elia who has worked with NGO's worldwide: The coronavirus pandemic is causing an epidemic of loneliness and social isolation among adults, carrying with it significant health and emotional risks, according to the United Health Foundation. Arizona based ZUMA photojournalist, Rick D'Elia felt the need to begin to record this extraordinary time to show what life looks like during the pandemic, with its barriers of physical distance, including 10 feet or more, masks and sometimes glass windows. Rick captured simple moments of families and individuals, largely at home, while coping with these new seemingly harsh and isolating rules. The images became his way of coping and, perhaps, understanding how to process this unusual time. As we begin emerging from this unprecedented event, people are going outside, relaxing and playing more, looking for the end of the crisis, looking for a release, looking for something to celebrate. Welcome to 'PANDEMIC ISOLATION'

DUD and FILOMENA D'ELIA stayed home from the beginning of the pandemic out of their own concern and their childrens' urging. 'We will stay quarantined for as long as it takes to be safe in the world. It has been 3 months and I have to admit I am really tired of not being able to jump in the car and take off with errands. However I am amazed at how wonderful my family and friends have been to us. You know who you are and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.'
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

Mechanical Engineers MARCOS, (L) and RUY GARCIA created face shield PPE for medical personnel in their apartment for some time at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the vast shortage of supplies, Arizona medical workers were desperate for supplies. The brothers set up 3D printers in their homes to create the shields for a good cause.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

SUZANNAH DEFUSCO attends a study session at Arizona State University via internet conference call from her home. She says she and her three year old son Gabriel try to get out in the fresh air during the COVID lockdown in Mesa, as often as they can. Navigating when to wear a mask as well as keeping one eye on a three year old proved to be a challenge.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

Catching some air, DAVID GLOSSER a skater, KIYOMI KAWANA-GLOSSER and AUSTIN GAVIN, entertain themselves in front of their home in Gilbert, during the COVID lockdown.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

LUCERO GARCIA, left and PATRICIA PEREZ sew medical grade reusable PPE gowns for health care workers at Fabric/Arizona Apparel Foundation in Tempe. The organization is the only one in the state that is FDA approved to make the gowns to help make up for the gown shortage in Arizona during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

SHAUN BREESE continued to operate her and her husband's bakeshop, Urban Cookie in Phoenix, closing her dining area and making it a storage area for additional baking supplies, while they delivered orders of baked treats and coffee to customers in the parking lot in a contact-less drop off.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

ANNIELAURIE VAN WIE and her husband ALI SHELTON train in their garage at home, installing additional equipment to stay fit since the COVID-19 Pandemic hit. AnnieLaurie reflected 'My biggest wish from going through all the sickness, fear, unemployment, and economic ruin people have endured is that we unite to take care of each other. No matter who you are, age, race, gender identity, economic status, ability, Covid-19 unites in its willingness to take us down. It has forced an entire nation to look inward. Covid-19, thank you for this painful lesson.'
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

Karate dojo members keep fit and enjoy classes outside every Saturday in the business' parking lot. JKA Karate of Arizona dojo recently marked the one-year anniversary of the outdoor classes, during the pandemic.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

Trying to keep things going, CHUCK COBURN keeps his Karate dojo going by holding classes outside every Saturday in the business' parking lot. JKA Karate of Arizona dojo recently marked the one-year anniversary of the outdoor classes, even during record breaking heat waves.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

As the pandemic began, Airzona State University student SEAN COUTY neared the end of an eight year journey, completing his batchelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, then COVID-19 shut everything down. His extended family rallied around him as the prospect of not walking in graduation after years of hard work just seemed wrong to everyone. 'Instead of being in a stadium, we had to arrange our own 'graduation ceremony' with the family. Couty said 'We made the right adjustments to make sure it was safe and fun for everyone.'
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

Peering through his car window, SUSUMU SITO works from home and loves to make photographs. Although world was locking down, he continued much of his life as usual, working in his home office via conference with colleagues while getting out as much as possible on his solitary habit to make new landscape photographs in the nearby mountains east of his home in Gilbert.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

When the pandemic lockdown hit, JEWEL and JAMES SHELTON simply got busier, and taking their backyard oasis and sanctuary to a much higher level. In the middle of Gilbert Arizona, they created a lush green tableau where they could escape the walls of their home that contained them as they isolated from the world to stay healthy during the COVID-19 Pandemic. 'Having a beautiful garden sanctuary in my backyard helps with my sanity, during these stressful times.'
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

KERSTIN and her boys BEN, left and NATE seen through the window of their home during the pandemic. The boys compete in weightlifting and were permitted by the school to take some of the equipment home to continue training.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

Seen through a window, JACKIE DISHNER, isolated at home in order to protect her husband Rick, a court judge and essential worker as much as possible from the COVID-19 virus. A professional writer and journalist, Jackie spent much of her time developing her fine art skills in drawing and painting experimenting in a variety of mediums, including doing landscapes in chalk on the walls of their backyard.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

NATALIA CARDONA, 15, practices her ballet in the family's converted dining room while the family isolates due to the pandemic. 'We are an immune-compromised household, so this pandemic has also brought with it tremendous fear. I normally work from home, so our only adjustment was having the kids home all the time. In order to avoid being around others, we started cooking more at home. We have planned more game nights, more family dinners, and more frequent calls with family members to stay connected.'
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

WHITNEY DANIELS keeps the community garden health with her morning watering routine at her home in 'First Place' Arizona. First Place is an independent living complex for neurodiverse adults that residential complex takes great care in ensuring that residents and staff stayed healthy during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

Seen through the window and wearing a mask, STEVE FURTNEY and his wife, Tallulah at their Village of Oak Creek home, ride out the COVID-19 pandemic doing their best to stay healthy.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

The Hansen family, JENNIFER and DEVON with their kids, from left, MAVERIK, 6, NICO, 2, WESTON, 9, and ISAAC, 9, celebrate the adoption of their littlest member, Nico (in Jennifer's lap) as they attend family court via teleconference from their backyard in Gilbert. A select few members of the family attended the event which represented the new normal of carrying on official events at a distance through computer conferencing.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

HEIDI RAKOVIC does warm up exercises up in an outdoor JKA Karate class in Tempe during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

BOBBY BORSZICH is showered with colored corn starch by his mother-in-law ANU DWIVEDI as they celebrate the color Hindu festival of Holi, a significant day of celebration of rebirth. Borszich and his wife Kirti Dwivedi were married in a very scaled-down wedding, in April of 2020. Before Holi 2021, everyone in that small group had their COVID-19 vaccinations and so decided it was time to celebrate, Kirti, said, 'Holi is symbolic of a rebirth of earth in the springtime, and this day filled our hearts and our souls as we played and celebrated this first step back into some semblance of normalcy.'
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

Life at Digital Air Strike continues as they created distance between work and exercise spaces, installed hepa air filters throughout the offices, while taking sanitizing, testing and other procedures very seriously, to permit the company serving it's customers while keep its workforce healthy. CEO Alexi Venneri, said no one who had been coming to the office for work had contracted the virus.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

Life at Digital Air Strike continues as they created social distance between work spaces, installed hepa air filters throughout the offices, all to permit the company to continue serving it's customers and keep its workforce healthy. CEO Alexi Venneri, said no one who had been coming to the office for work had contracted the virus.
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

RANDY WALTERS, contracted COVID-19 in February and very nearly gave up. On the most difficult night of his illness while in the hospital, he said 'I was fighting a bear, struggled silently in the dark, afraid, exhausted and feeling all I wanted was the pain and suffering to end. I was kneeling up on my bed, breathing heavy and about to ask God to take me because this was too much to go on. Then I remembered my 17 year old granddaughter Cara who we came so very close to losing a year before. When she came off the ventilator, and I whispered to her how close we came to losing her, she looked at me, smiled and in a soft whisper voice said 'Papa I'm hard to kill.'
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire

A graphic designer, SUSANNA FIELDS has largely been able to work from home during the pandemic having her daughter Alex, 10, home when not at her dad's house with other siblings. For the Fields, the sobering moment arrived one day when Alex asked her, 'mommy, what did they do the last time there was a pandemic?' Susanna said, 'I had to tell her the truth, I don't know, honey, there wasn't a last time that any of us were alive to remember.' Her face just dropped. It was a hard thing to tell her.' She's learned to appreciate the little things in life, 'seeing friends, a good long hug, just getting outside for a little bit every single day.'
© Rick D'Elia/ZUMA Wire