Comment on How Mainers celebrate birthdays during while social distancing

Click here for the latest coronavirus news, which the BDN has made free for the public. You can support this mission by purchasing a digital subscription. It may feel like time is standing still right now, but the days continue to trudge ahead — and, with that, come birthdays. With social distancing, self-isolation and self-quarantine, celebrating is a little more challenging than usual. You may have seen the meme: The text reads “People with birthdays in March,” and below it, a triptych of stills from Netflix’s “Narcos” of the actor Wagner Moura portraying a lonely Pablo Escobar, sitting alone on a porch swing, sitting alone at a dinner table and standing alone on a stretch of pavement. [Our COVID-19 tracker contains the most recent information on Maine cases by county] Despite the challenges of coordinating a socially distant birthday celebration, Mainers are determined not to let their loved ones celebrate their birthdays alone — and they are getting creative with their socially distant celebrations. Zooming around Video chatting platforms like Zoom have become essential in the age of the coronavirus — even for celebrating birthdays. Courtney Altmaier in Brunswick had planned to have a big birthday fete for her 30th birthday, perhaps renting a cabin and going all out.