Contributed photos ShayeLyn Pickett and her partner Benjamin White prior to the pandemic during a gender reveal party. They now have to reschedule their baby shower because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In unprecedented times, unprecedented measures must be taken.

Residents of Marshall County have been taking steps to reschedule major events in their lives like marriages, baby showers and birthdays due to the risks presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has infected more than 200 Iowans and killed at least three so far this week with more deaths and infections expected next week.

“It’s upsetting,” said ShayeLyn Pickett of Melbourne.

Pickett is pregnant with her first child and expecting to give birth in May. She might have to reschedule her baby shower until after the baby’s birth for the health of her family and her child.

Contributed photo Angie Choate isn’t rescheduling her wedding, but is shorting the guest list and rescheduling her reception.

“We have pushed it out until about mid-April but if things continue we’ll probably end up canceling it altogether and having the baby shower after the baby is born,” Pickett said. “We’re hoping everything is done and over with by May.”

The shower was originally scheduled for a March weekend.  

“A lot of pregnant people don’t know enough about the virus,” Pickett said.

She works at the Iowa Veterans Home but is staying home right now.

“I have been told by my doctors and nurses ‘Don’t go to work because we don’t know enough about this to let you know if it is safe or not to go back to work,'” Pickett said.

A lot of her appointments have been rescheduled as well.

As far as giving birth, Pickett may face several restrictions because of the pandemic, like only having one person in the delivery room or not having anyone at all.

“It’s scary to think about,” Pickett said. “I definitely have to manage my stress levels.”

Weddings are getting rethought or rescheduled as well.

Angie Choate of Marshalltown is still having her wedding on April 4, but she’s shortened the guest list to less than 10 people and rescheduled the reception for a later date.

“We were going to go to the courthouse, but since the tornado hit it’s kind of hard,” Choate said.

Instead she and her soon-to-be-husband are getting married by the pastor of the Church of the Nazarene’s at her house.

Prior to the pandemic Choate was going to have her whole family present at an outside ceremony with 50 to 60 people.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been married so I wanted it to be special,” Choate said. “We’re going to wait until the summer to have our big reception.”

“It’s horrible” having the pandemic happen at the same time a wedding is planned, she said.

Not only is Choate having to limit her wedding, but she can’t be around her friends or family.

“It just kind of puts a damper on everything,” she said.

Choate will not have her wedding catered either.

“We were just going to have the wedding and then have everybody leave because we didn’t want everybody around each other for too long,” Choate said. “Tons of people have things planned and this pandemic happening ruins everything. It just makes it 10 times worse when you want your special day to be special, but you can’t.”

Sometimes offering a virtual event won’t allow certain family or friends to attend for various reasons.

Pickett’s great grandparents have difficulty operating computer cameras without help.

“It makes it really hard,” she said.

Pickett has kept herself calm by controlling what she can control.

“Trying not to worry about things I don’t know enough about,” she said.

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Contact Thomas Nelson at tnelson@timesrepublican.com