Day 26, it is. It’s also Good Friday, maybe the worst use ever of the adjective “good,” and probably not the best day to say TGIF.

It’s a bleak day for good Christians, and it’s no barrel of laughs, either, for your chronicler of the quarantine, who spent much of the morning trying to get to the bottom of what’s the real story with COVID-19, and there’s plenty of source material on Twitter, with such dependable hashtaggers as #CoronaVirusHoax, #Plannedemic, #CoronaScam, #Scamdemic, #FilmYourHospital, #ArrestFauci, and many, many more.

And the more you research, the more skeptical you could become and you might feel a little, say, “sheepish” about the fact that you’re staying at home “in order to protect humanity.”

“Do you know what churches are closed but grocery stores are not?” one post posed on a hoax site. Your wild guess is “because people can pray in their own homes, but they need to visit a store to buy food and other essentials?”

Nice try, and a reply one would expect from a gullible stay-at-homer. No, the answer is “because well-fed sheep are more docile.”

Coronavirus death numbers are inflated, say some. “Notice how nobody’s dying of pneumonia anymore? Because they’re calling everything coronavirus.”

“A guy jumps out of an airplane without a parachute. Dies of coronavirus,” posts one wag.

Same point, different post: “A guy falls off a cliff, dies of coronavirus.”

In other words, you can’t die these days without dying of coronavirus.

“The next step is to vaccinate everyone,” posts not only a coronavirus conspiracy expert, but an anti-vaxxer as well. A Renaissance man of the COVID Era.

A big number of conspiracy buffs mash up COVID with 5G technology. One camp claims the lockdown prevents the public from witnessing the construction of 5G towers everywhere and cites the health perils of 5G, which acts as a high-tech, high-speed accelerating agent for the common cold. Couple that with the alleged hysteria of the mainstream media and you’ve got an Rx for the super-powered COVID-19.

Here’s another simple explanation for what’s going on, from our Illuminati Desk: “First, we spread the disease, then put the planet on lockdown, then we bankrupt the planet, invoke martial law, then prepare for the Third Temple.”

That escalated quickly, and it puts Judgment Day as the logical (or, rather, illogical) result of the international conspiracy (did anyone miss Dr. Anthony Fauci’s flashing of a Masonic hand signal at one of the briefings?).

I’m not one of those people who enthusiastically awaits Judgment Day. I wasn’t even nuts about when, in grammar school, Father Martin came around to hand out report cards. I’m hoping for a merciful, if not overly just, God.

Medical conspiracies such as the ones now afoot, are popular for a lot of reasons, not least of all the fact that people tend to seek easy answers to complicated and frightening facts (and what could be easier than believing that COVID will lead quickly to the preparation of the Third Temple?) Or, even better, the fact that hospitals aren’t overflowing must mean there is no COVID-19, hence no reason to be frightened other than in the suspicion that there’s something a lot worse than a global pandemic in the works.

A University of Chicago study conducted in 2014 found that 49% of Americans agree with at least one medical conspiracy theory and 18% agree with three or more. I think we can assume that number has increased with the twined risings of Twitter reports and the spread of the virus itself.

And now, to the mailbag, where reader Debi Riley, of Belmont Shore, reports:

“Here’s what I do to help keep myself sane on lockdown.

“I write letters. Real honest to god pen and paper correspondence with a stamp and everything.

“In 22 days I have mailed 48 cards and letters to friends and loved ones. My mother-in-law is alone in San Gabriel, she’s 91 so I definitely have sent a few to her. Our grandkids, 8, 7, 4 and 2 live in South Pasadena and Santa Fe Springs. In addition to goofy letters, I also send them books and candy. I also send letters to a few older friends who don’t have cell phones or computers. And one guy (former co-worker) who has been in prison (drug mule) for 10 years. I especially like writing to people who I know will write me back like my sister and my niece in the Bay Area. I am a little concerned about the rumors that the post office might shut down in June or September?

“On January 29th I had to have surgery, so I have basically been on lockdown since then. I finally started feeling better around March 13th and was due to return to work on the 30th. I worked at Johnny Rebs’ (Bellflower location) for over 27 years. But they are now closed, so I am out of work! Not sure who is going to want to hire a 64 year old waitress!!

“My husband is 67, he has worked constantly since he was 15 years old. He just got furloughed on Friday from his job in IT. He is due to return on April 20th, but nothing is for sure.

“So, together we are doing a jigsaw puzzle, going for walks, preparing simple meals (mostly my husband, he’s a great cook) watching “Better Call Saul,” “Ozark,” “Tiger Joe,” “Survivor” and lots of HGTV. I also listen to Sara Raymond at the Mindful Movement. She does these really great guided meditations that keep me from going completely over the edge with fear and worry.

“I pray every morning and every night, not only my loved ones, but for the whole planet basically, and your sister too!

“You asked, so I am telling you!”

Thank you, and I encourage everyone else in isolation to let me know how you’re handling it. Send email to [email protected], or find me on Facebook and Twitter, @grobaty.