The Coronavirus

[yuline]

When news of a SARS like outbreak in Wuhan, China first broke, I didn’t think it would affect the rest of the world.  I assumed like SARS, it would be contained and die out while the rest of the world watched from the sidelines.  Once I saw how challenging it was to contain it and how rapidly it was spreading, I became worried but I still thought everyone especially the media was overreacting to it and I really didn’t spend the time to research it more thoroughly.  As a healthcare worker, I’d tell people not to worry or overreact.  Fast forward to February, I had followed all the reports and stats more closely and all my years of training, experience, and education was telling me our world as we know it was about to change for the worse possibly permanently.  Even last week, I had someone saying oh it’s not that serious and people need to stop overreacting.  I had reversed my earlier stand and this time instead of downplaying it, I said actually it is serious and everyone needs to practice good hygiene, exercise common sense, avoid crowds, and stay home at every opportunity possible.  I don’t want for there to be fear mongering which doesn’t help anything except bring harm, violence, and chaos.  I’ve always been proud to be American, our modernization, and our cutting edge technologies.  However I am disturbed to see the behaviors that I’ve been seeing and hearing about (eg fights breaking out in Costco and shelves being cleared of all the toilet paper etc).  This isn’t the place to go into detail about the science of the virus.  I’m only going to say this is serious.  This is nothing like the flu and nothing like we’ve experienced before.  Our future may never be the same if we do not all come together and do the right thing.  Everyone was saying masks aren’t necessary and I was agreeing in the beginning. Also because it is practically impossible to buy masks with the shortage and price gouging.  Certain Asian countries are more prepared than the US to handle a SARS like event from past experience. For instance Taiwan, a country of 24 million has done an admirable, phenomenal job containing the virus so far.  Today I had to leave the house to get groceries and necessities. For the first time ever, I wore a mask in public throughout.  I maintained my distance from people and I hand sanitized at every opportunity.  I’ve already stopped going to some of my favorite places that would put me at a significant risk of being infected.  I am in close contact with sick people all day at work.  My worst fear would be to be a possible silent carrier or an inadvertent patient 0.  Sacrifice is necessary for the greater good and yourself.   I did not step into a Sephora store today so I do not know if things were different.  I stopped by 2 Ulta stores today very briefly just to use their restrooms because I knew it would be clean and disinfected. Ulta was the first beauty company to send me an email detailing how they were going to handle the virus. I was pleased to see signs posted to let associates know if you wanted to use a tester. I saw additional disinfection supplies and could tell special effort was made to clean the stores.  What surprised me was the stores were busier than I expected and there were lots of people getting their haircuts and coloring.  I myself am due for a haircut but I decided I wasn’t going to risk it.  In fact everywhere I went today, people were out and about acting like the virus didn’t exist. No social distancing whatsoever. Other than emptied shelves, you wouldn’t know that America is in a state of emergency.  I had been working nonstop and today was my first day out in the world and I realized observing people’s behaviors, America is ill prepared to combat this virus.  Some folks seem to be asleep at the wheel.  One can really learn from the culture of an Asian country like Taiwan or Singapore.  Countries that reacted quickly and proactively prepared so that they do not have a mask shortage and their citizens are properly educated on what to do.  They are unified in their effort and it’s not a bunch of individuals doing however they please.  Everyone is organized and on the same page.  There is no chaos or panic in Costco’s or stores.  Can’t say the same over in this neck of the woods.  I was the only oddball person wearing a mask today and practicing social distancing.  Even if one does not have a mask, there are behaviors one can implement to minimize risk.  Instead I see people not covering their mouths coughing, bumping into each other crowding each other.  Not changing habits.  This virus is no joke. Who knows what the real numbers really are.  The kind of experimental treatments being used to treat critically ill patients says a lot.  I want America to be a healthy place for our future generations to grow up in and for our aging population to grow old in.  Sacrifices need to be made for the greater good.  It seemed to be a foreign concept from the behaviors that I observed today.  We really need to take a good hard look at what we are doing to prevent a probably irreversible crisis from catching us with our pants down.

[CarryBrown]

Agree with your opinion! Even now the coronavirus is a significant problem, despite active vaccination and restrictions. I have heard that more than 500,000 people have died from coronavirus in the United States. I really want it to end soon!

[WinglessOne]

@auwebber23  I hope we don't fully return to normal life. Normal life is why covid-19 spread so quickly and globally in the first place. Sure, I'd like to be able to roam about maskless again. But I sincerely hope everyone—especially those of us in the US—learn some important lessons from this and adopt some covid procedures as standard practice going forward, long after covid's under control. 

1. Masks: I'll wear one whenever I'm in public while coughing/sneezingly sick with a contagious illness. I hope other people do the same. It's such a compassionate, easy, and common sense thing to do. Plus, masks are terrific face warmers in frigid weather! 
2. Better hygiene: some of us have always been good about washing our hands for at least 20 seconds. Covid's taught me how many people fail at that, based on how many folks have whined about it or suddenly hoarded soap. Yikes. 
3. Self-isolation/quarantine while sick: cannot tell you how often I got sick before 2020 simply by sharing workspace with coworkers who came in while they were sick, when they should've stayed home. I had the flu in February 2020, so my self-quarantine began before lockdown orders began—because I didn't want to spread the flu. 
4. Social distancing: I know it's difficult when you live in a big city like I do. But I've thoroughly enjoyed standing in grocery store lines without someone standing so close behind me, I could feel them breathe on me. I'm loving all the personal space. Even if it reduces from 6 feet, I hope enough people are more conscious of other people's personal space, so I won't have to say "this line won't move faster with my butt in your lap, so back the bleep up" ever again. 
5. Increased cleaning of surfaces: whether or not you believe covid spreads via touched surfaces, the flu certainly does to some extent. The 2020-2021 flu season is the first time in decades I haven't had it (with or without a flu shot). Gosh, it's almost as if all these pandemic procedures actually work for various illnesses! 

Mini rant, not aimed at you personally: 

Spoiler

And I'm SO tired of people who complain about lockdown mandates and insist their personal freedoms come first. Reducing viral spread isn't just about me. It's about everyone around me, and all the other people they'll come in contact with. "Living in fear" isn't the driving force here. "Living with compassion for other humans, even if I don't know them" is—and gee, imagine if that mindset became the norm. 

A while back, someone complained that Australians are maskless and going about life as usual, and whined that Americans should follow suit instead of following pandemic safety procedures. Dude, Australians can do that because they actually followed their pandemic safety procedures early on. 🤦‍♀️ When new covid cases have popped up, they've gone back into temporary lockdown because they know the reward is going maskless again once covid's back under control in their country. But the US can't have nice things because personal freedom trumps common sense compassion. Sigh... 

ANYway: thank you for wearing masks, even if they're uncomfy. 🙂 

[missjeanie]

@WinglessOne I want to virtually hug you so bad right now.  All of this.  I will own up to having gone into work sick in the past way too often.  I won't be doing this in the future.  Your mini rant... I'm in Canada, and people say these things about their 'rights' all the time.  Guess what... rights come with responsibilities.  They aren't just a freebie.  I actually had someone today compare our current stay at home order in Ontario to being held in Nazi Germany.  I just couldn't even fathom how someone could make that comparison.  

[WinglessOne]

@missjeanie  ❤️ 

Ugh, all the people comparing lockdown/stay at home/self-isolation mandates to nazi Germany or a prison sentence need to learn what life in those 2 scenarios was/is truly like, and then compare it to comfortably lounging around the house in your pjs or robe with your choice of various foods and drinks at any time of day, the company of any loved ones (including pets) living with you, the ability to go outdoors for a walk around the block or quality time with your front/back yard whenever you want, unrestricted phone/tv/internet access, no armed guards hovering over you, no armed nazis terrorizing you… too many people don’t understand what the words “oppression” and “imprisonment” mean. 

And you’re absolutely right: freedom doesn’t mean “free to harm others,” and rights come with responsibilities. Anyone who knows any Australians knows they also love their personal freedom. But it seems the majority of them love their fellow Australians even more. I could say the same about New Zealand, a country I’m proud of for the way they kicked covid’s butt early in the pandemic. Some folks say “but New Zealand’s a tiny sized country compared to the US so of course it was easy for them.” Psh, none of our individual states have been as successful at this as NZ, so… 

[itscarin]

Funny you mention the masks are uncomfortable.  I honestly don't mind them at all.  My BFF recently mentioned she didn't like wearing them, either.  I'm fully vaccinated, and I wear a mask wherever I go, and it doesn't bother me in the least.  

I honestly like wearing a mask.  It gives you complete anonymity.  You don't have to have that uncomfortable smile when you make eye contact with a stranger.  You can run into people you know and they don't recognize you, so you don't have to engage in a conversation with them.   You can even mumble and mouth all sorts of profanities that you wouldn't do in public if it wasn't for the mask!  Not that I know know anything about that.  0:-)

[missjeanie]

I'm with you @itscarin , I don't mind wearing them at all when I have to go out of the house.  I won't be able to get vaccinated for a while yet, but I do suspect that mask mandates where I am will continue on for another year or so.  I love that people don't always recognize me, and I don't have to 'fake smile' to strangers all day long lol

[melanito]

Great advice from Yuline...from 9 d ago. I am in BC ..Vancouver area and people aren't practicing social distancing here. They aren't testing widely either so cases will be much higher than stated. If you watch the W5 news program story on Wuhan, which was filmed by a Canadian illegally during lockdown a couple of weeks ago, the level of containment and compliance is astonishing. People in North America will rebel and do what serves them. We won't be able to have the same response level. I hope people start listening and think of others on all levels I thought I would mention my fellow BTers that I stocked up on my Sephora items I am running low on last night. I was checking out Simons and their website is down now as they had to close their warehouse in Quebec. Both Ontario and Quebec are closing non essential businesses and I looked at list was Sephora would not fall under essential businesses...so in case warehouses close like Simons did, you may want to buy anything you are running low on Hugs and blessings to everyone

[elthom]

It is serious, very serious, and yet so many people seems to think that health experts are over reacting. From attending a large conference of dental professionals in Vancouver, more than 30 people have become infected and one dentist has died. Eleven people of the 47 who attended a curling bonspiel have become infected, and they all work in the medical field. This virus is very contagious and if we don't want to become another Italy or Spain, we really do need to take social distancing seriously.

It IS an inconvenience, there is no doubt about that, but it is much more than an inconvenience to have a loved one die from covid-19. Please heed the advice of our health care professionals.

[yuline]

If I could give you even more ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I would 😘