I’m not sure about you, but I’ve spent most of my time the past two weeks scrolling through Twitter. Needless to say, it’s my primary form of news consumption. From there, I receive most of the information relating to COVID-19, both domestically and internationally. My biggest takeaway from all this scrolling centers around one key term — social distancing.
Social distancing is defined as staying away from other people in order to avoid catching or spreading a virus. Whether this is skipping a concert you purchased tickets for (it’s likely canceled), forgoing the latest movie out in theatres, or simply not making plans for brunch, all of these contribute to the act of staying socially distant and healthy. Despite how difficult it can be, doing so is shown to decrease in jeopardization of other people’s health. Sure, maybe catching a virus with a 0.2% mortality rate will not pose a threat to you personally, but simply contracting it is enough to pass it on to someone who is much more at risk than you (ie: the elderly, immunocompromised, etc). My parents, despite only being in their late 40s, both have immunosuppressed conditions. Thus, when you go out for brunch or to the mall, not only are you putting yourself at risk but the people like my parents who would not recover as easily if they were to contract the virus.
There’s a reason why so many schools, public events, and movie releases were canceled or postponed. If barely any children contract the virus, much less die from it, why is there a strong push for the closing of K-12 schools? Well, a child can contract it and pass it along to their parents and then their grandparents, and the cycle continues. What’s more? A vast majority of cases are asymptomatic and may require a two-week incubation period to show any symptoms, at which point the virus could’ve spread to others.
This isn’t just about not going out if you’re sick, it’s about lessening the risk of a societal collapse. Hungry? Order takeout (at the time of writing this, chains like Chipotle and KFC have enacted free delivery transactions). Feeling claustrophobic? Take a walk outside on a nice day (or even a not nice day, we’re not in the place to be picky.) Want to watch a movie? Watch Netflix. If you’re like me and don’t already have Netflix, try a free trial of any streaming service, but make sure to cancel before the time is up!
I know it’s hard and I know it’s difficult to meet up with friends and family but please remember this is temporary. There are ways around this as long as we all do our part. If everyone practices social distancing, we can reduce the curve of this pandemic and subsequently prevent a nationwide collapse. So the next time you head out for something non-essential, rethink your choices.