I’ll explain the photo at the end of this blog post.
First, let me say straight-out that I am not an expert. Ask me the difference in “farther” and “further” or where to place a comma, and I can tell you. Ask me how to make homemade biscuits, and I will show you. Ask me how to explain this virus epidemic like a doctor or scientist? No way.
But if there is anything I know how to do, it is to research and to learn from the ones who do know. That’s what I, as a teacher, taught my students to do. That is what we, as an educated society, should do.
Which is why I am mystified by many who are taking this pandemic lightly. Are they not researching? Are they not listening to the medical professionals? Are they trying to downplay the seriousness of what our country and world are facing because they don’t want to interrupt their routines, if only for a short while?
I’ve heard that argument that the flu has killed more people than COVD-19. True, so far. But what the experts are telling us that this virus is highly contagious, that you can have it and not even know it (thereby being a carrier), and that the death rate is ten times higher than the death rate due to the flu. Because there is no vaccine and it is a new virus, our population doesn’t have immunity to it.
Mathematicians can explain it better than I can. The point is, the virus can spread exponentially. They are not basing this on some remote hypothesis. They are basing this on what they have already witnessed in other countries.
It is highly contagious, as I stated earlier. That is why New York City has more than half of the reported cases.
So where am I getting these facts? From the media? In a way. Because the news outlets, like our local WPSD, the national NBC, and Fox, all stations that I have been watching, feature medical experts who are explaining, answering questions, and giving recommendations. Everyone, from the nation’s surgeon general to the COVD task force headed by Vice-President Pence, to a local doctor in Paducah, says the same thing.
Stay away from people.
President Trump asked us to avoid people for 15 days because that incubation period would go a long way to stop the spread of the virus. Yet millennial still parties on the beaches, people still went to restaurants, groups continued to meet. It’s as if they were saying, “It won’t happen to me.” Many were saying that there was too much hype, that is was like Y2K, that the media was blowing things out of proportion.
They refused to listen to the experts.
Our area is fortunate. We have no reported cases, at least not yet. That doesn’t mean we won’t have, and that doesn’t mean we need to congregate as though the virus isn’t living among us. It could be. That person you’re chatting with may have contracted it but have no symptoms yet cough and send the virus right to you.
While it is not deadly for everyone or even the majority of people, experts now know it doesn’t affect just the elderly as was previously believed. There have been reported deaths of young people. Just think about it. There are plenty of young people with asthma, diabetes, and other conditions that make their immune system not as strong as others. I heard this morning that people with high blood pressure (that’s a lot of you out there) and diabetes are at high risk.
If you’re not concerned about your own health, at least be concerned about the health of others. I can’t help but wonder what the numbers would be if the entire country had listened to President Trump when he asked everyone to not gather for 15 days, to go only to places absolutely necessary and practice social distancing, a recommendation he made after consulting with multiple experts.
The picture above is of me, my brother, and my mother, taken last year on Mother’s Day. I’m 63, my brother is 73, and my mother is 92. Although I’m in the category of higher risk, I have no health conditions. No blood pressure issues, no diabetes, no asthma or COPD, none of that. My brother, however, has a defibrillator and pacemaker, high blood pressure, lung problems, and is on dialysis. My mom, well, she’s 92.
And because I have to care for her needs, I am practicing social distancing. I’m taking all the precautions recommended by the CDC and countless doctors.
Our politicians are concerned about the economic impact of all this, as many of us are. That has kept many governors from mandating business shut-downs, in spite of the strong warnings coming from all over the globe.
As a teacher, part of my job was to teach students social responsibility. That means how to be responsible as a member of a community. Things like not littering, obeying laws, helping others, and all of the things to make our communities stronger by personal actions.
Hospitals in hard-hit areas are desperate for resources to treat those infected. Medical personnel are stretched to the limit. This is not media hype. This is real.
As I stated in last week’s blog, there is no reason to panic. Don’t rush to Walmart to load up on toilet paper and canned goods. The supplies are still coming. Even Italy allows people to leave their homes for necessities like food and medicine. Don’t be in fear for your life. But take precautions. Stay at least six feet from others. Keep your hands away from your face. Wash your hands, with soap, for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer.
And avoid social gatherings. It’s what they’re asking us to do, and it’s what they don’t want to force us to do by making it a law. They’re wanting us to demonstrate social responsibility.
Listen to the experts, and heed their advice.
Please.
Life As I know it 