I never realized my greeting would become politically correct. Politically correct is certainly not the aim, or something I care for in the least. Honestly, it's a bit harsher a sentiment than I ought to express, a last vestige of a young man who refuses to count himself among the greatest monsters of the world. Or perhaps acknowledgement that I am an unfeeling monster apart, worse for all my attempts to be anything else. Thoughts for another time.
COVID-19. We wanted zombies, and we got pneumonia-inducing flu symptoms.
Let me tell you, our response has been less than stellar. Some of that can be blamed squarely on China, who I strongly suspect has almost immediately returned to it's previous methods of disinformation and propaganda.
I'm the beginning they worked very hard to suppress the seriousness of the epidemic, thereby leaving the rest if the world flat-footed as the virus spread. Unarmed with any truly useful numbers, the U.S.A administration shut it's borders much too late.
The response across the nation state by state was disjointed. New York got hit hard, at the moment still in the thick of it, but not meltdown levels yet. We'll see how New Orleans goes, and Washington state.
But now state governors have been trying to outdo each other with precautionary quarantine measures. Virginia's governor just issued a stay-at-home order till June 10th. On March 30th he declared this. When the national suggestion is April 30. And no one is saying "we'll see as we go." The talking heads went after the president for sound 'too hopeful.' There's currently plenty of other things to criticize about the man, but they've screamed about every tiny thing the man has done from day one. Nobody internalized the Boy Who Cried Wolf when they were younger, I guess. My disgust with the state of journalism will also have to wait for another post.
Not an ounce of common sense has been doled out with these stay at home orders. Just "StAy At HoMe! RuN aND HiDE!"
So here's some common sense, from someone with common sense. Not a doctor, and I'm not here to advise anyone in particular danger due to being immunocompromised. I assume such persons have wisely learned to take special care of themselves. I'm going to cite the World Health Organization's page on COVID-19 as the source of any facts about the virus I use here. (https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses)
Common Sense Suggestion Number One
At some point you've can be reasonably certain you don't have the virus.
"Most estimates of the incubation period for COVID-19 range from 1-14 days, most commonly around five days. These estimates will be updated as more data become available." (WHO)
If you been away from people from seven or more days without developing symptoms, you should be fine to visit other healthy people who have also been away from people for seven or more days. So find yourself a some quarantine buddies. Decide which day of the week you're all going to do your shopping and errands. Seven or eight days after that, you can get together if everyone's been good and hasn't broken quarantine. Minor risk? Maybe? That's everyone's right to shoulder that risk.
Common Sense Suggestion Number Two
Please, next time around, let's pour our immediate efforts into protecting the at risk people. We just shut down a nation of healthy people instead of securing the health of those at risk. We sent all the fantastically low-risk children home, disrupting their schooling, not to mention all the thousands who need school lunches. In this era of modern medicine and technology, there were better ways to handle this.
Secondary effort into protecting the "essential workers." We've already got a list now! Probably wanna add teachers to that. (And holy smokes, let the teachers stream from their classrooms if you absolutely have to send the children home.)
Common Sense Suggestion Number Three
Before you issue any kind of mass order, you call up Wal-Mart, Target, etc, and immediately have them institute purchasing limits. Nothing is more disheartening than watching your fellow man begin panic buying toilet paper. For those in the future, yes, that's what happened. Everyone ran out and bought toilet paper. For a respiratory disease.
Common Sense Suggestion Number Four
Get cracking with the private sector. Nothing got seriously underway until the federal CDC relaxed and let the private labs get to work.
...I'm getting beyond my purview here.
I'm grumpy at the moment. I'm a social person, this quarantine isn't doing me any favors. I'm currently frustrated with some other issues in my main hobby.
Mostly, I'm angry to have been caught off guard by this pandemic. It was fumbled so badly, but I should have been better prepared. I should have an emergency stockpile. I should have a proper rifle. I should have full gas cans. I should have a plan in place with my friends.
Let's all do better next time.
Because I must,
Jesse