Often the situations that cause this cascade of reactions are ones that make us uneasy. Ones we may be fearful of or that we don’t understand. Something new and confusing. I believe that we are faced with situations like this everyday at some level or another and we ease into handling them without too much anxiety. Locating a new address, figuring out a new appliance, trying a new food, meeting a new person...
When the issue faced is large and may have dangerous results and, in particular, can be predicted ahead of time it is hard not to go through the extremes of these reactions. Whether it is a big storm like a hurricane or tornado or that can cause floods or other damage, or bad wildfire conditions that raise our insurance rates (if we can get it) or cause power shutoffs, or a new virus spreading out from it’s point of origin, the longer we have to prepare the easier it is to react emotionally rather than rationally.
If you know me at all, you know I am an infinitely curious person. I am fascinated by our new technology and how it has enhanced our ability to know what’s happening in the atmosphere or underground or in our bodies. I am interested in where things came from and the long term history that shows what has happened in the past and offers clues to the future.
You may also know that I have long been intrested in community emergency response, working with EMS and communications, and emergency preparedness. I study up on this stuff and find it useful and fascinating.
So I look at the immediate issue of the response to this new health threat and am amazed at the tools we now have to help us recognise, predict, and prepare for it. I am fascinated that we have the statistics in real time to show us the pattern it takes as it travels around the globe and how the actions taken in different places affect it’s spread. I am dumbfounded by some of the responses people take (toilet paper? I just don’t get it!), worried when they are terrified (this could take a while, save your energy), and alarmed when it’s not taken seriously.
This is not going to be easy in any case, no matter how intriguing it is to watch. The medical response folks and organizations around the world are not ‘crying wolf’ for fun. The economic engine that depends on us gathering and spending and working in close contact is going to take a hard, if temporary, hit. And the organizations we have put in place to keep us safe are in the hardest place of all. Like the weather forecast - they want us to prepare for the worst and expect the best. If the storm doesn’t arrive as predicted we blame them (as if there are not enough variables in the atmosphere to make any prediction a close, but not 100% guarantee). And in this case, if we do a good job and it doesn’t become a massive disaster we tend to blame the emergency organizations and not pay attention to future warnings. It’s human nature.
So here’s the thing... we have the choice of preparing and being wrong about the severity and/or having the virus mutate and peter out, preparing and having it be bad but contained, or not preparing and it petering out after a lot of folks get sick and a number of them dying or not preparing and having it be disasterous.
Because of the amount of distance travel in the modern world, this genie was already out of the bottle, likely by the time it became active, last December (and, no, that flu you had in America or Europe back in November/December was not COVID-19 unless you had just come from Wuhan, China). People who had been exposed but not come down with symptoms had likely left the region before the seriousness had been accepted. As the serious nature of this new disease has become clear the world started working to contain it as best as possible.
But here’s the thing: This is a NEW (novel) disease. Unless you have it now you, me, NOBODY, has anti-bodies to this. So pretty much everyone will get it. And you will either be sick or be a carrier.
I know too many wonderful people who fit the high-risk category to feel good about this.
Stuff to know:
This is NOT AIRBORNE (like measles). This is spread by droplets - That is, if an infected person coughs or
sneezes, droplets spray out up to 6 or 7 feet (unless they are wearing a mask or cover their cough with an elbow or tissue). These droplets attach to what they land on. They will stay active on that surface for a few days.
If you get residue from these droplets on your skin they will not necessarily infect you, but you will be able to pass them on to things (or people) you touch. If you get them on mucus membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) they can infect you. I don’t know about you, but I tend to rub my eyes a lot, this could infect me if I get a germ on my hands. Anyhow, this is why you want to wash or disinfect your hands a lot.
Just because we are facing this new virus doesn’t mean we still won’t catch colds, have allergies flare up, or get the more common flu. If you get sick that doesn’t necessarily mean you have the COVID-19 virus. But be aware. If you are concerned, call your medical provider and go from there.
If we work now to slow (not prevent, too late for that) the spread of this virus it will help us be able to serve those who become desperately ill with it. If it moves fast and too many are gravely ill at once we create a situation where healthcare workers will be forced to choose who gets treatment and who has to wait, no matter what the outcome.
And remember, if this does become part of our permanent future, over time we will all have some antibodies, and treatments and vaccines will become available. With luck it will become another malady like the common flu. Still deadly, but something we can deal with.
Please everyone, be patient and take care of each other. It may be a pain, but it will pass.
