I understand that not all cities and states have the same restrictions that we have in California, but everyone in the country has been told to stay physically away from other people. Sometimes it’s called social distancing and sometimes it’s called physical distancing. Either way, the idea is that you shouldn’t be within 6 feet of someone who isn’t in your household. And there are a lot of places shutting down so that they can help people stay apart. I don’t know of any movie theaters that are open anywhere in the country. A lot of restaurants are closed for dine-in eating. And in LA, nothing is open unless it’s an essential place such as a bank or grocery store.
Personally, I’m not really leaving my house at all. Last week, I went to the grocery store on Sunday and I went to a doctor’s appointment on Monday. That’s it. I did walk to the end of my driveway to take my trash out and do laundry. But besides that, I stayed in my house and didn’t consider leaving. So many of my friends are doing the same and I thought that most people would be doing so as well. This is why I was so mad when I found out that people were crowding beaches and parks this past weekend.
I don’t know if people thought it didn’t matter because they were outside or they didn’t believe they needed to stay away from others. I really don’t get it. We have been told to stay at home unless you have to leave. This is not time to go to the beach and hang out. If you need to get some fresh air, going for a walk is fine. And yes, they said that hiking was fine as long as you weren’t near other people. But people should have seen how crowded the parks were and not go hiking there. Because of how many people were out in public over the weekend, things got a bit stricter here and public spaces are being closed for now.
If closing more things is what it takes for people to stay home, then I’m happy about that. This is only going to get better if people stay home. We need to isolate because if you are out in public you might be around someone who is sick. And even if you don’t get sick, you can still be contagious and pass it on to someone else the next time you are out. Or you can pass it on to someone in your home.
For a while, they were saying the people most at sick for seriously getting sick or dying were older or had some pre-existing condition. I’m sure we all know someone who fits the older category. Either your parents or grandparents if not friends. As far as the other high-risk category, some people have no clue if they have a pre-existing condition that will be an issue. You don’t always discover it until it becomes an issue. And there are some confusing things about what conditions make you at higher risk. I’ve heard that having any auto-immune conditions can make you high risk (not just being treated which I know can make you immunocompromised). I have 2 diagnosed aut0-immune conditions and 1 that hasn’t been officially diagnosed. So I might be high-risk. I might now. But I know plenty of people who are.
And now, they are saying that younger people are the ones getting sick and needing medical intervention. And if more people are hospitalized because they are sick, hospitals will run out of bed and ventilators. And doctors will be forced to choose who they treat and who they only give comfort care to so they aren’t in pain. If a doctor has to choose, they will choose the person that has the best chance of recovery. And yes, that does typically mean younger and healthier people so young people might still think they are fine. But imagine if your parent or grandparent is left without treatment because another young person was more likely to survive. Would you be ok with it because they were young and assumed they wouldn’t get sick? No event, trip, dinner out, hangout, or anything is worth sacrificing a life. We all have to isolate to protect everyone else.
We have no clue how long it will take for this to be over. Hopefully, a cure and vaccine are discovered soon, but there will still be a while before they are available to everyone. For now, the only thing we can do is stay at home. That’s not asking a lot of people. You are being told to hang out at home, not go out and do anything crazy. And the sooner people start doing that the sooner this will be done. Maybe we will have to do this for 2 or 3 months. Maybe more. But that time will end and then we can get back to our normal lives. It will be worth it. Sacrificing a little time for the rest of your life seems like a very good deal to me.
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