Covid-19. It is here. It is very much here and very much disrupting our lives.

Covid-19. It is here. It is very much here and very much disrupting our lives.

Before I go any further I want to say everything beyond that first sentence is strictly my opinion. I am not a medical professional of any sort, I think I have the average amount of common sense…ok, maybe above average, and like most opinion pieces you should take this with a grain of salt and move about your day.

Schools are closing, events are being canceled, whole sports seasons are canceled and of course, people are complaining. And I get it. It is stressful and frustrating and if we are being honest, scary.

People are scrambling to find childcare solutions, artists and the service industry are losing money and hospital systems are about to be stressed if they aren’t already. And many of us, probably most of us are about to be sick.

 

Fortunately, Covid-19 is something that most people will recover from, unfortunately, I do not fall in that group. But that is not what this is about.

More than that we are all once again seeing how unprepared we are as a society and as individuals. I mean I am all for taking life as it comes and not worrying about what-ifs….actually, that isn’t true because I have General Anxiety Disorder, but I like the idea of living a worry-free lifestyle.  But the fact is the words pandemic and quarantine made people lose their minds. And maybe it should, at first, but then we have to calm down and thein logically and listen to the experts and scientists. (because everything is not a conspiracy).

You don’t need all the soap and toilet paper, you just don’t.

And even being in a high-risk group I worry more about the logistics of curbing the spread of the disease more than actually getting sick myself. It is probably the event planner in me.

Things like getting my son moved home from college several states away because they have closed the campus for the rest of the semester worry me. How he is going to complete is labs and finals worry me, though I know that is not my problem to solve (I told y’all I had anxiety)

How is distance learning going to work for public schools that don’t already have a system in place?

In two weeks I have to go to a large military hospital to receive an immunosuppressant drug that I need to keep my Crohn’s Disease under control. I don’t even know how to handle that? I mean that is going to where the sick people are to get something that is going to make me more vulnerable. And there are people with way more serious conditions than mine that have to receive similar treatment. They can’t just stop.

What about our senior citizens? ( I have a soft spot for most old people) My grandmother is in her 80s and has an autoimmune disease and I am very concerned for her.

How many people will lose their jobs because of this, be at because of childcare or just because their industry suffers?

And do not even get me started on the lack of testing kits or the cost of testing. That is a whole different post and a rant within itself.

It’s a mess. The whole world is a mess right now. There are more questions than answers and more concerns than solutions.

But you know what? There are things you can do:

• Follow the advice of the CDC aka WASH YOUR HANDS…. A LOT
• Don’t share information on Facebook or Twitter that you haven’t fact-checked
• Don’t go out unless you have to – I know the kids are home and soon everyone will be stir crazy but now is not the ideal time for field trips and spending the day at the mall
• If you are sick and can stay home do it
• If you are sick and can’t stay home take all the precautions you can
• Cough and sneeze into your elbow
• If you can help out a neighbor or friend by watching their kids, do it
• Check the World Health Organization on a regular basis for updates
• Don’t hoard all the toilet paper…or anything else for that matter. Stock up if you can but don’t go overboard. Leave stuff for other people.
• Check on your neighbors, especially the elderly and see if you can run errands for them.
• If you feel sick call your doctor, ER, Urgent Care or hospital before you go to get seen. They will have protocols for you to follow. Follow them.

It is scary and it is ok to be scared. It is even ok to freak out a bit, but keep it under control. Take all the safety precautions you can. Be informed. Inform others.  And most importantly Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands.