My great-grandmother Mary Wilson Carson died in the 1918 Influenza pandemic at age 32 leaving behind her husband and nine young children, including her namesake and my grandmother, 5 year old Mary, also known as “Doll” by family members. Every day we hear the number of Coronavirus infections and deaths, but I am keenly aware that behind each statistic is a family that is in mourning and forever changed. I am worried.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that I am among the most vulnerable populations to succumb to the Coronavirus, being over age 60 and having asthma. It doesn’t help that I constantly work with people who travel around the world. The thought of distancing myself from other humans is depressing, but I can see that as the virus spreads, this will become my norm for the foreseeable future. No more hugs and handshakes. Washing down my desk and doorknobs between appointments and washing my hands frequently. I learned the other day that hand sanitizers break down the PH in the skin and make it more permeable. So, plain old soap and water for 20 seconds is best and hand sanitizers are a backup plan. Breaking the habit of touching my face will take effort.
In my line of work, we have been monitoring the spread of the virus continually. I have students stuck in some of the most affected cities in China. In our office, trips to Asia have been cancelled. Even a K-pop concert scheduled in Los Angeles was cancelled. The economic impact this virus will have on the world is already enormous and we are not immune.
It starts with cancellations of travel plans and spreads to not going out to dinner as my husband announced this past week. It will affect schools, movie theaters, malls, churches, concerts, conferences and numerous public events will be rescheduled if not cancelled altogether. People work at these places and depend on patrons for their livelihood. It is no wonder the stock market is tanking. We could likely be headed for a recession as people are no longer able to afford to buy things and to pay their bills.
In times like these we need to be smart and to rely on the knowledge of the experts. I was disheartened this week when Trump put Pence in charge of the messaging around the Coronavirus and said that the heath experts in the administration must run things through Pence before making public announcements. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? This is scary stuff. Never mind the messaging that the Coronavirus is a hoax drummed up by the Democrats to tank the economy ahead of the election. People will die with this kind of attitude. The first death from the virus in the U.S. was just reported Saturday. Because of the lying narcissist in the White House, I won’t pay attention to our government because they are not a trusted source. And already the shameless profiteers are posting Coronavirus cures on social media. Buyers beware.
I’ll listen instead to the World Health Organization as they are reaching out directly to people instead of governments for this very reason. The politicians we have in place today are more concerned about preserving their power than protecting the lives of their people. The newest pandemic is on its way. The time to educate ourselves and to make smart preparations and to mobilize our resources to save lives, not the stock market, is now. All this will have to take place at the local level given the government we currently have in place.