The
Corona Virus: Social-Distancing as Reducing Contagion Now
Life as we knew it has changed.
Our choices of where we go and what we can do are becoming increasingly
limited. Schools, Sports Events, Concerts, Broadway, Churches,
Disneyland, Hollywood are shut down. We can see it as a loss or we can see it as
a policy to embrace.
In
an op-ed piece
by Nicholas Kristof and Stuart A. Thompson in the New York
Times on March 15, 2020, entitled “ Doing Little or Doing More Looks Like This,”
a model is discussed that projects that a third of Americans – more than 100
million Americans- could be infected. What the model also shows, however, is
that outcome does not just depend on the virus. The spread could also depend on
our policies and how quickly we can adopt them. As Ashleigh Tuite, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto says, “ We don’t have the benefit
of immunity or vaccines to limit spread, but that doesn’t mean we can’t control
it.”
Essentially we have no guarantees
that not going to the gym, postponing the birthday, canceling the trip, using
gloves in the supermarket and keeping sanitizer near your door will keep
everyone safe; but we know that if enough people embrace the power to curtail
unnecessary involvement with others outside their home we may be able to reduce
contagion now.
A recent
article in The Atlantic reports that while the CDC has issued
guidelines on Social Distancing, there are no perfect or safe answers to the
circumstances that people face. Overall the reality is that if we are going to
do this – we have to step into discomfort and deprivation for some amount of
time. Why? Because the reason may well be life-saving.
In
a recent interview with
an American woman living in lockdown in Italy. The woman, Christine
Higgins said that her children were doing fine; but it was very, very difficult
for her and her husband. It was like living with dread but she told listeners
was that what got her through was focus and gratitude for those like the
medical workers and even the food delivery men for risking their lives. Doing
it with them in mind gives her a purpose to get through.
I know many are reminded at this
time of the courage and wisdom of Victor Frankel embodied in his book Man’s Search for Meaning. Writing about his
experience in Auschwitz, Franklin tells us that survival is based on finding
meaning in life- in work, in the love we have for others, and in courage during
difficult times. To Victor Frankel, it is not the situation that we are faced
with; but our choice with how we respond.
As we face this unthinkable
pandemic, it is worth considering that in some way you are not alone and you
are not helpless. Anything you can do to social distance is something more than
not responding and you are reducing contagion now.
How will you manage? Connect with
social media, the family you live with, prayer, literature, music, nature and
whatever you can.
