Had a nice weekend in our spring like weather. Did some visiting with family, a little bit of shopping in a few different stores, washed the car. I’m pretty sure I came in contact with some germs and maybe even some sick people during these activities. This is not usually a problem, because I am healthy. I am a middle class American with okay health insurance and I get my flu shot. Normally, I wouldn’t think about who is sick around me. But today I am.
In my circle, we are having the second round of flu and many people are home from work with sick kids, or sick themselves. And this year, in addition to flu we are anticipating COVID-19. The coronavirus is here and will likely touch all of us.
This is a respiratory virus that is more severe in older people and those with underlying health issues. I am not panicking about this, but I am taking it seriously. I think we all have to be smart about this. We need to wash our hands often and stay home when we’re sick. Don’t waste resources and do what we can to stay healthy, like eating well, getting enough sleep and keeping public spaces clean.
I am fortunate to be able to work from home if the need arises. I think in my off time, I am likely to stick closer to home over the next days to see how this thing develops. I am going to hunker down and start planning my patio garden. I have a pile of books that need reading and multiple bins of yarn that need knitting or crocheting.
Some are comparing the COVID-19 outbreak to the Flu outbreak of 1918. Only time will tell if this is so. One thing we can be very thankful for in 2020 is that we have technology to help us communicate what’s going on around us and to keep us entertained at home. We have a good infrastructure in America to keep people comfortable and deliver food and supplies all over the country.
I am going to work tomorrow as usual but I will be more aware of how I interact with people and my environment. I’ll be bringing my lunch from home and looking forward to staying home in the evening to catch up on my knitting while I visit with my hubs and we pretend to teach the pets some manners.