Unless you have been living under a rock – and that might not be a bad thing, today – you know about the outbreak/pandemic of the “Corona Virus”. There about about 4,900 confirmed cases in the U.S., 25 cases in Kentucky.
There have been reactions that spread the entire spectrum, from: 1) “This is overblown by the Media”, to 2) “Stay inside but live your life as best as possible”, to 3) “Buy everything! Self-Quarantine!”. Some takeaways/thoughts on all of this:
- I fall somewhere between 1 and 2. I will disinfect as much as possible, while living as close to “normal” as possible, but I do think that news reports are contributing to the general panic of the public. I am a Public Transit commuter, so I will be more vigilant about personal contact than normal. However, it sucks a little bit that what social contact with friends that I have (and the little chance that I have with intimate social contact) is now all but gone.
- “Social Distancing” is becoming the Annoying Trending Phrase of the Moment. People don’t know nearly as much about it as they think, when slinging the phrase around. On a similar thread, “Social Distancing” is the wrong focus; “Physical Distancing” should be the focus.
- It’s nice to have a competent Governor, who can come up with rational solutions, keep their people calm, and sound like a functioning adult.
- My job is one that won’t close, unless the city or state tells it to close, or an outbreak happens in the office. As a result, we have cleaning and working policies in place that should keep any illnesses in check.
- Social events that took a hit: no weekly Team Trivia for the next 3-6 weeks (it’s held at a pizza parlor, and all restaurants are closed for dine-in (take out and drive-in options are still there)), some programming meet-ups, and possibly some Game Nights.
- As an Online student, the outbreak hasn’t affected the semester much; March’s last 2 weeks’ assignments are condensed down to 1 week, and “Spring Break” was extended a week, but that’s about it.
If I have to go under Self-Quarantine, I have enough food and supplies to get through the 2-week period, other than a top-up on snacks. There are 5 books still in my “To Read” pile and at least 5 video games that I can rotate through (6, if buy Doom Eternal on Friday) to keep me occupied, and there are a couple of parks – 1 really large one – within 10 minutes of me that I can hang out at/walk in. If it gets to the point that I start walking a ton of TV again, Roku, Disney+ and Amazon Video are on standby.
Stay safe, everyone!
The Nexus 