November 15, 2020
You don't have to be nice
Today our governor added restrictions and closed restaurants, bars, gyms, and restrictions indoor gatherings due to rising cases and hospitalizations. Our infections have spiked over the past few weeks. Our state is just one of many with a massive increase in infections. The US added one million new cases in a week to now total more than 11 million. The thing is, even thought the risk of dying for younger people is low, it is not zero. The risk of complications and long covid is real. Remember that hospitalization will start to surge in about 12 days with deaths to follow 2 weeks later. It did not really have to be like this. We are not getting help from our federal government at this time.
I fear that another stimulus package is not coming. The first helped many on Unemployment and helped many small businesses survive. But now, many of those businesses are on their own. Rent is due. Many restaurants were struggling already and fear they will not survive this shutdown. We can help by ordering food to go, preferably directly as take out and not delivered.
Tough that this came the week before Thanksgiving. It will not be the same this year. Sadly meeting up for a big get together is asking for trouble. You can figure out your risks of infection based on this calculator from Georgia Tech. But remember, it just takes one asymptomatic infected person not wearing a mask to become a superspreader. A cautionary tale is that some friends were exposed and infected because of unmasked workers in their house refinishing floors. I want to remind each of you to not worry about “being nice”. Tell people to wear masks when they are in your home or they are not allowed inside. Please. Be safe and protect yourself.
The stories of people taken by COVID-19 are what really get me. Some tried to stay safe but got exposed from family members or at work because they had no choice. Others denied that COVID-19 is real and got sick while in denial. All of their families are hurting, too many of them already, with another 2-3 hundred thousand deaths to go, as people continue to resist mask wearing and the other guidelines.
We know each of these steps add to your safety: wash your hands, cover your nose (and only be around others who also cover theirs!), keep safe six, and don’t forget ventilation and limiting time. And it is OK to say no if you don’t feel safe.
And finally, my caveat is that this is my experience and my opinions, which are subject to change as more information is available, and not related to the organization I work for. Thanks for reading.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/gov-inslee-orders-sweeping-restrictions-on-indoor-gatherings-restaurants-bars-gyms-as-covid-19-cases-surge-in-washington-state/
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/coronavirus-daily-news-updates-november-15-what-to-know-today-about-covid-19-in-the-seattle-area-washington-state-and-the-world/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/14/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-cases-deaths-winter.html
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/economic-pain-from-new-covid-19-restrictions-will-be-uneven-following-washington-governor-inslees-order/
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/inslee-announces-the-shutdown-of-indoor-dining-at-restaurants-in-washington-state-as-covid-19-numbers-spike/
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/now-you-can-see-the-covid-19-risk-anywhere-in-the-country-in-real-time/
https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/how-thanksgiving-in-seattle-will-be-different-this-year-due-to-coronavirus/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/14/us/coronavirus-deaths.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage