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The Skill We Need to Save the World
Last week, I was able to go grocery shopping as usual. I ordered some toilet paper online with no problem, and bought a new bag of rice. Today, shelves were bare of canned goods, toilet paper, instant noodles, and rice, and there was almost no fresh produce.
Life looks remarkably different after a single week in this current age of CoV-2 and COVID-19, and the tension sits in every conversation like a blue whale in the room. In the past four days, I’ve talked with doctors on the front lines, creatives whose livelihoods had depended on large events to pay their bills, a friend currently traveling in Spain, and the owner of a small restaurant that depends on students walking in to keep the lights on. I don’t know anyone personally that hasn’t been affected in some way, and I think it’s in everyone’s best interest to get through this as quickly as possible.
The quickest course of action has also been outlined. The Washington Post has a great infographic and article that visualizes how refraining from large in-person gatherings helps to “flatten the curve,” or spread out infections so that our medical system doesn’t get overwhelmed. If our healthcare providers and hospitals and clinics don’t get overwhelmed, and fewer people get sick or die, the quicker we can move past this pandemic.
