Novel

Novel:  of a new kind or nature; strange; hither to unknown

Right now we are in the midst of a novel pandemic.  Covid-19 is a new virus, never been seen before.  Medical practitioners and researchers are scrambling to figure out how to treat it, how to cure it, how to prevent it.

But.  But!  It is new.  No one has had it before and no one really knows what to do about it other than treat the symptoms.

Unfortunately the symptoms are varied and wide ranging and manifest in different people...differently.

So recommendations are being made and at times they appear contradictory.  Such as stay at home.  But essential workers need to go to work.  Wear - or don't wear - a mask.  Now we have a prominent politician musing aloud at a press conference if drinking or injecting bleach would cure the problem.  Well, if a dead person can be counted as 'cured' I suppose that is an option.

Yes, bleach in very tiny amounts is used to treat water, but that is still no cure for Covid-19.

When the computer age began, it was widely touted that we were entering the Information Age.  Unfortunately now that everyone's uninformed opinion counts as much (if not more in some minds) as scientific facts, I think we need to remember what facts are.

For people like me who are able to stay at home, the recommendation remains.  Stay at home.

There is a chart showing how masks can help.  I like the version that includes at the very bottom someone wearing a mask and someone else staying in their house equaling zero transmission occurs.

I recognize that my ability to stay home is a privilege.  I am 'retired'.  I am not financially insecure (right now).  I have the internet and can stay in touch with friends through email, messaging, or even an actual landline telephone.

I can remove myself from the spread equation.  We are not currently in lock down, no matter what some people are calling this.  An actual lock down would mean that you could not leave your house except to go get groceries or to the pharmacy.  An actual lock down would be everyone staying home with very few people going to work - because all businesses would be closed except food and medication.

And so on.

Instead we are being asked to - if at all possible - shelter in place.  But we can still go for walks.  We can still climb into our cars and go for a ride.  We can still get to the store and buy things.

We may not - yet - have a case in the town I live in, but how do we know?  There has been testing, but it is still not every person.  The logistics of testing every single person in the world would be impossible right now.

In the meantime, medical people helping those who are ill with Covid-19 are discovering that the disease progression can vary greatly.  At first it was thought only (only?) old people or those with compromised immune systems were at risk.  As time goes on, younger people are presenting with a different range of symptoms.  People are carriers - showing no symptoms themselves but shedding the virus for others to become infected.

Researchers are working hard on treatments and vaccines.  Even so there is no data on how long immunity lasts once the patient has recovered from the virus and no data as to how effective a vaccine will be - because we don't have one.  Yet.

The case load, last time I looked, was set to roll over 3 million people.  As responsible citizens of the planet, if we possibly can we need to stay safe at home and let that virus die out, not continue to let it breed by socializing with our friends and family.

We will get through this.  Together.  Apart.

If you need to vent, contact me.  Lean on me.