Sunny

April showers bring May flowers is the usual chant this time of year.  The snow is melting, trees are showing the hint of leaves starting to appear.  But this year is somewhat different.  This year the chant is April distance brings May existence.

So far we seem to have manged to dodge the coronavirus bullet in our town.  However, that could change at any minute.  But for some it seems pointless to be keeping distance, staying home, limiting activities, dealing with businesses closing, some forever, losing jobs.  For extroverts it is very difficult to not have the social interactions they are used to, in fact need, for good mental health.

I get it, I really do, even though my more natural inclination is to be by myself.  I am also a hugger and understand full well the benefits of human touch.  So I feel for my extrovert friends who are now going stir crazy after several weeks of isolating themselves.

But the thing is, the virus is here.  Maybe not here, here, but it is in the human pool, it is highly transmissible, and most importantly - there is no treatment or vaccine.  Yet.

For many folk, the disease is mild and some may not even realize that they have it.  Or they are laid low for just a few days.  But we don't yet know when the virus begins shedding before symptoms appear, or for how long after symptoms abate.  We do know that people who have health issues can get very severe cases, sometimes leading to their death.

People who have lung issues are particularly vulnerable.

People who are older, have heart problems or immune system diseases are also more vulnerable.

There is a hue and cry that society doesn't shut down for flu deaths so why are we shutting down for this?  The simple answer is that flu deaths are spread out over the year.  So far the coronavirus has killed thousands of people and could kill thousands more, all in a very short period of time.  To the point of mass burials because the coffins are stacking up.   Literally.

For people saying the economy is going to tank?  If people start dropping dead by the tens of thousands, there won't be an economy left, much like what happened in Europe after the Black Plague ran through.  (Don't know what that is?  Look it up.  Or the Spanish flu in 1918-19 - you might have g/g/parents who died because of that disease - that's pretty recent in the scheme of things.)

For people saying the advice they are hearing is contradictory, I would like to remind them that the advice can be summed up in a nutshell - if you possibly can, stay home; if you have to go out - wash your hands with soap; while you are out do not touch your face because your hands may be contaminated with the virus.

If you must go out, maintain physical distance of six feet, cough into your sleeve.  If you wear a mask remember that it can be contaminated, carefully remove and dispose, or if it is a cloth mask, wash with soap and water.

If people are finding it difficult to remember these simple instructions, we could make it more clear by having an actual lock down like some countries.

Like, say, Peru.  And if you want to know if it is working to have such stringent measures in place, I suggest you take a look at a world covid tracker and compare Peru and Canada.  Peru has about 30 million people while Canada is about 36M.  Compare the number of cases, but more importantly, compare the number of deaths per million.

We do not know who will succumb to the virus.  Let's not make it you and me.

heading back to the loom and some nice sunny tea towels...