there were cases of COVID-19 in my work building so I am now stuck at home indefinitely. i called my health department and surprisingly got through to a very helpful doctor, and also work in news. hereâs some things i learned:
i am literally begging everyone on this hell internet to stay home. if you have the ability (because a lot of people live in hell countries where theyâre fucked if they canât work or have jobs that will fuck them), STAY HOME. donât travel, donât go out for dinner, donât go to the gym. it feels stupid and ridiculous and youâll probably start to lose your fucking mind, but this has happened in a bunch of countries - people didnât take it seriously and then it spread like wildfire.Â
you, the young, able-bodied person on tumblr, probably will not get sick, or even be seriously injured if you do. but you WILL carry it to someone else. eventually an old person or an immunocompromised or disabled person will catch it. do not consider this as like âoh yay cheap flights if i die i dieâ. if youâre that healthy, you will not die. but you WILL cause someone else to. donât leave your house, and if you were exposed, for fuckâs sake, donât leave your room.
the issue here is that yes, it a relatively mild disease. but because of how it spreads, and incubates, and multiplies, it is infecting people too fast for our woefully ill-equipped infrastructure to handle. in italy, for example, theyâre just running out of space in hospitals, and having to prioritize younger patients over older ones. older patients who could survive with the proper care, but will probably die just because thereâs TOO MANY people. so yes, while in a perfect scenario, coronavirus would probably not kill most people, in the world we live in, it WILL because of our shitty society.
treat this as a WHEN, not as an if. donât spread funny memes about âwanting to die of the virusâ or how cheap traveling is. donât spread misinformation that itâs âjust a fluâ or that âmore people die of xâ. the unique issue at play here is the speed and the volume of people.
does this mean lots of people will be fucked over by our governments and institutions? yes. figure out how you can help, remotely. anyway remember this:
1. donât hoard shit. this is not the apocalypse, this is a collective effort to stop a pandemic. stop hoarding face masks bc medical professionals and immunocompromised people need them.Â
2. donât be racist. this has nothing to do with china, you dipshit
3. if you have to go outside or work, wash your fucking hands, cough into your elbow, and stand far away from other people. talking or singing spreads droplets, which is how it spreads.
4. if you feel sick but you live in a place that is just overwhelmed by this, stay home. self-quarantine. just act like you have it, just in case. also call your health department (although they might not be able to test you)
5. a lot of people will be feeling isolated, and also losing out on much needed income because of this â this is where you step up for your community. tip your delivery people well if you can (while also not touching or being within 8 feet of them!), buy merch or books or art from the people you may have been going to see at conventions or concerts. boost peopleâs fundraising pages. remotely check in on your friends and family who are old or who are disabled or mentally ill â they will be feeling the effects of social isolation really badly (and maybe disease related anxiety, too.)
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