Corona has been something that all of us have lived with worldwide. The fear, the panic, the masks. As a 55-year-old female who has had a lifelong battle with asthma, and now an added auto-immune disease, I was designated has a high-risk person for Corona . I should also mention that I am a long-distance Open Water Swimmer and triathlete. I was training for my first Ironman, when the world shut this goal down, for now anyway.
Here in Israel, everything shut down, quickly. The airports closed, trains and buses, (much of population relies heavily on public mass transit) these services were cut by more than 80%. Train services are still not running as of this date. Most services and occupations were deemed “non-essential” which meant a significant part of the population was out of work, almost immediately. This brought on an economic hardship our tiny country has not seen for decades.
Our little start-up country has been brought to its knees, and many people believe it was all completely unnecessary and another lock-down is simply not sustainable. We are a country that relies heavily on tourism and currently as the country has not set date to open her borders to tourism, there are lost dollars, lost revenues that can never be recovered. As we have already experienced, it is not just the hotels, but the support staff, tour guides, the farmers and oh so many more whose livelihoods have been decimated. Most of whom may never recover. Not everyone has a way to work remotely, but everyone has a lifestyle to support.
Additionally, numerous elective medical procedures were also cancelled. Access to basic and general medical care was disrupted or reduced significantly, due to perceived fear, and precautions due to the Corona Pandemic. People were and are taking longer to seek medical attention, due to fears of contamination. This is bad. People will be sicker before reaching out to get help. They may wait too long, and it will be too late. Many people were too afraid to go to work, even when they could.
Facebook Umberto Naddeo
Some other alarming trends I have seen is how fear turned to dislike and distrust. So many people reported how not wearing a mask in open space should be a criminal offense. People should be jailed or fined severely. I am not talking about in a crowded public space, malls, or shops. Just open space. I read a Facebook post where someone reported to the police that there were children playing in a park with no masks. Really? For every report that claims wearing a mask is a good and safe practice to reducing contamination, I can find you two reports that indicate numerous reasons they are unsafe and do little to stop contamination. Additionally, masks, and gloves can be found strewn about EVERYWHERE! If masks and gloves are so dangerous, surely the fact that in EVERY CITY across the globe now masks and gloves found thrown on the ground in parking lots, sidewalks and parks should be a matter of hyper-concern. Surely anyone can see that this presents yet another tremendous health concern.
There is also the cause for concern that isolation and has on the mental health of our communities. Across the board, people are more stressed and anxious and there are reports of increased domestic violence. Sadly, there is been an increase of those that live alone, dying alone as no one is checking in with them regularly anymore. This is one of the most heartbreaking consequences of all.
One thing for certain is we cannot continue with the way things are now. We cannot sustain another shut down and we need to take a hard look at what some of these new trends Corona has presented and make some adjustments.
1. Good personal hygiene is a given, wash your hands regularly. Good personal hygiene also requires that EVERYONE disposes of masks and gloves properly. Although there is much debate about the use of gloves, there is no debate that they should be disposed of in a proper trash receptacle and not thrown about on the street, sidewalks, and parking lots of our cities.
2. Seek out medical care when necessary. Do not put off getting medical care when you need it. Keep your medical appointments and take care of issues and concerns as they arise. Take good care of yourselves and check in on friends and families that will continue to self-isolate.
3. Stay calm and relaxed. Remember not everyone can or should wear mask and it is not a personal assault against you or your family. Every individual has a different set of circumstances that you may be unaware of, keep an open mind and move on.
4. Above all, be kind. Show care and appreciation to the workers at the markets where you shop. Ask neighbors and friends if there is anything you can do to help, and please if you need help, ask. Ask a friend, neighbor or chesed organization. You are not alone; we are all in this together.
It is not logical for us as country to go into another lock-down, financially or otherwise. We must move forward, cautiously. We must all use good hygiene and good health practices. We must take care of ourselves, families, and friends. We must all remember to touch base with those that are self-isolating and ensure they still have a solid care plan in place.
Corona is not going to go way anytime soon. We must learn to live with it and maintain healthy, productive lifestyles to move forward and survive.