My comments are off on this blog. All I ask, to anyone who may decide to leave a comment, is to be respectful. I'm not saying anyone has been, this is just an F.Y.I.
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way an expert on the Coronavirus. The information I am posting here is information I have gotten from the Center for Disease Control website. As a health care worker and a person who cares about others, I feel it is important to stay informed and I want to share this information. I do not mind comments or opinions that differ from mine, however, if you can't be respectful about it, please don't leave a comment. Thank you!!!
Covid-19 is a new disease and we are still learning about it. It is thought that the virus mainly spreads through close contact from person to person. When someone talks, coughs, or sneezes, spittle (respiratory droplets) can get onto another person. Once inhaled into the lungs by another person, they can become infected by the virus. Some people, who are not showing symptoms of Covid-19, may, in fact, infect another person. Besides getting Covid-19 from person to person contact, you may also contract it from touching a surface that is frequently touched by someone who is infected. This is why practicing social distancing is important. This is why washing your hands often and cleaning surfaces often is important. It helps stop the spread of this virus.
People who have compromised immune systems, people who are diabetic, or have asthma, people with heart conditions, and especially the elderly are at high risk. This is another reason why social distancing is important. As much as we don't want to become infected, we shouldn't infect others, especially those at high risk. We need to be compassionate during this time. We shouldn't just think about ourselves, we should also be thinking about our family, friends, acquaintances, and those who are at high risk. Would you want your Mom, Dad, wife, husband, children, siblings to become infected by someone who, knowing the risks, failed to practice social distancing and passed along the infection? I get that being on lockdown/quarantined sucks. Lives have been turned upside down, businesses are being greatly affected, and I get we are all worried about when this is going to end. I know that it is not easy, but if we all work together, we can and will get through this.
I know in a previous blog, two people seemed to take offense to me using the term "front line workers" when talking about health care workers. I can't speak about anyone else's experience, but I can about mine. We have a military presence at the hospital where I work. Co-workers and myself have been referred to as front line workers by these soldiers. They told us that we don't have to be in a war, we don't have to be on the battlefield to be front line workers. I put IVs into patients, watched them labor to breathe, watched them fight to live, and yes even watched them slowly die. Don't tell me my co-workers and I aren't front line workers, don't tell us we are not fighting a battle, and don't diminish the hard work we do, grocery workers do, truck drivers do, mail carriers, delivery drivers...we all work our asses off.
As I stated before, I am not an expert. But if I can help one person with the information I have provided, then I am doing my job.
