Going the Distance, Socially

Turns out, I’m going to keep talking at you. Because turns out, I have friends who aren't in healthcare or public health (do your parents even love you?). 

Three notes about the next few days. We'll talk about when you can safely hang out with people later. You only get to do that if you stay home today.

1. Restrictions will tighten before they loosen: Figure out how you’ll get things by delivery, curbside pick up, or how to re-up supplies while still keeping 6 feet from every single person you see. It'll be harder for those of you in bigger cities without cars. But then again, you get to have better ethnic food. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

2. The number of cases will jump, but don’t lose heart: Cases in the US will increase dramAaaAAaaaticAlLy (see, what drama). We are just now ramping up our testing abilities. These “new” cases today have probably been sick for 1-2 weeks now. And in 1-2 weeks, we’ll be confirming the people exposed today. Staying home is helping (seriously, stay away from ALL people!). It will help. It just won’t look or feel like it because things are going to get worse.

3. You can help: It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and get restless at home. Lending a hand can mitigate that. You can call legislators to get them to pass bills to help people today and every day, like paid sick leave. You can vote for candidates who value public health preparedness and a living wage. You can buy gift cards from restaurants. Buy art from artists. Donate your stockpile of masks to hospitals. You can babysit and cook for doctors (provided that you are healthy and isolated long enough to prove it!). You can give money to food pantries, and a thousand other places. You can send snail mail to my parents. You can let Pete Lee yell at you about how to help. Or let Zackary Sholem Berger tell you who to yell at. Don’t let the long list guilt you. There are so many ways to do this. 

Hit me up if you've got questions.