COVID-19 continues to spread, and despite reports from various news outlets that the curve is flattening, in my home state of New Mexico we continue to witness it’s deadly ravaging of Native American communities. It is no secret that the federal government has failed to provide leadership during this crisis, and that our president and vice president refuse to wear masks in meetings and in public, even when there are reports that their closest staff members have tested positive (1).
The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in places and in situations where social distancing measures aren’t possible, such as in grocery stores or pharmacies. Just the other day I was cornered in the frozen food section by several shoppers and their carts, and we were closer than six feet. I know that people can be asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic for COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean much. I could still spread the virus by simply speaking to a friend, self-checking out at a grocery store using a touch-screen after biting my nails, handing my credit card to a receptionist, or sneezing on some poor soul because it’s allergy season. All without knowing I have it or not.
I’m an older woman, my husband is a retired military combat veteran, and we don’t want to add to the already overloaded and over-taxed healthcare industry during this pandemic. My husband’s niece is an RN, she takes care of corona virus patients, she works very long hours, is constantly in harm’s way of this disease, but she says she loves her job. She, and all of the healthcare workers and support staff, are the true heroes in this pandemic. I’ve worked as a veterinary nurse for many years, and I can empathize with the long hours, stress and exhaustion that our healthcare workers are experiencing, but I truly cannot imagine what they are all going through right now. We owe it to them to take precautions too.
So what can I do to help? I can wear a mask and gloves when I go out shopping, and this really is not a big deal, because it’s not about me and my individual freedom, or the government bullying me, it’s about me using my brain and thinking of others. I wear a mask and gloves for the elderly man at my local grocery store who sanitizes hundreds of shopping carts per day, I wear a mask for the nurses, EMTs, healthcare workers and doctors that work 14-16 hour shifts (or more), and every day put themselves at risk because they love their jobs and they do it for us. I wear a mask and gloves and maintain my distance from the young men who load up my trailer with hay for my horses, and I wave to my neighbors at a distance while I’m out walking my dogs. I can also be cognizant that when I wear my mask and gloves, and I take my paper bag of tots from the server at Sonic, I’m doing my part to keep her, myself and my family safe.
COVID-19 is not a “hoax,” or just the flu. It is very real, and I fear, will continue to kill thousands in the coming months unless we all join together and be a little more cognizant, and a little more empathetic.
So please, wear a mask, maintain social distancing, wash your hands. It’s not hard. Who knows, you could end up saving a life, or two, or many more.
1. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/live-blog/2020-05-09-coronavirus-news-n1203616/ncrd1203811#liveBlogHeader