Viral Emergency

Viral emergency is right.

Our response to this pandemic shines an unforgiving stark light on the bad habits society has honed since personal computers could fit in our pockets.

While most have followed the terrible hashtag’s advice lockstep, they have also spun into scrolling, scrolling, scrolling and dispensing with bad information.

On what planet do people keep their children indoors for five days? The same one where folks spray Lysol out their front doors.

Maybe we need a better hashtag, since people love to throw them around for status or whatever. Maybe #GetSmart or #UseCriticalThinking would sit better with me.

Anyway, instead of getting your advice from random folks on messageboards, here are a few better suggestions:

• Learn from the CDC how COVID-19 spreads and stop spreading damn rumors on the Internet!
• Learn how to clean up after a sick person at home (does not indicate spraying the general air outside with Lysol)
• See what the CDC has to say about mental health. And shame on anyone who is posting those memes claiming it’s easy to have to sit on the couch all day. What privilege! What garbage! It’s not easy for everyone, and it utterly dismisses what others are going through. Just a few examples, if you have uttered this and have no imagination: think of how this must be for an LGBTQ teen who has been scorned at home by their parents and now has no reprieve from that situation because school is closed. What is this like for somebody who has been experiencing domestic violence, and now can’t leave the house for work.
• Get the daily stats on how many in Connecticut have been infected, but get this information from the Department of Public Health, rather than from the news media. Look for the light blue bar across the page where it says “Latest COVID-19 Testing Data in Connecticut.” This gives you straightforward information about how many people have tested positive in which towns, as opposed to those maps on the news that show counts by county. This also will tell you how many people have been hospitalized and how many have died, according to age range. (Perhaps while there, check out the flu stats as well and see how many have died from that, season-to-date.)
• Instead of getting the digested version of Lamont’s daily messages, go to the source. This is how you can learn that it is absolutely fine to go outside: “People should limit outdoor recreational activities or sports to non-contact and avoid activities where they come in close contact with other people” and also, “You can still go to the park, go for a run, or do other outdoor activities as long as you stay at least six feet from others whenever possible.” Walking? Yes. Football? No.
• Get advice about how to respectfully visit our State Parks and Forests right now — advice that can be applied to town parks as well.