Replay: Coronavirus Is Not Our Worst Enemy. We Are and I Wish We Weren’t.

Coronavirus could pose a very serious health threat to older adults. According to the Center for Disease Control (cdc.gov), older adults have a higher risk of getting very sick from the Coronavirus or COVID-19. In that group are also people who have serious chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease. Thankfully, I don’t fall into the latter group but at 71 years old (an age I’ve often refused to accept), I am definitely in the former, older adults. This doesn’t mean I’m locking myself up in my home surfing doomsday websites and ordering my casket online (at least, not yet). I’m not panicking but I am mindful. I wear a facemask (false sense of security) and I wear disposable poly gloves when I go out and interact with my fellow humans. Does it mean anything? I don’t know but I think, what the hell, how much can it hurt? (And I look cool). I do wipe down everything and I maintain social distancing (I didn’t like that person anyway). But, that’s where the problem is; just going through false security motions is not going to protect me or you. Nor are those humans who think Coronavirus is a hoax or overstated or just like the regular flu (Is it okay if I sneeze into my hand and touch you?). In the past week, here’s what I’ve learned: Coronavirus is not our worst enemy. We are and I wish we weren’t.

You’ve seen the pictures: long lines of people crowded together in supermarkets, bars, and restaurants. No one can miss the long comment threads on social media calling all this a hoax or sharing the secret that this the result of an explosion at a Chinese bioweapons lab (My brother-in-law at Homeland Security would know) or linking to websites that offer unbelievable cures for the small price of your home or three children, whichever is greater. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer (Tennessee man sitting on almost 18,000 bottles of hand sanitizer says he’s doing ‘a public service’), and every canned food found is the hoarder’s delight. Then, there’s the story of people deciding that the real answer to the Coronavirus is to prepare for Armageddon by buying weapons; you know, just in case (Liquor, marijuana, and guns are also popular among coronavirus hoarders). The litany of unhealthy behavior that we have witnessed in the past two weeks is long. The lack of true leadership and messaging up at the top doesn’t help. I won’t go into it here but you can find plenty of analysis HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Today, I’m more focused on what my family and I can do. In addition to my mask and plastic gloves, I’m beginning to pull back from social interaction, more vigilante about what I touch outside, and planning my shopping trips more carefully including moving everything online when practical. Here’s some more advice from the CDC for older Americans but there’s advice here that would apply to anyone of any age.

Coronavirus: Take actions to reduce your risk of getting sick

If you are at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19 because of your age or because you have a serious long-term health problem, it is extra important for you to act to reduce your risk of getting sick with the disease.

• Stock up on supplies.
• Take everyday precautions to keep space between yourself and others.
• When you go out in public, keep away from others who are sick, limit close contact and wash your hands often.
• Avoid crowds as much as possible.
• Avoid cruise travel and non-essential air travel.
• During a COVID-19 outbreak in your community, stay home as much as possible to further reduce your risk of being exposed.

Have Supplies on Hand

• Contact your healthcare provider to ask about obtaining extra necessary medications to have on hand in case there is an outbreak of COVID-19 in your community and you need to stay home for a prolonged period.
• If you cannot get extra medications, consider using mail-order for medications.
• Be sure you have over-the-counter medicines and medical supplies (tissues, etc.) to treat fever and other symptoms. Most people will be able to recover from COVID-19 at home.
• Have enough household items and groceries on hand so that you will be prepared to stay at home for some time.

See also: Get Your Home Ready

Take Everyday Precautions Against Coronavirus

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Take everyday preventive actions:
  • Clean your hands often
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or having been in a public place.
  • If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• To the extent possible, avoid touching high-touch surfaces in public places – elevator buttons, door handles, handrails, handshaking with people, etc. Use a tissue or your sleeve to cover your hand or finger if you must touch something.
• Wash your hands after touching surfaces in public places.
• Avoid touching your face, nose, eyes, etc.
• Clean and disinfect your home to remove germs: practice routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces (for example tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, toilets, faucets, sinks & cell phones)
• Avoid crowds, especially in poorly ventilated spaces. Your risk of exposure to respiratory viruses like COVID-19 may increase in crowded, closed-in settings with little air circulation if there are people in the crowd who are sick.
• Avoid all non-essential travel including plane trips, and especially avoid embarking on cruise ships.

See also: Protect Yourself

If COVID-19 Is Spreading in Your Community

Take extra measures to put distance between yourself and other people to further reduce your risk of being exposed to this new virus.

• Stay home as much as possible.
• Consider ways of getting food brought to your house through family, social, or commercial networks

If a COVID-19 outbreak happens in your community, it could last for a long time. (An outbreak is when a large number of people suddenly get sick.) Depending on how severe the outbreak is, public health officials may recommend community actions to reduce people’s risk of being exposed to COVID-19. These actions can slow the spread and reduce the impact of the disease.

Have A Plan for If You Get Sick

• Consult with your health care provider for more information about monitoring your health for symptoms suggestive of COVID-19.
• Stay in touch with others by phone or email. You may need to ask for help from friends, family, neighbors, community health workers, etc. if you become sick.
• Determine who can care for you if your caregiver gets sick.

Watch for Symptoms and Emergency Warning Signs

• Pay attention to potential COVID-19 symptoms including, fever, cough, and shortness of breath. If you feel like you are developing symptoms, call your doctor.
• If you develop emergency warning signs for COVID-19 get medical attention immediately. In adults, emergency warning signs*:
  • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
  • Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
  • New confusion or inability to arouse
  • Bluish lips or face
• *This list is not all-inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning.

What to Do If You Get Sick

• Stay home and call your doctor.
• Call your healthcare provider and let them know about your symptoms. Tell them that you have or may have COVID-19. This will help them take care of you and keep other people from getting infected or exposed.
• If you are not sick enough to be hospitalized, you can recover at home. Follow CDC instructions for how to take care of yourself at home.
• Know when to get emergency help.
• Get medical attention immediately if you have any of the emergency warning signs listed above.

See also: What to Do If You Are Sick

Follow local Long Beach updates from the Long Beach Post

Look, this is unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed in my seventy-one years. There’s a lot that makes me ask more questions than I have answers for but that just makes me want to know those answers more. It is frustrating when I go to a store and I see people panic buying but I understand what fear can do to us. What we need now more than ever is to live up to that ideal we always talk about: In times of national crisis, Americans come together. (Well, not too close together, I hope). Forget the histrionics at the top, this is going to fall on us at the local level to figure out and solve. State, county, and local governments need to coordinate to make sure all of us are not left looking for an empty chair when the music ends. If there was ever a time for the professionals and grown-ups in the room to step up, this is it.

Coronavirus Covid-19 Epidemic Healthcare Older Americans Voices in my Head