I don’t know about anyone else but I started tracking COVID-19 from December 31, 2019 as my beginning of the global pandemic. Since it’s not “going away” any time soon, I’m thinking that instead of continuing with A.D. (anno domini) the year of the Lord, we should transition to A.C. (After COVID-19)
And the years beforehand can be referred to as B.C. (Before COVID-19) It’s a GLOBAL EVENT that’s still in play. It’s rather apropos, all things considered.
BUZZWORDS
Social media has really gravitated away from ‘unprecedented times’, because almost a year of coping with this, the strange events the continuously happen, and the lasting effect this particular virus has had and will continue to have … it’s now the new precedence, the new standard, per se.
I can envision for the rest of my lifetime that 2020 and/or #COVID19 will be new harbinger of death.
Other buzzwords and/or phrases that I don’t see much of anymore is ‘out of an abundance of caution’, ‘until further notice’, and ‘essential workers / essential businesses’. My thought is those have outlived their relevance to social media, the news outlets, etc. as now different policies are adopted which make it a #newnormal.
That said, the buzzwords and phrases of ‘social distancing’, ‘(self) (forced) quarantine’, and ‘mask up’ most likely will be incorporated into our daily vernacular. Speaking of ‘mask up’ …
CDC and WHO: Mask Up!
Americans, and passengers of Spaceship Earth are divided on mask wearing.
The Center for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization have agreed that transmission of COVID-19 can be suppressed further by combing physical distancing, washing hands, and more.
Despite our current understanding of the disease is more so than the first of the year, we still are learning. The number of cases continues to rise as we are allowed to roam around so long as we have the aforementioned items.
I comply with the #maskup because I seek a harmonious existence in the communities, businesses, and area I interact with. I don’t like it anymore than anyone else, but my Dad’s Two Rules of Life are in play.
- Shit happens
- A man’s gotta do, what a man’s gotta do
I didn’t realize just how much of a genius my father was at the time. I continue to adapt to the changing conditions. At this point, most folks I speak with “just want this to go away”.
That’s the rub – it won’t.
And it (COVID-19) won’t go away for quite some time, I predict. I’m left wondering when will I see the bottom portion of my friends, co-workers, and loved ones faces? I’m afraid there isn’t a hard and fast answer for my question.
I can keep digging, but it certainly helps if I learn how long I need to hang in there. No vaccine can be created, full developed and replicated quickly. The human body is too complicated and unique. We’re all different on a genetic scale.
Sigh. What are the next steps?
It’s unclear. New cases are reported every day. The United States alone has 10,733,210 cases and 247,580 deaths. My state, Washington, is 31st on the list of 50 states that is reported (ing) data. And of that data, there are many that say this is misinformation in order to create panic amongst the populace.
The folks that don’t chose to wear a mask claim they don’t work. My logical rebuttal is (was) how so? Masks are not a cure, the end-all to be-all from preventing transmission. Masks are another layer of protection to suppress and slow the transmission rate versus no safeguards and letting COVID-19 run rampant completely unabated.
I’ll continue to seek out that harmonious balance, and adapt to the changing conditions because that’s what humans have done to survive since the beginning of the species.
Even when this seems like the end.
‘los
los, Fil-Am Renaissance Man 