OP-ED: The Great Indoors
By ALAN SMASON
When the first accounts began to reach me over Facebook and through more conventional news that colleges were sending their students packing, my initial reaction was to question the wisdom. How could shuttering school dorms and transitioning to online classes at Harvard and other top-tier colleges and universities be necessary? Wouldn’t sending students home be pointless, since they would be dispatching the young adults back home where they might be even greater potential threats to their parents and grandparents?
The news reports from China were still sketchy then. Yes, entire cities were under martial law as their death tolls began to climb. But this was far-away China, the most populous nation in the world with millions in constant contact and an unenviable civil rights record. Certainly, a viral infection could spread there more rapidly, especially given their government’s expected inability to deliver health services in a crisis like that.
But then two things happened. The situation in Italy, a much smaller country with a highly developed medical delivery system became ever more severe and dire. Overwhelmed, the country’s officials began to shut down popular tourist destinations as a way of heading off their overwhelmed health system. Venice and Milan became virtual ghost towns overnight as the death tolls began to rise. Then, analyses of how rapidly spreading the COVID-19 (coronavirus) infection was and a description of its unusually long incubation period (up to two weeks) were hammered into my head.
I finally got it. This is a perfect storm for a virus. Coronavirus is fast-spreading and long-surviving. And we are all in its crosshairs.
By the time I became a believer, Mardi Gras had come and gone. With it came probable exposure of COVID-19 to thousands of residents and travelers, who unknowingly went back to their communities and spread it even more so.
Locally, the death toll has steadily risen and authorities say we are only at the beginning of what could be many more weeks or months of difficult days ahead. The tragedy at Lambeth House continues to play out as 23 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and four have died.
We are experiencing the worst economic downturn in our lives. Aside from the precipitous plunge on the stock market, our ability to earn a living or to enjoy life to its fullest hedonistic New Orleans possibilities has become problematic. We can’t go out to eat or drink. We can’t hang out with friends listening to music. We can’t even go to the mall. With this threat, our spring festival life style has been compromised and sent home packing. No Spring Fiesta. No LimmudFest. No French Quarter Fest. No Strawberry Festival. No Jazz Festival. Maybe even no Satchmo Fest.
And now, the beaches are finally being shut down. There goes spring break for the young ones.
We are facing a crisis of unspeakable proportions as incomes screech to a halt and those that can work from home do so. For those doctors and dentists whose practices have been shut down, there’s nothing that can be done until the all clear is given by state health officials. Only the strongest of the restaurants and bars will be able to weather this crisis and, sadly, many in the hospitality industry are going to be out of work for a very long time.
With thousands laid off or unable to earn a living, our city faces a funding crisis of gargantuan and never-before-seen proportions.
We are also facing another crisis, which we had never considered a difficulty previously. That’s how to deal with our children being out of school while we are sheltering at home. We have no refuge in our work. We must deal with our loved ones on a constant basis rather than scurrying off to our careers and having the teachers or housekeepers take charge of our little ones.
Then, there’s how to deal with our significant others. If we’re not careful, this togetherness could put an extra strain on our relationships. Let’s vow to hold onto each other in support rather than letting the anxiety make us overwrought. We are no good to our loved ones or ourselves if we were to be shaped by these external events as we endure the Great Indoors.
Stay safe. Wash your hands. Clean all surfaces. And take care of yourselves.
