It’s been less than a week since statewide closures have started to be enacted, but others have probably already come to the same conclusion I have.
It’s nearly impossible to effectively practice social distancing, which has been identified as the most important way to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Even for those of us who have hoarded a year’s worth of toilet paper and hand sanitizer — you know who you are — eventually all of us will have to leave our homes on a somewhat regular basis.
Although nearly every facet of life — schools, businesses, restaurants, malls, and gyms etc. — have been shut down to try to “flatten the curve,” nearly everyone will need to make a trip to the grocery store or pharmacy at some point, which both remain open despite widespread closures.
If my experience last week was any indication, a packed grocery store doesn’t bode well for a social distancing strategy that recommends people space themselves at least six feet apart.
Just try navigating your shopping cart around a crowded store. It’s like driving around in a traffic jam while encountering the same type of road rage.
Once you leave that grocery store, or workplace for those of us who are still reporting to the office, you’re bringing that outside contact back home to your family, roommate or significant other. And your co-habitants are doing the same whenever they leave the house as well.
None of it is intentional. There’s no use trying to assign blame.
For the most part, I would think people are looking at Italy and Iran, which have seen catastrophic death tolls in the thousands, as cautionary tales against limiting social contact, but a person’s basic needs make that task exceedingly difficult.
Of course, that doesn’t mean a recommended social distancing strategy should be disregarded. However, even the most rigid adherence becomes undone every time someone inevitably leaves their home.
As the saying goes, the road to hell was paved with good intentions.
