With spring in full bloom and cities around the country reopening for business, I remind myself that things just can’t be “business as usual.” I’m already fascinated and entertained at how restaurants are reinventing themselves. This morning I saw that a bar in Maryland just ordered a bunch of cocktail bumper tables on wheels. In the spirit of amusement park bumper cars, patrons will soon be able to slip into tables that separate customers from each other – exactly six feet apart – so they’re free to roll about the parking lot with a drink and munchies all the while social distancing. Sounds like a blast and something I would love to do -- as long as everyone remembers they are not in a bumper car and (possible spoiler) their laughter doesn’t expel infected droplets.
Then I read a reality-check article about things to remember as the world begins to interact a little more closely.
Scientists, medical professionals and government leaders are learning more and more about COVID-19 – how it morphs and how it spreads. Professor Erin Bromage who teaches biology at University of Massassuchetts Dartmouth, writes thoughtfully and in plain English about how we need to think before we brave the new world. It’s hard to ignore that the more people go out into the community, the higher the chances they will bring the virus home. Like using a public bathroom or walking into a space tainted with invisible infected droplets floating in the air behind a person who just sneezed and has long walked away.
Covid can’t be “nipped in the bud” like the onset of the flu or a cold. My hope is that people will be smart enough to use their brains and take responsibility to safeguard themselves and everyone around them.