Photo by Annakate Dilks
Within days of Gov. Kelly announcing the closure of Kansas high schools for the rest of the year on March 17, my social media feeds were clogged with pictures of sentimental high schoolers celebrating beachside in Florida or Mexico.
When they returned from their tropical “coronacations,” more posts flooded in of those same seemingly carefree people hanging out with their friends — almost as if there isn’t a worldwide pandemic going on?
Those travelers should’ve self-quarantined for 14 days after their return and followed the statewide stay-at-home order, as per guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Gov. Kelly.
None of us want to put our lives on hold and sit around at home all day binging “Tiger King,” but we all need to be taking social distancing more seriously in order for things to return to normal as soon as possible.
Social distancing — keeping a precautionary minimum of 6 feet between yourself and those outside of your home — doesn’t just apply to the beach and friends’ houses. It pertains to the people aimlessly wandering the aisles at the grocery store, swarming to Loose Park or drifting too close to the woman wearing a mask on her morning jog.
Ignoring warnings and precautions isn’t just dangerous to yourself, it’s dangerous to everyone around you as well. It’s especially insulting to those wearing scrubs and personal protective equipment working 24-hour shifts and sleeping in their garages to protect their families while they sacrifice themselves on the front lines of this pandemic.
Why should these professionals risk their lives for people who choose to ignore all the guidelines?
I’m tired of hearing that those not complying with statewide stay-at-home orders “know” they don’t have COVID-19. With the inefficiency in current available testing for the virus and the fact that some people — especially young people — can function asymptomatically, you have no way of knowing until you’ve already infected others. On average, it can take anywhere from five to 14 days from when someone is infected with the virus for symptoms to show, according to the World Health Organization.
Maybe you’re not worried about how the virus will affect you because you’re “young and healthy,” but the people you could be spreading it to may not be. If you’re infected and continue to socialize normally, it’s likely you will pass the virus on to two or three other potentially older or immunocompromised people, according to BBC News.
Even if you think you’d only be infecting people that could safely recover, you’d still be contributing to the battering that our medical system is currently taking. By stopping the spread of the virus or “flattening the curve” with social distancing, we can help prevent our healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed.
The demand for ventilators and beds in U.S. hospital intensive care units is surpassing supply, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. We can’t make COVID-19 completely go away with social distancing, but by doing our part to slow its spread, we can reduce the amount of cases and help conserve resources. If every American does their part, we can save one million or more U.S. lives, according to recent epidemiological models from the White House.
The White House has estimated that with social distancing in place, there will be 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the U.S. — compared to up to 2.2 million deaths without it. The magnitude of those numbers is in our hands, it all depends on how seriously we take social distancing.
That’s the tricky part about social distancing — it only works if we all abide by the rules. It’s because of the people who refuse to acknowledge the severity of this crisis that so many people are being diagnosed and dying. Even though it might be tempting to grab Chick-Fil-A with some friends one last time, staying in is the best option for everyone other than essential workers right now.
And I’m not saying it’s easy. Keeping up with your mental health is difficult when you can’t see your friends. But video chatting apps like FaceTime or Zoom make it easier than ever to keep in touch. Other alternatives for normal, day-to-day activities include getting groceries delivered, ordering takeout from your favorite restaurants and using telemedicine to communicate with your doctors.
So while social distancing might feel like a major inconvenience during what feels like an endless, boring summer, it’s the best way for us to protect our loved ones, community and future.