I'm not really sure what to think about all this virus business. Part of me wants to think this blown way out of proportion, but the other part of me is taking this extremely seriously.
At first I looked at it like a serious case of the flu. Which in the greater scheme of things, it probably is with a much higher death rate. From the first I read of it, and seen the way governments were trying to disinfect entire cities, I realized this is probably something more.
Adding to that, I've never known anyone that died from the flu. Sure it happens all the time. Several thousand people die of the flu every year. I've been fortunate enough to have never known any cases personally. I will admit I had a bout of flu a couple years back that I thought might kill me. It sure as hell felt pretty close to death.
So far with Covid19 I found out the next door neighbor is infected. A customer that used to come into our locally owned family retail store died from it. He was an elderly man and lived just a few blocks away. So I already know a couple people within a small community radius that are directly impacted by the virus.
My cousin works in a hospital as a care giver. She volunteered to help out in the Covid ward. We live in Erie County NY which has the second highest reported cases outside of NY City. I asked if it was as bad as they're saying and she assured me it's really nasty. She stated that the hospital ward has plenty of beds but she has never seen so many patients on ventilators and it's a surreal feeling walking into that environment every day.
I had to go to my accountants to drop off some paperwork the other day and driving around the Western NY area is strange to say the least. Once busy streets have very little traffic. Hotels and motels with completely empty parking lots. So many dark and empty restaurants. Empty mall parking lots. The grocery stores are the only parking lots with cars and shoppers. Even the grocery store has considerably less people inside.
Our family home is only a couple blocks from the hospital. The front of the hospital has several white tents for testing in front of it. The tents looked vacant for the most part with a masked man in front waiting to direct people. Fortunately in our area, there hasn't been a rush on the hospitals and there are plenty of beds for the sick. The county was slow to get test kits for some reason but my understanding is that they're now available.
That's really what this is all about. I'm not sure if we reacted to this crisis properly or not. I get it, if everyone gets sick at once, the hospitals get overrun with sick and people can't get the care they need. If the sick can't get proper care, a lot of them will die! I know people directly affected by all this and I know it's real. I've talked to several friends who have had symptoms and a lot of people I know are sick. This is very real for anyone that doubts it.
I think this is a double edged sword. If we did nothing and several thousands of people died in every city we'd be upset we did nothing. According to the news this is already happening in some countries and I know NYC is getting hit the hardest here in the US. In the meantime everything has literally come to a standstill. People are unable to work, and the financial aspect of this may be worse than the death toll itself. I'm saying that in a sense of devastating affects, not downplaying the mortality rate. No matter how we handle this, it's likely the wrong way with serious consequences. Many people will likely lose homes, face evictions, and many small businesses closed for good. We may see further deaths in the form of homelessness and hunger. I don't even think we can imagine the future impact this will have on all our lives.
Well, that's my thoughts on the virus and what's happening here. I'll probably be posting more about this in the future. I'd like to write a little on the future impact this could have on all of us and also blog my experiences during this quarantine. I think it's pretty wild that for the first time in history we can accurately chronicle everyone's experiences on the blockchain. We now have an immutable account of what's happening worldwide for posterity. Throughout history we've read second hand accounts of peoples experiences through journals and saved news stories. I think it's great that we can now have first hand accounts saved for future generations.
Wishing you all future health and prosperity. If things are looking bleak, remember this isn't the end of the world. We will get through this. We're all in for some rough days ahead, but staying positive and optimistic can only help.
How has the virus impacted your life? Have you been directly affected? Would love to read your thoughts.
