I’m in the camp of caution without panic (but WITH knI’ve read quite a bit on the breakdown of underlying conditions that make up that general phrase thrown about. In a very interesting, copious breakdown of data from China, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease were both higher risks of COVID-19 complications than cancer and diabetes. 100 million Americans have HBP (including myself), which places them in the “high risk” category.
Of course, that additional risk still means you’re more likely to have minor issues than not, but it’s worth mentioning that the higher risk group is actually comprised of people who aren’t just old or suffering from COPD, etc. It’s people who take a pill for something they believe is relatively innocuous.
As a hypothetical, assuming say a 6% morbidity rate for HBP means 6 million Americans, if exposed, could die. I’m not sounding the alarm, but am merely looking at the potential.
There have also been seemingly healthy people in their 30s and 40s who have died, and they don’t know why their condition sporadically changed.
Washing your hands and not touching your face are important, yet as others have mentioned, that does nothing to prevent you from exposure to airborne droplets. I read an article from a reputable source (major news publications citing CDC and WHO data) that said transmission by touching an infected surface is far less likely than by airborne droplets.
Dismissing the risk entirely to “live your life” seems flippant to me. Particularly since you could carry the virus and potentially infect others due to your flippancy. Arm yourself with facts, make decisions for not only your family, but the greater good.
Businesses rebound, but dead people don’t tend to rebound in quite the same manner.
. I think companies need to start having conversations (and I'm sure they have started) about how they will handle the possibility of shutting down and making sure employees who are sick, feel they are able to stay home, even if they don't have the PTO to cover it. Retro pay, overtime when they come back....whatever the case may be. We are all on this rock together and something like this should put that into perspective but for whatever reason it seems to divide us more. When I read about the healthcare worker that broke home quarantine to go to a party, I knew we were pretty much done for.
