WTF? Or MWF? COVID-19 reflections on shared time and space
In this “novel reality” that we’ve labeled the COVID-19 pandemic, we find that we have to reshape our connections to family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. Being in the 60+ crowd, I am aware that the hospitalization and fatality rate for my peers is much, much higher than for younger people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes us as having “higher risk for severe illness.” At the local, state, and national level, we are now being asked to stay indoors and practice “social distancing.” We’ve always practiced social distancing in some form, keeping one to two feet away from even our closest friends as we chat about life over coffee or as we stroll along the Bonneville Shoreline trail. Today, however, we are being asked to expand this distance to six feet. This isn’t an unreasonable request given the infectious nature of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes this particular coronavirus disease. It’s an easy guideline to rememb