COVID-19 – joyfilledwords

| Written by, Melony F. Carter | March 29, 2020 | At 2:37 a.m. |

*NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PREVENTIVE MEASURES FOR CROWN VIRUSES IN ECUADOR. QUITO, MARCH 12, 2020″ by National Assembly of Ecuador is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0*

As the whole world tries to heal from a runny nose, some millennials are finding it difficult to believe that the Coronavirus (Covid-19) is a real infectious disease.

Unless, recently, you have decided to ignore current events or have purposefully hidden yourself away from all mankind underneath a rock for three months, than you should be pretty familiar with the common day phrases, “stay at home, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds and practice social distancing with six feet of spacing.”

Hidden Carriers

As doctors continue to study Covid -19, some outcomes have shown the virus has three levels of exposure consisting of mild-moderate, severe and critical.

In most cases, exposure to the virus has proven more severe and critical on those older populations, 85 > with underlining illnesses and less of an impact on those aging 20-44 and younger.

In the article, If you have lost your sense of smell or taste you could be a ‘hidden carrier’ of the coronavirus, published by Yahoo News reporter Adam Bienkov, explains, “evidence compiled by leading Rhinologists in the UK, [those that] have sudden loss of smell could be a “hidden carrier”.

In another report, Severe Outcomes Among Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) — United States, February 12–March 16, 2020, the CDC (Center of Disease and Prevent Center) shows out of 4,226, 29% of the cases reported were 20-44-year-old, 20% received hospitalization, and 2%-4% ICU.

Convincing Millennials

Though some millennials, still question this common day pandemic’s validity; and make reckless statements like, “I don’t care if I get the coronavirus,” as they proved it by planning spring break trips to the beach. There are many public health officials that are attempting to convince millennials to stop the spreading of the virus by staying home.

“Vanderbilt Beach in Florida” by Spencer-Scott is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Ambassador of the State Department’s global AIDS director, Dr. Deborah L. Birx, had this to say during the March 16, 2020 Presidential briefing, “millennials are the key because they’re the ones that are out and about and most likely to be in social gatherings and most likely to be least symptomatic.”

According to the magazine, Forbes after conducting a Forbes Under 30 Poll, nationwide, “[they] found that an astounding 35% of Americans aged 18-29 believed that the COVID-19 crisis is overblown.”

Though some would be surprised by these percentages, some millennials agree, says a source that I spoke with yesterday. The gentleman was a millennial in his early thirties, who had just listened to an update on the radio about the number of covid-19 cases in his state. After hearing the report, he replied, “I wish they would talk about something else instead of coronavirus.” By his tone, he seemed almost annoyed. As he continued, he mentioned, “There are other things going on. It’s really not that important.”

Social Gatherings

No matter your surroundings, nowadays, avoiding large social gatherings is becoming a necessary norm. As world doctors and scientists continue to scramble for a new relief, in a vaccination, or cure, global leaders are trying to convince not only millennials, but everyone, to stop ignoring the presence of a pandemic and to start engaging in fun activities at home.

As an alternative, many businesses, restaurants and entertainers are providing responsible options for dining-in, hosting social gatherings and parties, on social media platforms and entertainment— such as free concerts, ballets and other shows. Even churches are live streaming services and gyms are promoting “work-in’s”.

Other indoor activities like reading, board games, playing video games, streaming movies, puzzles or even gardening, depending on your location, could be other resourceful options for self-isolation.

Yes, be mindful, that covid-19 is a respiratory disease that is easily spread by an infected person who coughs or sneezes exposing others to droplets, so have an alternative plan to avoid social gatherings.

Prevention

Overall, whether you are a presumptive positive patient, hidden carrier or just someone whose self-isolating at home; regardless, millennial or not, let’s all do our best to encourage each other to help heal this sick world and try to prevent spreading the coronavirus.

For those who may need medical assistance, the company Apple Inc. has partnered with the White House, CDC and FEMA to create a Covid- 19 Screening Tool for online screening. For more information visit Apple Inc.’s website at: https://www.apple.com/covid19/

|Written by, Melony F. Carter|March 21, 2020|At 5:30 a.m.|

“My feet hurt…,” is all I could say last Saturday after spending countless hours walking through dozens of area supermarkets in search of, as of late, America’s three most highly sought-after commodities water, meat and toilet paper.

An early riser, and full of energy and vigor, that day; I attempted to grocery shop as usual. Met by large crowds of busy shoppers, I soon realized that my normal weekend routine was no longer a normal routine.

Something had changed…

The shelves were bare, the lines were longer, and the other shoppers seemed anxious.

Photo “Sandy empties the bread shelves” by Rick Payette is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 COPY RICH TEXT

Walking about the aisles, on the hunt for products, I spoke with several of my neighbors, other shoppers, store managers and cashiers. With no medical face mask, rubber gloves, hand sanitizer or cleaning products in sight, the atmosphere was different.

After purchasing food, some items at inflated prices; it was clear to me that there had been a cultural shift. My every day buying experience was different, and I had recognized that during the face of this global pandemic, the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) had sparked the American consumer to enact the booming trend to panic buying, making a simple trip to the supermarket a daunting hassle, and even more so for the most vulnerable customers, the elderly shoppers.

Watching the elderly shoppers, I noticed many of them staring at empty shelves and struggling to keep up with the fluttering crowds.

Many of them, who didn’t mind a smile were very friendly, and wanted to find something to eat just like the rest of us.

Eger to engage in conversation, one source that I spoke with, a male in his mid-70’s, had attempted to find a case of distilled water, “well there is no more water, what the h*…, I’ll buy lemon aid” he stated.

Sarcastically, he continued to ask, “There is water in lemon aid, right?”

As he placed a jug of lemon aid into his cart, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d have to settle for lemon aid too.

Continuing our conversation, we walked to a nearby meat freezer where I pulled a few bags of chicken and he shook his head gazing at the nearly empty shelves, “my grandparents told me about the food shortages, but I never imagined seeing them in my lifetime,” he said.

Photo “Trump Victory Greeted With Global Financial Panic” by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0 COPY RICH TEXT

Standing there, a bit taken back by his comments, I nodded recognizing his reference was about the Great Depression in the late 1920’s – an early 1930’s (during the fall of the stock market, high unemployment rates and soup kitchens). On a mission, by the end of the day, I had only crossed a few items off my list.

As the week progressed, many Americans continued impulsively panic buying while the CDC (Center of Disease Control and Prevention) continued reporting new cases of infected Coronavirus patients. According to their numbers, the older adult over 65, who had heart disease, lung disease or diabetes showed a higher risk in, “8 out of 10 deaths reported in the U.S.”

To-date, in America alone there are over 15,000 presumptive positive cases and over 200 deaths have been recorded as of, January 12, 2020. Leaving many spectators to wonder, “Should senior citizens have special shopping hours because they are the most vulnerable to the virus?”

With nearly 40,000 grocery store chains in the United States, the answer was clear, when larger retailers like Albertsons, Walmart, Kroger, Wholefoods, Smiths, and Dollar General, decided to care for the elder population and responsibly change their operational hours by making “elderly hours” available to senior citizens.

Able to avoid panicky crowds, now elderly shoppers have the opportunities to apply social distancing practices from the Coronavirus with more options to buy distilled water instead of having to settle for a jug of lemon aid.

joyfilledwords

Tag: COVID-19

Don’t Panic! Make Way for the Elderly Shoppers