I'm tired. I'm tired of being exposed to COVID. Three times in two months, not counting the times I've been indirectly exposed through our COVID testing site, where I'm one of the volunteers testing people for the virus. However, I'm gowned, N-95 masked, and gloved during the two hours we conduct the tests, so I'm confident I'm not in harm's way. We are tested frequently, and none of us has tested positive. But it's the other times that I'm informed after a couple of days (usually in a text!) that some such meeting I've attended had someone who tested positive the next day. Three of the people who tested positive did not have a mask that covered their nose and mouth or took it off at various times during the meeting. I've refused to attend a couple of board meetings in person because one of the board members has a lung condition, coughs frequently, and won't wear a mask while seated. How will even he or we know if he's positive and continues to hack 30 feet in the air, thereby exposing ALL of us in the room?!
I'm tired. I'm tired of hearing people refuse to wear masks because "it's a free country, and only 1 or 2% die from COVID. After all, it's really just the flu."
Eight people tested positive today in my small rural town. Each one of them thought their symptoms were allergies. Two spouses who tested positive last week mentioned that they had meetings to attend but would "sit in the back of the room." We told them they needed to go home and quarantine. This week, both tested positive for COVID. They appeared feverish.
Until a few days ago, the local church continued having in-person services. A concert was scheduled for January 17 until it was evident that we were experiencing a surge in the number of COVID cases in our town. It's now been postponed until next year. People have frequently been gathering at parties (one with 200 people). All we had to do was check the local weekly newspaper to see their smiling faces, shoulder to shoulder, and not a mask in sight!
I'm tired. I'm tired of realizing that many people have no empathy for others. That's the only way I can explain their behavior. They've read somewhere from some dicey source on the internet or heard from some "expert" that masks are ineffective or that COVID was no worse than the flu, and that's what they believe. Interestingly, I've seen people around town who have tested positive for the virus. Before they tested positive, they were inconsistent with wearing masks. It's just not popular with many folks in my town to wear masks.
When was it okay to write off 1-2% of the population, and that's not counting the damage done to people's bodies even after they survived the virus?
Several months ago, I advised my fellow board members to discontinue hosting indoor events. My rationale was that we should do the right thing for our citizens even if they didn't believe in science. I was told that "my idea of what was right might not be someone else's idea of what's right." No kidding. Then, I was angrily accused of making COVID "political." "No," I responded, "I worked many years in a hospital and was taught how to prevent/reduce the spread of contagious diseases. And, my source for information about COVID has been from legitimate scientific sources." The elections for this particular board will be in a few months, and community leaders have recruited people to run against me. Sigh. No good deed goes unpunished.
My fellow volunteers and I believe the virus is real. All of us are compassionate and empathetic. We're diligent about wearing masks in public and avoiding indoor dining, events, or meetings. Our service to others is to give them information if they are positive for COVID so they can be treated ASAP...even if they don't share "our politics!"
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