GOLDILOCKS EDITION
Do you have friends who don't have a lot of patience for endless articles or blog posts about this damn pandemic? But are they even so starting to feel like they ought to be doing something about it? Want something short and to the point to share with them that hits the high points without getting bogged down?
MAMA BEAR VERSION
Give this a try:
It's hard to hear that indoor gatherings are a problem as Christmas approaches. Everyone is frustrated, sad, and angry about everything the pandemic has done to us this year and this is just adding insult to injury. But we need to address it directly. We all want a return to normal -- we all want the economy and our schools to be open. And we also want to protect our family and friends from the pandemic. Our finest medical researchers and our local healthcare providers are clear: If we fail, there will be even worse consequences for our families and our economy.
We all have a personal responsibility to slow the spread of the pandemic and eliminate the virus as quickly as possible. Therefore, it is imperative that we take an effective, fact-based approach by doing things like:
• Wearing face masks (properly!)
• Practicing social distancing
• Increasing hygiene
• Avoiding indoor gathering (even at Christmas!), and
• Isolating if we've had a positive test, a known exposure, or have any symptoms.
Let’s do what needs to be done now so we can return to a strong economy and normal day-to-day activities. It is truly strange that gathering with loved ones can be dangerous right now, so it's time to use our ingenuity to figure out how to celebrate, worship, honor, AND keep everyone safe.
For more information from the White House Coronavirus Task Force and their recommendations for Pennsylvania at a county level, including cautions about asymptomatic transmission and indoor gatherings, please visit: http://bit.ly/WHCTFdec6PA
BABY BEAR VERSION
And if that's still not short and to-the-point enough, try this:
Have yourself a merry little Christmas!
Coronavirus cases are way up. Doctors and nurses are overwhelmed. But we don't have to just sit back and wait it out. There are things we can all do to make a difference now.
To beat the virus, keep schools and businesses open, and most of all, to be able to celebrate safely in person, we all need to:
• Wear face masks (properly!)
• Practice social distancing
• Increase hygiene (especially hands/face)
• Avoid indoor gatherings (even at Christmas!) and
• Isolate if we've had a positive test, a known exposure, or have any symptoms.
It's hard to hear at this time of year, but if we use our ingenuity and take responsibility for our own health and the health of our loved ones, we will be that much closer to a time when we can gather safely again.
For more information from the White House Coronavirus Task Force and their recommendations for Pennsylvania at a county level, including cautions about asymptomatic transmission and indoor gatherings, please visit: http://bit.ly/WHCTFdec6PA
PAPA BEAR EDITION
Xmas or Not: COVID-19 and Indoor Gatherings Do Not Mix Well!
COVID-19 vaccinations are starting to happen in our region! Essential healthcare workers are getting the first shot now. This is great news and points the way toward recovery. We can now look ahead and see an eventual return to health as a day-to-day default expectation and to having our businesses and schools open unimpeded again.
But in the interim people are in danger right here in our community. The White House Coronavirus Task Force report for Pennsylvania issued on Dec 6 points out that we will need to get some 100 million people across the country vaccinated before we can substantially reduce the spread. And our hospital capacity is threatened right now. Doctors and nurses who are dealing directly with COVID-19 here in the Valley are alarmed, worried, and sad. They have been sharing their insights with us in news articles, in public health fora, on social media, and on the radio. They are telling us that our hospitals are already getting overloaded and that they anticipate many more patients ahead. They may get to where they are unable to provide care, whether for COVID or other ills. Hospitalizations and deaths are rising locally in parallel with what’s happening across the country. Because people with severe COVID-19 are usually sick for quite a while, those dying so far this month for the most part were infected in November during the rise in cases before Thanksgiving. The additional sharp increase in cases since Thanksgiving in the region will be playing out in the death toll over the next month.
While the White House Coronavirus Task Force is certainly looking ahead to having everyone vaccinated, right now they are asking everyone to recognize the threat of asymptomatic spread -- i.e. that people without symptoms who in many cases do not realize they are infected are most likely to spread the virus -- and the danger of indoor gathering. Because of those two factors, typical holiday activities, entirely normal activities with loved ones, like indoor multi-household gatherings are risky.
Fortunately, we already know what we need to do to stop the spread of the disease: wear masks (properly), practice distancing, increase hygiene, isolate if positive, exposed, or with any symptoms, and avoid indoor gatherings.
What does all this mean for you, your family, and your community right now? It's time to be responsible and get creative. Here are some basic ideas for how to adapt your celebrations and avoid indoor gatherings. Consider this for Christmas… for New Year’s… for Sunday dinners… Either take it online or make sure you keep all this in mind:
- Stay outside!
- Keep it brief.
- Wear masks (even around loved ones, if they live in separate households).
- Keep your distance.
- Reduce the number of people gathering.
- Incorporate added hygiene.
- Don't attend if you've had a positive test or any exposures (like other indoor gatherings).
- Don't attend if you have any symptoms (of any kind!). Don't only be on the lookout for severe or acute symptoms. Almost anything could be a COVID symptom, even if it feels like "just allergies." Better to be safe than sorry.
Because so many cases have no symptoms at all, that’s why we all need to be wearing masks and distancing – just in case we have it but don’t know it! The CDC is recommending that even people who have been vaccinated continue to wear masks. The vaccine protects against developing a severe case but does not prevent all infections and may still allow those vaccinated to spread it to others.
The adjustments suggested above could be applied to a holiday get-together or really any gathering. You could also consider more involved adaptations, like retrofitting your open garage as a semi-protected and very well-ventilated site for short gatherings (still with masks and distancing!). Or just kit yourself out to be comfortable outdoors while masked and distanced even in winter, whether with blankets, lighting, fire pits or outdoor heaters, and comfy chairs/cushions or maybe with heated clothing, hand warmers, and heated insoles.
Let's show some ingenuity. We have what it takes to get ourselves through this and move on to better days ahead.
CODA
Feel free to send these as emails, parcel bits of them out as texts, talk through them with people. As long as you keep the basic points about mitigation (which are longer than we'd like, but really probably can't be simplified beyond that), it's all good.
