Here is what I know . . .

Social distancing is going to work. Staying at home is going to work. The health experts say so. We have to believe them and we have to do it. Nobody’s bullet- or virusproof.

All I know is what I read in online newspapers, such as the Medicine Hat News, and other sources, and what I hear on television and radio. No inside information whatsoever, although all information I do have is technically ‘inside’ my home. (Facebook humour: “Trying to decide where I’m going to spend Easter — the living room or the bedroom.”)

Here is what I know:

— My wife and I were in Arizona until March 16 and back in Canada March 17 after a furious 23-hour, little contact-with-anyone drive. We have no symptoms of coronavirus.

— We’re doing our part in selfisolating. Thoughtful relatives Jody and Ryan Davison stocked our fridge, freezer and pantry with groceries the day before we arrived back in Medicine Hat. We won’t starve.

— Experts say self-isolation, or self-quarantine, is effective in “flattening the curve” — slowing the spread of the virus. People ignoring the stay-at-home rules do so, supposedly, because they don’t have any virus symptoms and therefore they believe they have nothing to spread to anyone. That could be true, but if they come into contact with someone who has the virus (but doesn’t know it, because it can incubate in your body for two to 14 days), then that ‘invincible’ person could unknowingly contract the virus and begin spreading it to family and friends.

So just stay home. It’s not complicated. It’s inconvenient, but it’s not complicated. It’s boring, but experts say it’s the most effective way to curb this pandemic.

— We self-isolaters are cheating a bit. Every other day, we go for a short walk outside, which medical experts say is OK. Kills some boredom and threatens no one. We stay far, far away from anyone. Touch nothing. Wash our hands when we get home. Just in case. A lot of what we do is ‘just in case.’

— How does one spend time at home? Day after day at home? We read. We scroll through the internet. We watch our political leaders give us valuable information — and they offer hope. We watch replays of old sports events. We wonder how long it will last, and when some of the experts say it could be ‘safe’ around the end of August, we wonder how we’ll cope for that lengthy period.

— We have a variety of televised entertainment options; and more than one TV, so there’s no reason some sort of programming can’t kill a couple of hours a day. But oh, how great it would be to view some sports event where the final outcome is not known.

— We both have plans to do some spring cleaning but so far only one of us (not me) has done so.

— Maintaining one’s mental health is important. We realize we’re all in this together, and realize many others are in far worse situations than we are, so we try to count our blessings. We ‘Facetime’ with family members to stay in touch. We believe it’s good for parties on both sides of the screen. We keep in touch by phone with old friends. We think about the horror of Sept. 11 and recall that normalcy in society returned within a month or so back in 2001. One month isn’t going to be enough time in 2020. Eventually, perhaps a year from now, a vaccine will be available.

— My musical wife, Barb, and a group of friends who pay the ukulele, fire up their computers at 10 a.m. daily and play their instruments together via ‘Messenger’. I wish something similar could be done for my golf game.

— At times, we mope. Always, we hope. And, because we have no choice, we cope.

Bruce Penton is a former editor at the News and has nearly completed his 14-day self-isolation.