Please, just stay home for the holiday
On this Thanksgiving, any two parties tugging at a turkey’s wishbone will almost certainly be craving the same desire Make COVID-19 go away. That wishbone, though, also represents the fulcrum we’re at in trying to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
While much of the population has been stringent in limiting social contact for the past nine months, too many people are still tugging recklessly from the other side. This won’t vanish with a mere wish; we all have to work for it.
Back in the spring, most observers reasoned the spread of the coronavirus would be halted in time for families to unite at the Thanksgiving table. But most of the holiday’s evergreen traditions have been set aside or altered. There will be no parade down Broadway, no high school football games, and the few NFL offerings will be played before mostly vacant stands.
The size of every family’s turkey tells the story of America’s division over this crisis. Many families are buying small birds as they resist guests. Other families are surrendering to a yearning to see loved ones, or out of misguided belief the pandemic is a hoax.
Fears that the pandemic will spread in the coming days are fueled by the volume of travelers crowding airports during the past week. Travel can be done safely, and many say they are being cautious, but it’s not the flying we’re worried about, it’s the landing. Those masks are sure to drop when travelers arrive at the homes of family members.
Gov. Ned Lamont is taking a “sky is falling” approach, as he points to “the COVID cloud, coming from other parts of the country.”
That cloud may be traveling by plane.
“Travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19,” the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote in an advisory imploring people to stay home for the holiday. “Airports, bus stations, train stations, and rest stops are all places travelers can be exposed to the virus in the air and on surfaces. These are also places where it can be hard to social distance.”
Lamont offers reassurance that Connecticut is better prepared for this wave of coronavirus, as items such as masks are now more readily available. But that also suggests COVID will not surrender quietly.
Stamford’s latest figures offer a capsule of how dire things are right now. After all this time, numbers can become blurry, so context is important. The city was treating 40 patients with COVID-19 Monday evening. But of those 40, eight people were in intensive care and five on ventilators.
Just a month ago, Stamford was seeing fewer than nine new cases a day. That average is now up to 75.
As the statewide death toll nears 5,000, it should be clear that we will not get through this together. We can only get through it apart.
The size of every family’s turkey tells the story of America’s division over this crisis. Many families are buying small birds as they resist guests. Other families are surrendering to a yearning to see loved ones, or out of misguided belief the pandemic is a hoax.