From Mona’s desk
Two years and hoping
Early this week, I talked with the Loup Basin Public Health District on what to do now if one realizes they have been exposed to someone else who has COVID. What should a person do?
On Monday, March 14, 2022, the instructions were wear a mask but they could stay at work and not have to go home; monitor for symptoms; and take a home COVID test if there’s a fever after five days.
In March, 2020, the instructions would have been quite different. “Go home! Quarantine! Aaaugghh, don’t breath my air!”
OK, so I probably exaggerated a bit on that last one. However, it does show us how far we have come.
Did we over react two years ago. I say, “No.” At that time, we didn’t know what we were dealing with. Sure, maybe some of the protocols were over the top but isn’t that the way we do things in the US?
The first couple of times I flew on airplanes after 9/11, TSA employees were breaking files off nail-clippers that were being carried on-board. That’s kind of an over-thetop reaction. Yet in the heightened awareness of the time, it was feared anything - even a nail file - could be used as a weapon.
And in the past two years, we’ve been hyper-aware of a virus that has proven its unpredictability over and over. At time, yes, it was easy to fear the very air we were breathing!
Thankfully, like the fear and restrictions born of 9/11, fear and restrictions about COVID have relaxed for many of us. So let’s not second-guess what was done two years ago when everything was new and scary. Let’s just be glad so much has been learned and we can make better and more informed decisions.
Last week, Donnis and I talked about on how Daylight Saving Time snuck up on us. A quick look back at 2020 should have reminded me of the time change. March 5, 2020, the very benign headline above the fold was “Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, but why?” The following week, March 12, 2020, the headline was “COVID-19 and you” with articles on the preparedness of local hospitals and clinics. And, thus, we were off and running through the pandemic.
It’s said now that newly reported cases numbers are decreasing across the U.S. Kids are back in school and people are out and about. Around here, we’ve been back to near-normal routines for quite a while.
Is the pandemic close to be over? Maybe ... maybe not. Cities in China are once again being shut down and it’s reported that nearly half of Europe has recorded increases in cases in the past week. Will the numbers follow suit in the U.S.? Only time will tell.
Heck, just like the doggone unpredictable virus we’re fighting, we can adapt, too! Let’s keep our very-near normal routines edged in awareness. And, since spring is the season of hope, let’s wrap that awareness in the hope that near-normal is here to stay.