EDITORIAL:
A plea to Floridians: Follow coronavirus guidelines so we can get our lives back.
Yes, politicians have made bad or questionable judgments in the fight against coronavirus spread.
So have many Floridians — and the visitors we welcome — who are breathing new life into the old Flori-duh insult that was born during the contested 2000 BushGore election.
In the last couple of weeks we’ve heard about way too many examples of people either ignorant or disdainful of the very clear warnings against socializing. Examples? Here you go:
During Bike Week in Daytona Beach, a News-Journal reporter asked a participant who called himself Doc if was staying safe by washing his hands. The answer: “Doc stuck two fingers into his mouth and made groaning sounds like a zombie in a movie.”
During spring break in Miami, a shirtless Ohio man told CBS in a now infamous recording, “If I get corona, I get corona. “At the end of the day, I’m not going to let it stop me from partying.”
Here in Orlando, revelers packed a tiny apartment balcony, using toilet paper to decorate the railing.
Other instances are less obnoxious but still dangerous.
People gathered at a West Orange Trail pavilion recently for a birthday party, while cyclists rode in their usual packs.
Young people played a game of pickup basketball. People in line at grocery stores, copy stores and a farmers market crowded other customers rather than keeping a distance. Two grocery store clerks gave each other a spontaneous hug. People killed time at escape rooms. A mother in Oviedo wrote the Sentinel, bemoaning parents who sent their kids over to see if her kids could come out and play.
Every one of those activities increases the risk acquiring infection. Even if you aren’t worried about the personal consequences, you could still spread it to healthy people. Your mom. Your dad. Your grandparents. Your friends.
These are acts of selfishness, satisfying momentary urges and putting neighbors, loved ones and the entire community at risk.
It risks overwhelming the medical-care system. It risks extending this crisis and deepening the economic damage we’ll have to live with for years.
It risks killing people.
We’re pleading with our fellow Floridians
during this public health crisis: Just follow the rules. For people living in Orange and Osceola counties, that means obeying their stay-at-home orders.
For everyone, that means going out as little as possible and getting no closer than 6 feet to someone else when you’re at the store or even outside getting exercise. Don’t hug.
Don’t shake hands.
Keep your hands off surfaces as much as possible.
If you cough or sneeze, do it into your elbow or sleeve to reduce the risk of spreading potentially infected droplets. Clean everything, frequently.
And — we know this is getting old — wash your hands. Twenty seconds.
None of this is easy. We aren’t wired to avoid contact with others. We are, for the most part, social by nature. In normal times, it’s one of our better characteristics.
Now, in these abnormal times, we have to change our habits until this crisis passes.
For example, we’ve been conditioned — most of us — to wash hands after using the bathroom or working outside. These days, we should be doing it all the time.
None of this is fun, but we’re blessed to live in a time when, even in our isolation, we can keep in close touch with others.
Many can work from home. We can talk and email and text. We can see each other while we talk. We can take virtual exercise classes and museum tours and cooking lessons. We have a limitless number of programs to watch on TV and games to play on phones and computers We can have groceries and take-out food delivered to our door, along with packages.
It’s still hard, but 20 years ago, this would have been much harder.
We can criticize politicians all day long for what they’ve done or not done, but criticisms are hollow and hypocritical as long as we’re not doing our part.
Please, everyone, do your part so we can more quickly return to the lives we once had and so desperately want back.
Editorials are the opinion of the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board and are written by one of its members or a designee. The editorial board consists of Opinion Editor Mike Lafferty, Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio, Jay Reddick, David Whitley and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Send emails to insight@orlandosentinel.com.