It’s 6 feet away, or 6 feet under

I watched a guy who lives two doors down from me as he wiped down the door handles on his car and sprayed disinfectant into the interior.

“I’m not being paranoid,” he said. “I just don’t want to get sick.”

I think he is wasting his time.

It is pretty clear that the problem is that we don’t know who is carrying the coronavirus — but we do know as Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, admitted: “We’re past the point of containment.”

And once you understand what that statement means, then you know the only thing that is going to stop the spread of this disease that has hijacked America, is a cure. And we don’t have one. Nor do we have enough tests to determine in whose body the coronavirus is living.

That is why I think he is wasting his time.

We are past containment, there are not enough tests to help pinpoint carriers to prevent further spread and the only question is, who has it?

And that is the question that health experts cannot answer as the highly infectious coronavirus sweeps across the nation infecting hundreds in 44 states and leaving at least 41 dead.

I don’t know about you folks, but I am growing more uneasy by the day.

I am stunned at how quickly the coronavirus has hit the United States and surrounded us with the unknown. It is so serious that breaking news has become real breaking news again when regular programming is interrupted.

Last Sunday, the virus was in 18 states, had infected 210 people and left 12 dead.

Less than a week later, 1,700 people across 44 states and the District of Columbia have tested positive and at least 41 are dead. Here in Connecticut, six are infected, including a child.

And the news just keeps on getting worse.

The country is shutting down, local government has been put on pause, states of emergencies are being declared, stocks have plunged, containment zones have been set up and the National Guard called in, in New York state.

Supermarket shelves are being emptied and end of the season sporting events with championships on the line are being canceled.

That is hundreds of billions in loss revenue as the nation goes on the defensive, with President Trump declaring a national emergency Friday and that tells me more about the deadly nature of this disease than any press conference from health experts.

In a country where CEOs are rewarded for putting people on the unemployment line, I know that businesses don’t voluntarily give up the profit if there is another solution.

And when they do, you know the clouds are about to open up and the masses are in trouble.

I know we are supposed to remain calm and despite the spread, believe everything is under control — but I wonder, how in the world can I and people of my era remain calm when we don’t know if our days are numbered?

I’m in that age group that is considered at-risk.

But the tools I have been given to fight the disease are to stay at home, avoid large crowds and touching my face, and stay 6 feet away from people or chance going 6 feet under.

Experts are calling it “social distancing.”

That may stop huge gatherings but it can’t stop that invisible menace from lying in wait on everything we, as individuals, touch in public spaces as we shop, ride public transportation, work, or breathe out into the air.

I hope it doesn’t happen but I think quarantines are on the way.

I said in my last column that the United States is good about alerting people to an impending crisis but the big problem is, by the time we get the news, it is generally much worse than being reported.

Readers may think I am being paranoid but if I was really being paranoid, I would have presented a much different scenario, such as this: There are nearly 47 million Americans age 65 in the U.S. right now; by 2050, there will be 90 million.

I don’t get paranoid and I don’t freak out when it comes to what life is throwing at me, but uneasiness is crawling all over me as the coronavirus insidiously creeps into every corner of our lives.

In times of crisis, we do what we have to do but I wonder if what officials are asking us to do will be enough. I do have to go outside, I do have to come in contact with people. I do have to shop for food because I can’t afford to order take out.

And I can’t be the only one.

So what do I do when anything that I do won’t be enough because a simple question has no answer: Who has it?

And that is what makes the coronavirus so deadly.

Carriers? It’s 6 feet away, or 6 feet under.