The vibe in the office was eerie yesterday. Despite relatively few cases of coronavirus COVID-19 being confirmed in Ontario, people were spooked. I get it, too – it’s a weird feeling being in the office right after a formal pandemic is declared.
But now is not the time for panic. Now is the time to remember our compassion and humanity. Hell, now is also the time to remember our sense of humour. We’ve been here before many times. And each and every time, we’ve weathered the storm. In the meantime, here’s are some suggestions for you to chew on.
Do listen to the experts who actually know what they’re talking about.
If you want to know the facts about COVID-19, go to a reputable source and read up. And no, your uncle on Facebook does not count as a reputable source. So much information, most of it complete garbage, is floating around right now that it’s just pouring gasoline on the fire of people’s fears. It doesn’t help that every news article in existence right now is set up to be fear-mongering click-bait because it gets read.
Smarter minds than you and I are working round the clock the get the right information to people, and to present information that’s rooted in fact, not opinion or emotion. Those are the folks you want to be listening to.
Don’t go stocking up for the zombie apocalypse.
I keep hearing about how stores cannot keep toilet paper and anything branded “Lysol” on their shelves. I mean the Lysol I kind of get, but the toilet paper? Coronavirus doesn’t even affect your craps! Maybe save some for the rest of us who aren’t panicking like it’s a nuclear-zombie-terminator apocalypse. There’ll be enough to go around, as long as you don’t go buying 2,000 rolls at a time like this family.
Do be smart about your hygiene and sanitization practices.
I’m not saying to be flippant about your sanitization practices, on the other hand. This thing is real, and one of the ways it spreads is on contact with shared surfaces. So yeah, wipe things down, wash your hands, and use alcohol-based sanitizer. But there’s no need to go so overboard with it that you rub the first two layers of skin right off your hands… just use it like a normal person, would you? 🙂
Don’t make it about race.
Come on guys, don’t use the coronavirus as your excuse to be racist. Everyone is doing the best they can, and there are dumb people who are going to ignore the best practices across all races, nationalities, religions, etc. etc. etc. Your racism and discrimination will have a far more lasting impact than the coronavirus. Put that shit to bed already.
Do talk about something other than coronavirus!
It’s hard to continue life as usual when all anyone is talking about is the coronavirus. Let’s talk about other things, shall we? Let’s talk about our plans for the springtime, or how we’re going to use our new-found downtime after cancelling previous plans, or – and I can’t believe I’m saying this – even the Bachelor or something. You know why I chose puppies for the header shot of this post? Because PUPPIES ARE BETTER THAN CORONAVIRUS. Game, set, match, me.
Wrapping it Up
As a society, we’re disconnected enough from each other as it is without the coronavirus making everyone even more suspicious of the person next to them in public. Not every single person you come into contact to is a shadow-lurker just waiting for the right opportunity to infect you. No, in contrast they’re probably just as scared as you are, and trying to do the best they can for themselves and their family.
So please guys, I beg you: treat each other with compassion and respect while we all battle this shared enemy together. We’re already fighting the coronavirus; let’s not fight ourselves at the same time. That’s a battle we just won’t win.
