I saw the news today celebrating no new corona virus cases in Wuhan. Whoohoo! That means there is an end to this thing at some point, right? It sounds good doesn’t it? Now take a quick step back and remember that this cycle took several months….that we know of. Also consider that China was months ahead of us. This means we are not done with this for awhile folks. This means it is more important than ever to listen to the EXPERTS like the CDC…not google…not your friends( unless they are healthcare workers on the front lines maybe)…not your chiropractor or the kid at the grocery store. Pay attention to Dr. Anthony Fauci! Who is Dr. Anthony Fauci? He is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. If he starts talking, be quiet and listen for a minute. He says think twice before you get on a plane. He says we have to take this seriously. He says that there are no PROVEN safe and effective therapies for the Corona Virus yet. That does not mean that possible treatments are not being looked at. He doesn’t say to panic, but he does say that we all need to do our part to stay at home when possible, not to make unnecessary trips and to stay away from crowds to decrease the chances of spread. Every time I see the latest beach vacation pic lately with hundreds of people in sunny Florida, defiantly partying, I just scratch my head in bewilderment and disgust. What the heck do people think they are doing? Have we become so egocentric that we think that nothing can permeate our own little bubbles? Do we think our actions have no consequences? Newsflash! There are no bubbles right now! Every single unnecessary exposure just puts more people at risk like gigantic ripples on the ocean. I can’t help looking at those pictures with some resentment as I am going straight home from work and then straight back to work the following day. I think about the vacations that are now cancelled and everything my kids are missing. But guess what? All those things are survivable and worth it! I realize that the government is not just trying to ” control” me or “mess with me.” They are trying to take what steps they can to stop the spread of this thing. Believe it or not, the same folks that are defying the guidelines while complaining about being controlled are the same folks that are taking the one element that we can control( social distancing) and throwing it to the wayside, unilaterally deciding for all of us how the course of this virus will go. I had to go to the store today for the first time in awhile. I was standing in line and these two people stumbled up next to me, obviously under the influence of something and were making out in line. Then they decided to plunk their items down almost on top of mine and then snatch them back, run back to the aisle and pick out something else and then plunk that down on top of my purchases. They were also both coughing with no attempt to cover whatsoever. I looked at the guy and said,” What are you doing? Now is not the time for that.” They just stared at me, shocked, as if it completely escaped them that I would not want to be coughed on, bumped against, watch them slobber over each other, or have our purchases hang out together like some kind of slumber party in the middle of a pandemic! Imagine that! To be honest, I wouldn’t enjoy any of those behaviors even if there were no pandemic, but who’s counting..lol) It is just this kind of ignorant and belligerent behavior that is going to get us all into trouble, make this pandemic last longer and completely close the small window of opportunity for us to get back to our normal lives a little sooner. Please people. We have to do better. It won’t kill us to stay in our houses more, cook at home, stop making unnecessary trips or avoid crowds. Life will go on temporarily without trips, festivals and concerts, but if we don’t try a little harder to follow these temporary guidelines, we will end up having to forcibly surrender all of the autonomy that we thought we were fighting for in the first place.

Dr. Katz