VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- It started out as a novel strain of coronavirus causing severe illness in China. But now, COVID-19 has spread worldwide, threatening the lives of many.
How do you deal with something that has shut the whole world down, yet you can’t see or control it?
With no known cure or vaccine for it at this point, and the death toll still rising, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say we can protect our health and well-being by “social distancing” ourselves from society until this passes.
But what does that actually look like?
Nationwide, events have been cancelled or shut down, from concerts, festivals, sports, vacations and cruises, to even schools and graduations.
For now, staying home, keeping an average of six feet between yourself and others and washing your hands as often as possible are the best ways to reduce spreading the virus. But “social distancing” doesn't mean you have to disconnect from society completely.
Even in this time of crisis, I believe there is a silver lining of sorts.
With modern technology we have the ability to stay virtually connected with our family and friends, where ever they are. I believe, in a sense, this pandemic has created a stronger connection between the people in our lives.
With a simple text, phone call or video chat we can check up on our family, friends and wingmen that we don’t get to see every day. While the best we can do for ourselves and others is to limit our physical contact, we can still maintain a social connection.
Even though this pandemic is taking a toll on our nation, it has shown us what areas we were well equipped in, and what areas need a little more work.
Hopefully we can learn from this to better prepare our healthcare system and to put the right plans in place to better deal with the outbreak of future pandemics.
Ultimately, the health of our nation is what’s most important right now. Our economy and government will bounce back, but the possibility of losing a loved one by risking social activities just isn't worth it.
If we each do our part to practice social distancing, we can shorten the time span of this pandemic and see it through to the other side.