This coronavirus thing has become pretty overwhelming. I’ve taken solace in the thought that at least I live in a Democratic state with a governor who seems to be genuinely concerned for the citizenry but that feeling is fading quickly. I realize the task of developing a coherent plan to address the health and safety issues at hand is large. All of this is compounded by not just the lack of leadership coming from the White House but the disgusting, arrogant stupidity that is being presented as leadership.
The public conversation is moving away from flattening the curve and toward opening our economy. I’m not seeing regular articles in corporate media listing infection curves and death rates as readily as I was only 10 days ago. This confuses me. The U.S. is still leading the world on both counts, by far.
When Governor, Jay Inslee gave his “Stay Home, Stay Heathy” suggestion on March 23rd, I was relieved. Two days prior my doctor had taken the time to explain to me that should I get this bug its is highly unlikely that I’d survive; not an easy tidbit to swallow. I've lived the majority of my life but I’m not done yet. I have an adult son with Autism who lives with me. He is doing fantastic and just last year landed his first job, a job he needs should something happen to me. He is very high functioning and has an IQ that is borderline genius in Physics. Other areas of intellect are not comparable. He is doing far better than I ever thought possible. I am so proud. When he was first diagnosed the prevalence of Autism was 1:25,000 to give you some idea of the length of the journey we have traveled together. The one thing that I have learned along the way that may be helpful to those of you with a family member on the spectrum; social development continues. I think it continues throughout life for all of us, at least for those of us who are open to growth. At 36 he is similar in so many ways to a very young, shy, innocent, unworldly 19 yo. So, yes, I have a reason to stick around for a while.
We are all aware of the difficulty of getting PPE to our healthcare professionals, a story within itself. I am in full agreement that any PPE should first be going to those who are tasked with trying to save our lives. My question at this point is, why the hell are employers in “essential” businesses not required to have their employees wear a cloth face mask at work? My son is working for a defense contractor. There are over 1500 employees at his plant. Nobody is wearing masks. That is a huge exposure for the whole family. I checked the recommendations from King County Department of Health. They make no mention of having anybody outside of healthcare or food handling wear a face mask. kingcounty.gov/…
In reading the recommendations from the CDC published back in March www.cdc.gov/… “Everyone Should” cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face mask when around others. I need your help. How do we make enough noise to get this one simple step in virus protection addressed? How can we possibly go back to work as a nation with something as simple as this being overlooked? There are so many people out there just like my son, having to go to work, thankful they have a job but being subjected to such life endangering idiocy. I’m screaming