When all of this first happened, I thought maybe we would be practicing social distancing for a couple of weeks max, but it’s looking like we might be in this for the long haul. But for how long? It’s too soon to predict, but the message is clear: If you want this to end quickly, STAY AT HOME! Most people I know who heed the CDC’s warnings are doing what they can to slow the spread:
- working from home
- avoiding crowds
- washing their hands
- isolating if they feel unwell
- going out only for essentials
Yet some people still aren’t taking the pandemic seriously. Fortunately, there are mandates being put in place which are forcing people to cooperate. Why do people have to be forced to do the right thing? Just trust the CDC!
In my hometown, a stay-at-home order was just mandated which means I have to leave my comfy office and teach from home using my crappy laptop and personal hotspot. I’m nervous about this change and I don’t like being cooped up! But I am going to do whatever is necessary to help stop the spread of the virus.
The new mandate is to begin tonight and last for the next 30 days, but how much longer can we expect to practice social distancing and stay in quarantine? There’s conflicting data on the internet. Some sources like Today.com say about 2 more weeks or longer, but this seems pretty unrealistic to me. Other sources like CIDRAP say we can expect to live this way for upwards of several months to a year contrary to what Trump has said about reopening America as soon as possible. One thing we know for sure, the more precautions we take, the sooner it will all be over, so listen to the experts, stay home, wash your hands, and prepare to settle in for a long time…
