Here I go again... #lastpersonthatshouldwriteanarticleaboutcovid

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. We knew the pandemic would spread with devastation, but we banded together and flattened the curve so that our healthcare heroes and hospitals can manage care for the victims.  While there are some standouts, we all made great physical, mental and social sacrifices, with unquantifiable and massively under considered side effects.

Now, our politicians and media are reporting the deferral of the peak as if it’s a bad thing and a surprise. We have lost the focus on tracking the intake and discharge of patients into hospitals. The goal posts have been moved and rather than flattening the curve, we are waiting for eradication.

We need to be trusted and empowered to assess risk and tailor our return to normalcy based on our own family and their health, comfort level and financial situation. I have a three month old, a three year old and a job where I can do a lot from home…we have been and will be careful for an extended time. If you or someone in your household is immunocompromised, I’m sure you’ll do the same. Our fellow Chicagoans and Americans know the gravity of the situation and will be respectful of one another. It’s not one size fits all and it’s never been the government’s position to make those decisions for us. 

There is a great injustice in differentiating essentialism within the workforce and business lines.  Unfortunately, this injustice is hitting the lower income segment of the workforce hardest with 40% layoffs in those making less than $40K.  I recently went to Home Depot and pulled into a packed parking lot. Someone was at the front door taking the temperature of all employees, everyone wore masks and followed the one way signs in the aisles, and there was plexiglass around the self-checkout…absolute no brainer and very low risk. Why can’t Dick’s Sporting Goods (or better yet a community sporting goods store) do the same? No, I’m not ready to sit at a packed restaurant normally, but why not cut indoor tables in half and ease sidewalk seating permit restrictions? Hell, double the price to make ends meet and I’m still there. Any employees not ready to come back shouldn’t and any customers not ready to visit won’t. 

It’s lazy to say, “schools, parks and the lakefront are closed”. How about resuming physical classes where 25% of students come in four different blocks throughout the day or one full day a week each with sanitizing between and spaced desks? No recess, lunch at desks, but something is so much better than nothing. Kids shouldn’t be back to back on the swings at a playground, but why can’t people do socially distanced yoga or have a picnic at a public park? 

This situation sucks, and it sucks for a lot of people more than me, but we’re reaching a point of making it exponentially worse every day. We have the opportunity to emerge from this more appreciative of one another than ever and build back better than we started, if we do so before it’s too late. Not everyone will agree with me and I respect that, but we need speak up.