COVID-19 Open Thread

I know we just had an open thread yesterday, but in this thread I’d like to encourage people to share links and ideas they have found helpful. Like millions of parents across the U.S., my children are now at home, their school closed. Like millions of adults across the country, we are working from home. Where I live, it’s not just schools but also bars and restaurants that have been closed.

None of this has precedent within my lifetime—or yours. I have found it helpful to remember, though, that there is precedent for these measures. The Spanish Flu of 1918, for instance. But it’s not just that one: there used to be quarantines and school closure for disease with some regularity. Today feels different because we have enjoyed a century of medical advances that have left many of us with a feeling of invincibility. It is startling to feel that sense of security collapse.

Perhaps worst of all is the uncertainty. How long will this last? How bad will things get? We simply don’t know. Will it be a month? Two? Will there be a second wave in the fall? We don’t know.

It’s not okay. None of it is okay. But it’s not like we have any other options right now. We can’t go back in time and undo it. All we can do is be as socially responsible as we can, do our part to flatten the curve, and hope to ride it out. Please take this seriously. We all have friends and relatives in the at-risk category. Reach out to older neighbors and offer to run errands for them; check in with your elderly relatives. And if you’re in an at-risk category yourself, take care of yourself.

In the comments, please share articles and thoughts you have found helpful as you look ahead to the next few weeks. What do the next few weeks look like for you and yours?

Oh, and if you are a healthcare provider, thank you. Thank you. And again, thank you.

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