The current situation with COVID 19
It has been 11 months since the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic in China and we are now experiencing fatigue. We are now approaching a year that the world as we knew it was turned upside down. It seems like a lot longer though. It is almost a matter of fact now to be working from home, interacting online, doing home-schooling with our kids, or wearing masks while carrying sanitizer wherever we go. But as the months have passed by, and we got more used to the so called “new normal,” we have become weary. As a result of this weariness, we are now experiencing what we can now call “COVID19 fatigue.”
This “fatigue” is only logical given the restrictions imposed on us by the virus control measures on our lives and by the unexpected duration of this situation. This “fatigue” has some psychological elements that I will address here. This knowledge will help you understand what is happening to us in regards to the pandemic behavior. This post will teach you how to cope with this fatigue. It will also help you realize the risks involved in yielding to this “fatigue.”
Right now, we are at the beginning of the “second wave” of COVID infections This coincides with the seasonal changes: We are in the fall and heading into the winter months. Colder, wet weather, put people in closer contact in close quarters. As a result, the virus has its highest chances of spreading. However, this cannot truly be called “a second “wave” as the first one never ended.
What went wrong
The rate of infections never really went down last summer as it was originally expected. We are talking of a second “wave” now because the rate of infections and deaths is once again accelerating much faster than it did last summer (which was bad enough). This new “wave” will soon surpass the morbidity and lethality of the first one.
This COVID19 pandemic turned out to be MUCH WORSE THAN WE HAD ORIGINALLY THOUGHT.
COVID 19 in numbers in the US and the World
As of this writing, at the end of October 2020, we have some 43 million cases of detected infections around the world. The number of deaths total 1.15 million. In the US, we currently have 8.7 million people with detected COVID19 infection. And we have lost over 225 thousand American lives. By now, we have become desensitized to these numbers. It brings to mind the aphorism that says: “The death of one person is a tragedy, the death of a million is a statistic.”
India, with over a billion people, is the second country in the world in number of infections. It has 7.86 million detected cases with only 119 thousand deaths. So, almost the same number of cases have been detected in both countries. The problem for us is, the US has three times less population than India; and India still has had only half the deaths with almost the same number of cases!
These dire numbers for the US performance handling this pandemic reflect the poor job done by the American federal government. But You cannot count on the government to protect you. You have to protect YOURSELF.
How is this “fatigue” showing
Keep in mind that the number of detected cases is just the tip of the iceberg. For each detected case of COVID19 there are probably six undetected ones out there. So, all the above numbers need to be multiplied times 6 at least. This means that one in five people you meet may be carrying COVID. And this is where the risks of “COVID Fatigue” enter the play.
This is so because—as people got used to the pandemic and got tired of it—they have become more lenient in using social distancing and protection measures. This is particularly true for the young and for a sector of the American population that have erroneously chosen to politicize this pandemic. This ill-advised sector of the American public has made a right-wing political statement out of being defiant of the virus–and of rational medical recommendations–in the name of “Freedom.”
The dangers of the politization of the pandemic
But this situation is NOT about FREEDOM but about SURVIVAL, COMMON SENSE, and COMPASSION FOR OTHERS. By choosing to disavow medical recommendations, these people are endangering the lives of all those around them, INCLUDING THE LIVES OF THEIR LOVED ONES. These people do not understand yet that the VIRUS HAS NO POLITICAL COLORS even if this an election year in the US.
GET THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL:
COVID19 WILL INFECT A REPUBLICAN AS MUCH AS DEMOCRAT, AS MUCH AS AN INDEPENDENT—A FASCIST AS MUCH AS AN ANTIFA—AND IF IT IS ALLOWED TO, IT WILL KILL THEM MERCILESSLY.
The needs to interact with others, the desire for playing sports and having entertainment back, the social tendencies to gather, and the desperation to keep our economies going, ALL PLAY AGAINST US. The virus, on the other hand is indefatigable and benefits from our human needs to spread further. The virus is a wily ENEMY. COVID19 does not take breaks; it only knows how to get better at what it does: Get us sick and kill us.
Your enemy is not the guy on the other party, but this killer virus. COVID19 is currently having a feast on us, and will continue to do so unless we realize THIS IS NOT YET OVER.
Dad, are we there yet?
This pandemic is not going to be over until we find one (or more) effective vaccines, we vaccinate at least 70 percent of the world population, and we develop effective medication treatments in case we get infected. WE are still far from that day.
Being optimistic, we are at least ONE YEAR away from meeting those prevention public health goals. If we let down our guard now, by the time this is over, we will have tripled the number of infections and deaths. KEEP THIS IN MIND AS YOU GO ABOUT YOUR DAY IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIVES.
So, if everything goes well, the world will return to some semblance of normalcy by the next year’s holiday season. But for the time being–not only we are not any better than before–we are much worse and heading into even more dangerous months now.
The Right Mental attitude to Vanquish COVID 19 Fatigue
So, what are we to do to combat this COVID19 fatigue and stay safe until we arrive to the other safe shore of prevention through vaccines?
1–We need to recognize that as the months went by, we, (those of us who have not yet catched the virus yet or those who did but had a mild form of the illness) have LOST FEAR OF IT. This loss of fear plays against US.
MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT—THIS VIRUS IS VERY DANGEROUS. It is unpredictable in its behaviors and it is very contagious. And you never know how it is going to affect YOU. Besides, there is evidence that large numbers of infected people are left with sequelae (after effects) that may last for months, and we still do not know the very long-term consequences of the infection for individuals. Furthermore, we do not know for how long we are protected from the COVID 19 once we had it.
There are different strains going around the world and we could potentially get reinfected with a more lethal or aggressive strain, even if we already survived it once. The fact that the American president—-availing himself to the best preemptive care and the most advanced technology in the world—survived it without suffering major complications make matters worse for the average American that sees him as an example to imitate.
2–Everybody recognizes the need to restart the economies and go back to normal functioning in society. But this is not going to happen until we get the vaccines and get people massively vaccinated. So, WE NEED TO ARM OURSELVES WITH PATIENCE AND STAY THE COURSE. Psychologically, this is an “Are we there yet, Dad?” type situation.
3–The young are currently the group getting infected the most now. This is so because young people know they are less vulnerable to the severe form of the illness and the young in general are in better health. The young also have a higher degree of irresponsibility. They often harbor feelings of omnipotence and invincibility and many feel indestructible.
Well, if you are young, I am here to tell you, that yes indeed you have less risk of dying from COVID 19, but there are cases of young and middle-age people currently dying from this disease. So, you are not exempt from having to be very careful not to catch—and spread—COVID19.
4–Keep in mind that THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID 19 is a MARATHON and not a SPRINT. We need to hunker down for the long haul. We need to constantly reassure others that we are going to be alright, but we have to remind them that THIS IS FAR FROM OVER.
In this process, we have to REDOUBLE OUR EFFORTS TO PREVENT INFECTION AND SPREAD.
We NEED TO GET EVEN BETTER AT TAKING THE PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES
What to do about COVID 19 fatigue and further preventive measures
I know you are probably tired of hearing them, but I will repeat them here once again adding some important details for your own management:
a-Stay away from people and gatherings as much as you can. Do not attend a party and avoid Halloween, parties, celebrations or “trick or treating” as much as possible.
b-Remember that the larger the number of people and the smaller the enclosed space the higher the chances of catching the virus. This is particularly true for party rallies, sport spectators’ crowds, parties of any kind, crowded bars, and dancing clubs.
c-Open air and open spaces help decrease the chances of catching COVID, but certainly THEY DO NOT ELIMINATE IT. Especially, if you are still going to get close to people, talk to them in their face, kiss them and hug them, and shake hands or make any form of physical contact with them.
d-Singing in choirs, such as those in churches–even in open spaces–increases the chances of you getting infected. And do not make the unwise mistake of thinking that “God will protect you from the infection” because that type of magical thinking simply DOES NOT WORK.
d-Wash hands and use sanitizer as often as you can after you touch anything that may be touched by other people. This is important when you get gas at the gas station and when you flush the toilet. (The toilet handle needs to be sanitized with Lysol or sanitizer after every use).
e-Wear good quality masks wherever you go. There is no scarcity of good quality N95 masks now like it was in the beginning. If you are in a high-risk group, (you are over 50, have high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, lung or other chronic illness), wear an N95 in every public contact.
f-Regardless of your risk, wear the best possible quality mask you can get and do not take it off to speak with people. Remember the mask must cover the mouth and the nose to be effective, not just the mouth. And the mask is only as good as for the time you wear it. Most people put it on initially “for a show” and immediately take it off to interact. This erratic behavior renders the mask use strategy useless.
g-Wearing a mask is just as much a protection for you to avoid catching the virus as for others to avoid catching it from you. So BE CIVIL and take your neighbor into account when you make your mask decisions.
h- Finally, you need to remind Yourself and your family members of doing all these things all the time. Every member of the group or family is his/her brother keeper. We all have to make sure that as a group we are ALL doing whatever it takes to avoid further spread of the virus in order to PREVAIL OVER IT.
The need to stay the course and wait
Hang on, stay put, the end of this nightmare is coming, it is near, but not here yet. So, use your reflective powers, logical thinking, common sense—and your DETERMINED GRIT TO WIN—to continue on this fight against COVID19. At the end of the day, you will have been glad you did it. You and your loved ones will be there to tell the story.
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Till then, stay safe and sound
Dr T