Social Distancing with Friends Amid Novel Coronavirus Fears

As I write this today, March 17, 2020, Coronavirus fears and concerns has not quite hit our quaint town of Mazatlán, Mexico. This is not to say that tomorrow, the day after, next week, or even next month we won’t be “hit” with a spread. It seems inevitable that it will come to town sooner rather than later.

It has been business as usual. People are walking about, going to the grocery stores, the shelves are filled to the rim with all the necessary essentials, restaurants are populated, and the Plaza Machado is packed with tourists and locals each evening. Seeing the news reports and hearing the latest Live updates from our go-to news cycle, The New York Times and The Washington Post, it seems almost surreal.

With friends and family scattered all over the world hunkering down during this pandemic, it feels like we’re living in an parallel universe. We’re communicating with our loved ones in Italy, Sweden, Japan, the United States, and yet we’re not sharing the same experiences here in Mazatlán. The year is 2020 and the world is suffering a pandemic. Even though it seems like we’re in this protected bubble, for now, I’ve never been more inspired by humanity. Seeing communities come together, even with social distancing, has made me feel that this is the decade where we will start to see permanent improvements for Mother Earth. We’ve seen pollution drop down in China and in Italy as governments have been mandating nationwide lockdowns to help curb the spread and to #flattenthecurve.

During this confusing and alarming period of our lives, we’re seeing people fighting on the front lines in hospitals knowing they could find themselves on the beds needing respiratory support soon. We’re seeing governments shutting down their countries to protect their citizens and to try and prevent further spreading of a highly infectious virus. Those who are opting to self-quarantine and practice social distancing even in areas that are not seeing cases manifest are doing their cities and communities a favor by helping to curb the spread.

Working from home has never been a more powerful technique to slow and potentially stall the exponential growth that is the Novel Coronavirus. I continue to hear rumblings of, “it’s just a flu with a fever” and that, “the mass hysteria is unnecessary.” I do not want to suggest that paranoia and fear should lead our lives, but having empathy and being conscientious is key here. Understanding that our movements outside of the house can trigger an unwanted and unintentional cause and effect.

Now is the time to stay connected to your loved ones located all over. Take a moment to recognize that we’re living and surviving through a pandemic, something that was once simply literature in the history books. The world will no longer be the same once we bounce back from this, but maybe we will all be better for it.