It has been over a year since we attended a favorite sporting event and got caught up in a wave of victory and a booing of a player or home team that did not quite measure up during a critical play. There is almost an ache to eat in a favorite restaurant. Zoom lunches and dinners fill the void a little, but there is nothing like the company of friends during a meal. Just to be able to take the kids to a crowded amusement park or any other such event where they are not given a long list of dos and don’ts, and we don’t worry about a ravenous contagion being amid the people. Grandparents long to see and hug—up close and personal—their grandchildren and children. For all of these and sundry reasons, the fact of the vaccines and the phenomenal number of vaccinations each week in our nation, people are leaping to the conclusion that there is no need to adhere so strictly to the coronavirus protocols.
Please note Philadelphia County is experiencing a very high risk increase of exposure to Covid-19. Counties in proximity to Philadelphia-Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania and Camden, Gloucester, and Gurlinton Counties in New Jersey are all experiencing high risk levels. The number of hospitalized Covid patients has risen; however, the mortality rate remains level. Even if one has all the necessary vaccines, none is 100% effective. An individual can still contract or carry the disease. To let our guard down now relative to following safety measures could spawn a replay of the worst month for cases in Philadelphia County, December 2020.
Let’s shift from concern for that which we are missing and concentrate on those protocols that will protect the people with whom we want to have near us when this pandemic is no more. We can practice the COVID-19 protocols for a while longer. Those who are fully vaccinated may have less of a chance of contracting COVID-19; however, they need to remember that it may still be possible to transmit the coronavirus to others. We can fiercely protect beloved people and ourselves for a while longer.
We can buy more lotion and shea butter to moisturize our faces which are dry from the masks and soothe our hands from so much washing. Hugs will be so much more meaningful if we do what we can to make sure love ones are there in the future. Innumerable acts of kindness and grace now with coronavirus-free future in mind for loved ones and the stranger is worth the effort a while longer.
Please read and consider the protective procedures on the Reflection page. You can make a critical difference in protecting individuals, communities, cities, counties, states, and the nation from the devastation of COVID-19. Lives are worth our efforts a while longer.
Reflections
Based on the high outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Philadelphia and neighboring counties (Buck, Delaware, Montgomery in Pennsylvania and Camden Gloucester and Gurlinton in New Jersey), the following precautions are recommended:
- Avoid indoor dining, bars, gyms, movie theaters and nonessential shopping as well as having friends over to your home, and indoor personal care services like haircuts and manicures.
- Keep grocery shopping and other essential trips as brief as possible.
- Try to avoid public transportation during rush hours; for flights choose airlines that keep the middle seats empty. Open a window in taxis. Avoid nonessential travel.
- Consider postponing crowd drawing events like weddings, funerals, concerts, sporting events. Religious services are safest when conducted outdoors without singing.
- Do not skip or delay medical care, including mental health care. Postpone any nonessential appointments. Ask if telehealth is an option for you now.
- Continue to stay six feet away from people who do not live in your household. Wear a mask that covers nose and mouth. Wear a mask whenever you are around people who do not live with you including any visitors to your home. Frequently wash your hands.
- Work remotely when possible and avoid in person meetings.
- Children usually have less severe symptoms but can still spread the coronavirus. Consider the risks when making plans for children’s activities. Avoid extra-curricular activities. Keep children in small
- Meet with a handful of friends outdoors-all should wear masks; go to an uncrowded beach. Avoid outdoor bars because of very high risk of exposure to COVID in Philadelphia County.
- Outdoor dining is safest if those at your table are from your household and the space is not enclosed on the sides. There should be at least six feet distance between your party and other parties.
- Consider postponing nonessential personal care appointments.
- Walking, cycling, running and other outdoor individual workouts are safest. Low contact sports like singles tennis, skateboarding and golf may be done safely. Contact sports like basketball and soccer should be avoided.
We must responsibly consider others as well as ourselves if we are to combat this virus. The time will come when we can gather with family and friends, travel, entertain and be entertained. A while longer and this confining interval will pass if we act responsibly now.
Source: New York Times, COVID-19 Update. Week of April 5, 2021.
Dorothy Watson Tatem, D.Min., ACC
Senior Associate
Next Step, LLC
Cassandra W. Jones, Ed.D.
CEO & President
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