Like everyone else, I've been amazed at the pace of change over the past few weeks. Though I've been receiving a flood of COVID-19 emails for the past month, it has not struck home until much more recently. The first in-person impact I recall occurred thirteen days ago, when I found out that a friend's son's highly-anticipated college spring break trip to Ireland had been cancelled. Around that time, I started hearing about universities' plans to extend spring break and possibly go to e-learning for the rest of the semester. The next day, on March 9, my small group met at my house, and though there was some minor conversation about Coronavirus, there was little to no thought that that would be the last time we would meet for months. North Carolina had hardly seen any COVID-19 cases, and Watauga County certainly hadn't. I did start taking action as the medical director of the Community Care Clinic to implement reasonable and recommended precautions, which started changing on a near-daily basis that week. On Tuesday, Mindy and I visited my grandfather at his assisted living facility in Charlotte, not supposing that the facility would be put on lockdown just 2 days later. On Thursday, March 12, I still felt little risk to teaching my 1-day obstetrics course to 11 missionaries at EQUIP Ministries in Marion. I tried to remember to not shake anyone's hands, but that was about it.
That evening, however, I found out that all professional and collegiate sports had been indefinitely cancelled after an NBA player tested positive. I also got an email from my church that all services were being cancelled, and a text from a friend letting me know that the Banff Mountain Film Festival (which would have been today) had been cancelled. On my way back from Marion, I listened to a Sam Harris podcast that raised my concern that the supply chain might be disrupted. After discussing that with Mindy, she started stocking up on supplies. I also started considering the need to cancel my yearly college friends' get-together and other upcoming trips. The following day, I started hearing about schools shutting down, and court was shut down halfway through the day before Isabella's case was heard (earning Mindy's ire after she had sat around court for 1.5 days)
Though I still ran a relay race on March 14, everyone was careful to not shake any hands, and plans for a post-race hangout were scuttled. But even then, Mindy and I decided to go out to eat at a restaurant by ourselves-- where I made sure to wash my hands, of course. Much like my small group a few days earlier, I scarcely imagined it would be the last time I would eat at a restaurant for months. Though that may seem foolish just a week later, a complete restaurant ban still wasn't within my imagined realm of possibility at that moment.
But that was to change extremely quickly. I found out that night or the next morning that all NC public schools had been shut down, that gatherings of more than 100 people had been banned, and that someone in Watauga County had tested positive for COVID-19. When I drove to the hospital on the morning of March 16 after nine days off, I hardly recognized the place. There were traffic cones everywhere and a checkpoint on my way in where I had to show my ID, like a military base. That day, I had to test a patient in whom I could not reliably rule out COVID-19, and more patients like that would come over the course of the week. Preparations for dedicated COVID units swung into high gear, and emergency staffing and other plans were drawn up. The next day, March 17, the restaurant and bar ban dropped, and community life ground to a standstill.
Yesterday, I had planned to meet with a friend here at my house to hang out, but his family had already started to "hunker down." Now that we're both off work for a few days, Mindy and I are starting to "hunker down," too, though there is of course no chance that I will be called off of work. I've realized that I have a duty to avoid having to self-quarantine, since my services may be urgently needed at the hospital in a matter of weeks-- so I should therefore avoid any unnecessary contact with other people.
There are a few things I'd like to say about all this. Obviously, all of these developments are bad for the economy, and it's easy to become anxious about finances. To minimize that, I'm trying to meditate and journal more. And will try to time my entry into the market appropriately.
Secondly, things might get pretty lonely, especially for people who are out of work or who have to work from home. Since I'll still be working, that's less of a personal concern, but I still feel it on my current days off when Mindy is working. But the good news is that Mindy and I have had a lot more time to hang out and work as a team around the house. We've already noticed the relational dividends from the increased quality time.
Furthermore, now that we see cases in Charlotte and the Triangle starting to exponentially rise, it's obvious that all the measures put in place over the past week have been the correct calls. And the naysayers one would come across just days ago have all changed their tune. So kudos to Governor Cooper. I can only imagine that the controls are going to get stricter over the coming days and weeks.
On a larger scale, there's no question that the federal government in general and the Trump Administration and FDA in particular have horribly bungled their response to this emerging crisis. If they had taken the right steps at the right time, we would not have to be waiting for 3-5 days for a COVID-19 test result, and places like New York, Seattle, and San Francisco would not be experiencing the beginnings of a true crisis. I have no doubt that we will experience a catastrophic reckoning from the current administration's incompetence.
Everyone is rightly worried about following the path of China and Italy. With the measures that North Carolina has put in place over the last week, I think it's unlikely we will see that kind of crisis locally, though it's still possible, especially in the Triangle and Charlotte. I'm optimistic that we will be able to flatten the curve, at least moderately. Though the exponential growth in cases over the last week may seem to be telling another story, there is a lag time of several weeks to the effects of our current efforts. Only time will tell if what we are doing is enough.
The best comparison for the past few weeks and the coming months from my lifetime is 9-11. As we all know, the world has never been the same since then. And the same will be able to be said for the current crisis. In the meantime, don't take any unnecessary chances. Stay well, stay calm, and isolate on.
That evening, however, I found out that all professional and collegiate sports had been indefinitely cancelled after an NBA player tested positive. I also got an email from my church that all services were being cancelled, and a text from a friend letting me know that the Banff Mountain Film Festival (which would have been today) had been cancelled. On my way back from Marion, I listened to a Sam Harris podcast that raised my concern that the supply chain might be disrupted. After discussing that with Mindy, she started stocking up on supplies. I also started considering the need to cancel my yearly college friends' get-together and other upcoming trips. The following day, I started hearing about schools shutting down, and court was shut down halfway through the day before Isabella's case was heard (earning Mindy's ire after she had sat around court for 1.5 days)
Though I still ran a relay race on March 14, everyone was careful to not shake any hands, and plans for a post-race hangout were scuttled. But even then, Mindy and I decided to go out to eat at a restaurant by ourselves-- where I made sure to wash my hands, of course. Much like my small group a few days earlier, I scarcely imagined it would be the last time I would eat at a restaurant for months. Though that may seem foolish just a week later, a complete restaurant ban still wasn't within my imagined realm of possibility at that moment.
But that was to change extremely quickly. I found out that night or the next morning that all NC public schools had been shut down, that gatherings of more than 100 people had been banned, and that someone in Watauga County had tested positive for COVID-19. When I drove to the hospital on the morning of March 16 after nine days off, I hardly recognized the place. There were traffic cones everywhere and a checkpoint on my way in where I had to show my ID, like a military base. That day, I had to test a patient in whom I could not reliably rule out COVID-19, and more patients like that would come over the course of the week. Preparations for dedicated COVID units swung into high gear, and emergency staffing and other plans were drawn up. The next day, March 17, the restaurant and bar ban dropped, and community life ground to a standstill.
Yesterday, I had planned to meet with a friend here at my house to hang out, but his family had already started to "hunker down." Now that we're both off work for a few days, Mindy and I are starting to "hunker down," too, though there is of course no chance that I will be called off of work. I've realized that I have a duty to avoid having to self-quarantine, since my services may be urgently needed at the hospital in a matter of weeks-- so I should therefore avoid any unnecessary contact with other people.
There are a few things I'd like to say about all this. Obviously, all of these developments are bad for the economy, and it's easy to become anxious about finances. To minimize that, I'm trying to meditate and journal more. And will try to time my entry into the market appropriately.
Secondly, things might get pretty lonely, especially for people who are out of work or who have to work from home. Since I'll still be working, that's less of a personal concern, but I still feel it on my current days off when Mindy is working. But the good news is that Mindy and I have had a lot more time to hang out and work as a team around the house. We've already noticed the relational dividends from the increased quality time.
Furthermore, now that we see cases in Charlotte and the Triangle starting to exponentially rise, it's obvious that all the measures put in place over the past week have been the correct calls. And the naysayers one would come across just days ago have all changed their tune. So kudos to Governor Cooper. I can only imagine that the controls are going to get stricter over the coming days and weeks.
On a larger scale, there's no question that the federal government in general and the Trump Administration and FDA in particular have horribly bungled their response to this emerging crisis. If they had taken the right steps at the right time, we would not have to be waiting for 3-5 days for a COVID-19 test result, and places like New York, Seattle, and San Francisco would not be experiencing the beginnings of a true crisis. I have no doubt that we will experience a catastrophic reckoning from the current administration's incompetence.
Everyone is rightly worried about following the path of China and Italy. With the measures that North Carolina has put in place over the last week, I think it's unlikely we will see that kind of crisis locally, though it's still possible, especially in the Triangle and Charlotte. I'm optimistic that we will be able to flatten the curve, at least moderately. Though the exponential growth in cases over the last week may seem to be telling another story, there is a lag time of several weeks to the effects of our current efforts. Only time will tell if what we are doing is enough.
The best comparison for the past few weeks and the coming months from my lifetime is 9-11. As we all know, the world has never been the same since then. And the same will be able to be said for the current crisis. In the meantime, don't take any unnecessary chances. Stay well, stay calm, and isolate on.
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