When COVID-19 hits close to home.
So, here we are in week three of shelter in place. Actually, week four for me. Two weeks ago, I was about the only one wearing a mask in one of my two trips to the grocery store. Now most everyone is, which makes sense. On one of the trips, I was actually told by someone that I was not supposed to be wearing one because I was asymptomatic. My how things have changed.
I live in a small town of 20,000, and we have had 82 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 10 deaths. That’s a 12% death rate, and it has been at that rate for the past week and a half, with about one death a day. I assume that 12% rate will come down as more tests are given, but it does seem out of the norm. Of those 10 deaths, nine were over the age of 80, and six were living in our relatively small, local, community-based skilled nursing facility.
The interesting thing is that the local media has not placed any blame on this provider. And that is as it should be. Is it because it is a cherished not-for-profit which averages about 500 volunteers a year? Probably. But also because playing the blame game during this pandemic is counter-productive and meaningless. Providers try to do what they can, but they can’t be perfect all the time. Just look at the infection rates in hospitals, and I am not talking about the current virus.
This could be a long slog, so it is a time to work together, not blame the others.
