Covid-19
December 31, 2019: Chinese officials report a mysterious pneumonia to the World Health Organization. They report 41 cases, most connected to a seafood market in Wuhan.
March 24, 2020: The most recent count puts the worldwide total at over 411, 000, with more than 18,000 deaths, with cases reported in nearly every country on the globe.
Over the last several weeks, our federal and state governments has taken incremental steps to try to contain the spread of this disease. This has (so far) culminated in a state-wide "Stay Home" order, effectively quarantining everyone who is not considered essential personnel. Which brings me to my job. I'm a police officer, a patrol sergeant, in a mid-sized department.
I've always thought that my job would be pretty secure in the sense that, no matter what, police are always necessary, especially in times of trial like these. I've always kind of assumed that I would have something to do, somewhere to be, essential functions to perform. So, imagine my surprise when, after the governor declared a lock-down, I get a call from my Deputy Chief ordering me to stay home.......
Now, for clarification: Our department has decided to run at minimum staffing while maintaining full services. A core group of patrol officers will be working each shift, to include one patrol supervisor per shift. Detectives and admin staff are working with a skeleton crew, as well. All other personnel are being ordered to stay home, stay healthy, and be ready to come to work, in case the virus starts to spread through the department. We really are planning on when, not if, it happens.
Unfortunately, this disease is not like any others we have dealt with in the past. As it is new to humans, no human has any antibodies or immunities to it, so everyone is susceptible. Additionally, the virus seems to be most contagious in the first two weeks, when many people are asymptomatic. So, people are walking around contagious, but don't know it. Think about how many people you come in contact with over 14 days? Imagine infecting each of them. And each of them spreading the disease, unknowingly, for 14 days, and each of them, and so on. Now, think about the fact that this disease has an approximate fatality rate of about 5.7%. That means if the disease were to spread, unchecked, through the US, nearly 19 million US residents would die. Let that sink in. 19 MILLION Americans. That's the population of New York City, LA, Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix, COMBINED.
So, the most sensible thing to do is to STAY HOME. WASH MY HANDS. PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING. Does it suck? Sure. Am I having an existential crisis? Absolutely. Am I going to stick with it? Definitely.
Till next time, stay home, stay safe, and stay sane.
March 24, 2020: The most recent count puts the worldwide total at over 411, 000, with more than 18,000 deaths, with cases reported in nearly every country on the globe.
Over the last several weeks, our federal and state governments has taken incremental steps to try to contain the spread of this disease. This has (so far) culminated in a state-wide "Stay Home" order, effectively quarantining everyone who is not considered essential personnel. Which brings me to my job. I'm a police officer, a patrol sergeant, in a mid-sized department.
I've always thought that my job would be pretty secure in the sense that, no matter what, police are always necessary, especially in times of trial like these. I've always kind of assumed that I would have something to do, somewhere to be, essential functions to perform. So, imagine my surprise when, after the governor declared a lock-down, I get a call from my Deputy Chief ordering me to stay home.......
Now, for clarification: Our department has decided to run at minimum staffing while maintaining full services. A core group of patrol officers will be working each shift, to include one patrol supervisor per shift. Detectives and admin staff are working with a skeleton crew, as well. All other personnel are being ordered to stay home, stay healthy, and be ready to come to work, in case the virus starts to spread through the department. We really are planning on when, not if, it happens.
Unfortunately, this disease is not like any others we have dealt with in the past. As it is new to humans, no human has any antibodies or immunities to it, so everyone is susceptible. Additionally, the virus seems to be most contagious in the first two weeks, when many people are asymptomatic. So, people are walking around contagious, but don't know it. Think about how many people you come in contact with over 14 days? Imagine infecting each of them. And each of them spreading the disease, unknowingly, for 14 days, and each of them, and so on. Now, think about the fact that this disease has an approximate fatality rate of about 5.7%. That means if the disease were to spread, unchecked, through the US, nearly 19 million US residents would die. Let that sink in. 19 MILLION Americans. That's the population of New York City, LA, Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix, COMBINED.
So, the most sensible thing to do is to STAY HOME. WASH MY HANDS. PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING. Does it suck? Sure. Am I having an existential crisis? Absolutely. Am I going to stick with it? Definitely.
Till next time, stay home, stay safe, and stay sane.
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