Nobody can expect average people in the United States, let alone anyone under the age of 35, to lock themselves inside their homes for months on end. It’s not going to happen. It’s not reasonable.
The Trump administration is advising that the coronavirus spread may last through the summer. A vaccine could be 18 months away. It’s delusional to think that young people are going to spend even two months holed up watching Netflix. People need social interaction. People need to work. Tolerance for being told by the government to remain at home indefinitely, eating soup and playing board games, is limited.
Right now, the only option we have is to ask that, yes, everyone remain indoors and limit social interaction. But soon, we’re going to need a plan B. We will have to enter a period in which people practice a heightened level of hygiene but go about their daily lives while avoiding large gatherings — something closer to normal but where everyone continues discouraging physical contact, such as hugs, handshakes, and sharing food and drinks.
The worst thing experts and government officials did at the start of the coronavirus health scare was discourage individuals from wearing surgical masks. They warned that they did virtually nothing to reduce the risk of contracting the virus. But we’ve also been told to avoid touching our faces, and masks at least prevent wearers from touching their noses and mouths. Perhaps by wearing a mask, you’re doing nothing to protect yourself. But at the very least, you might be protecting everyone around you. This is why doctors and nurses wear masks during surgery — to avoid infecting their patients.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and we will need masks for all of the young people who are very soon going to start resuming their normal lives. We’re even likely to see fashionably designed masks. (Admittedly, the Chinese get the last laugh here.) And maybe, we’ll see thermometer checks at airports and other travel hubs to check people for fevers, as they have successfully deployed in Singapore and Hong Kong.
During the exponential spread phase of the coronavirus, we need to avoid contact with people. But in the mid- to long-term, we’re going to need something that looks a bit closer to normal.
