Alarming news, March 20-27

Three alarming bits of news that I came across this week.

This map, in the NYTimes Friday, shocked me. It shows where cases of Covid-19* had showed up in the U.S. as of March 20.

Look at all the red dots! How did the virus--that tiny virus that has no legs of its own--how did it it make its way into all these counties throughout the whole United States? OK, I can see New York City and Atlanta and Seattle. But how did it get to the middle of freaking South Dakota?

The virus can only go where we go--so I guess this map also shows how interconnected we are in this country. We aren't far from one another, we are always touching one another in some way. Good, mostly, but in this case, very very bad.

* I've noticed that the NYTimes has started styling the disease as Covid-19 rather than COVID-19. Sorry, I'm geeky like that.

This is the site called ncov2019.live. It aggregates data to list all the Covid-19 cases around the world. It lists cases, deaths, and recoveries. It gets updated constantly.

OK, why do I have this site on my phone's browser, just waiting for me to look at it oh, several times a day? I am not sure.

But this week, it became not just creepy, but also alarming. Everyone seemed to notice when the U.S. surpassed China in number of cases of Covid-19. This seemed like a frightening milestone. We're still on the upswing, too.

This post was probably most distressing of all. A friend of mine posted the local paper's story two staff members at a local nursing home tested positive for coronavirus. It's the nursing home where not one but both of her grandmothers live.

I lost sleep over this. That virus isn't just in my community, it's in a place where vulnerable people live. And how awful and helpless those staff members musts feel for not knowing they were bringing this virus to the residents they care for, the people they have been helping protect. The relatives of the other staff members and residents must feel helpless, too, waiting and wondering who will fall ill next.

Those close connections we have with one another--with those we care for, talk to, touch--suddenly those connections are becoming possible pathways for the virus's spread.

Notice, though, how my friend is reacting. She calls the staff "incredible" and praises them for their care of her loved ones.

For her, those connections still matter. I hope we can all keep those connections strong between each other, even when it's the connections that are driving this crisis.