The Experience Of Covid-19.

Social Distancing

I was able to buy what I needed. I bought contact solution and some frozen food. Whenever I have been sick, I don't want to eat. I made sure I had peanut butter and bread and broth. All good.

The term social distancing was coined to make people less fearful of quarantining themselves. This is an age of social media and likes and hearts and shares, of being out with people, being seen out in public doing things. And now we are supposed to self-quarantine for the good of the realm. In order to flatten the curve, to stop the spread of the virus, we were told to stay home.

#socialdistancing.

My company decided to let us work remotely a d went about setting up ways to do so. Of course there were glitches. I was successful on March 16 but I had to go to the office on St. Patrick's Day. Then I couldn't leave for various reasons. I was then told I was being sent to Ohio to work a job until Friday.

I was nervous. It meant hotels. It meant gas stations. It meant being in an infected state. It meant being around people who may be carrying the virus. Of course my coworkers or people at Kroger or people at the park where I walk my dog may have also been carrying the virus. Social distancing means...avoiding people as much as you can.

My office won't close unless we all fall ill. I can work remotely, and I intend to as much as I can. My coworkers aren't that healthy. They are smokers or dippers or older or both. We only have five days of sick time, which I realize is more than many people.

I'm still in Ohio as I write these first three chapters. I'm sitting in my hotel that I cleaned when I got here. Tomorrow, my coworker and I have to head home. We have to stop for breakfast because the hotel canceled theirs. We have to get gas twice. We have to be exposed.

I had a problem with going to work this job. It wasn't urgent and if my coworker was exposed to coronavirus, he would most likely die. He was given the option to go, or go home and not come back. We don't have an essential job. The company we work for is small and can stay afloat with small business loans. The people who work for them need help. Most of us live paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to miss work if we get sick. I was harassed when I took a day off for a migraine. We need to stay the hell home, but many companies, including mine, will keep working because they are in it for the profits.