Blue Planet Journey

Patrons at Papa Murphy's pizza shop unconcerned about transmitting covid-19 to the workers and other customers. Governor Herbert’s color-coded health guidance system now has Box Elder, Cache, and Rich Counties in the “yellow” or low risk phase. We know this comes as a relief to many, because it means we “flattened the curve” and avoided overwhelming our local health care system with sick COVID-19 patients. Utah's health guidance system This outcome came at a terrible cost for many individuals and businesses. Our routines were uprooted, people lost their incomes, businesses suffered major losses, and travel plans were postponed. And people have suffered. This week, we exceeded 100,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been over 1,700,000 cases, with over 8,800 in Utah. Some cases involved hospitalization, but most people have stayed home with fever or chills, a cough, shortness of breath or difficulty brea

In this “novel reality” that we’ve labeled the COVID-19 pandemic, we find that we have to reshape our connections to family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. Being in the 60+ crowd, I am aware that the hospitalization and fatality rate for my peers is much, much higher than for younger people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes us as having “higher risk for severe illness.” At the local, state, and national level, we are now being asked to stay indoors and practice “social distancing.” We’ve always practiced social distancing in some form, keeping one to two feet away from even our closest friends as we chat about life over coffee or as we stroll along the Bonneville Shoreline trail. Today, however, we are being asked to expand this distance to six feet. This isn’t an unreasonable request given the infectious nature of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes this particular coronavirus disease. It’s an easy guideline to rememb

"This illustration , created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)." The phrase "social distancing" is now in everyone's vocabulary. Caroline tells me that the phrase is troubling to her, because social interactions are critical to our well-being, and people should avoid social isolation. In the Age of COVID-19, the trick is to socialize safely.  I think we will call it  novel distancing ... a new normal of distancing.  Socialize, yes.  But watch