Life BCV — before COVID-19. The spring sunshine, the blooming flowers, and the extended time spent outdoors on freshly cut grass in parks and at home meant the sneezes and coughs you heard were the biological equivalent of Vivaldi’s Spring movement in “The Four Seasons.” They were odes to springtime allergies and hay fever. Life in the great outdoors.
Life ACV. Each cough is a gun shot; a sneeze a terrifying biological explosion.
To date, most of what we know about the spread of this virus is what we already knew from previous encounters with other viruses that bring us the annual flu.
The maleficent microbes are spread in droplets, which is why we have been conditioned to cough into our elbows rather than our hands, lest we pass along the germs via a well-meaning handshake.
And sneezing into cupped hands or a tissue or even your shirt, well that was just good manners.
But what scientists and researchers are still debating is how long the particles of destruction linger in the air.
On surfaces they stick around anywhere from a few hours to a day or two, depending on the surface and conditions, researchers tell us.
But there doesn’t seem to be yet any consensus on how long, if at all, the virus can linger in the air after an infected person simply exhales.
So in an abundance of caution some people leave their homes embarking on their essential trips wearing protective masks.
Some experts warn that they don’t know if the protective gear available to the public is enough to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 (nevermind that the most effective masks should be spared for the medical teams who are currently facing a shortage). Masks may offer the everyday user a false sense of security and embolden them to leave the house more, thereby increasing the odds of transmission. But pragmatists say the masks can’t hurt (except for, of course, leading to a dangerous shortfall for those who really need them).
Spring ACV is all so unsettled. On the one hand the sounds of the birds chirping under a bright sky is the same as it ever was. On the other, the coughs and sneezes we hear are louder than they ever were, masked or not.
Stay safe.
