Diary: Living with a pandemic 2 (Saturday 14 March 2020)

Here is my second journal entry about the pandemic. I don’t know if future posts will come daily, but the rapidly changing situation continues to offer new developments in how we go about our lives. So, I will continue to record my thoughts.

Today 150 countries (up 18 in 24 hours) have reported 147,802 cases (up 10,128), 5,542 people have died (up 462) and 72,572 have recovered (down 6,865?). Canada has 200 reported cases (up42).

According to the World Health Organization, we have never seen a pandemic involving a coronavirus. We have also never seen a pandemic that we could control, so that part is encouraging.

My wife and I are in the “vulnerable” segment of the population – both over 70. We have become aware of the danger of contracting Covid-19 as it appears to be most deadly. As of 29 February 2020, deaths of people over the age of 80 was 21.9% of those who had contracted the virus. They also represent 14.8% of all deaths from the disease. Deaths of those aged 70 to 79 were 8% of all deaths. Deaths of children with the disease are rare.

Older people more commonly will have existing ailments such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, hypertension and cancer. These pre-existing conditions increase the risk of dying if infected by Covid-19 as the bodies are already weakened.

In contrast, death rates for those who contract the Spanish Flu in 1918 showed three peaks: under one year; 25 to 35 years of age; and over 70. Deaths during this outbreak were mainly from bacterial pneumonia, a common secondary infection of influenza. The high mortality for the very young and the very old was not surprising. One reason for the young adult deaths was that the stronger immune systems of young adults tended to overreact (cytokine storm), ravaging the victims’ bodies.

People our age are also vulnerable from a financial side. We are no longer in the workforce and have more limited means to recover from meltdowns of income-producing investments.

As might be expected in these types of emergencies, there have been many “feel good” stories. People, mainly younger, have stepped up to assist elderly friends and neighbours with shopping, cleaning and general assistance.

I am beginning to understand a bit about what the Psychology of Epidemics is theses days. Having had the current Covid-19 situation declared a pandemic, a whole host of actions have now been taken by governments, institutions and business around the world. One cannot ignore reports in the news as there is almost nothing but news concerning the effects of the disease and its impact on societies.

Everywhere you go you are reminded. A visit to the doctor’s office for an entirely unrelated issue leads to questions about whether you have travelled abroad recently, know someone who has done so or do you have any symptoms. That’s not a bad thing, just something we are not used to. I have received many emails from businesses, retailers, restaurants, the bank, even the veterinary clinic, to remind us that we should be careful in our social interactions, and that they are doing everything they can to keep their premises clean and sanitized. They recommend doing things online from home as much as possible.

Grocery stores are seeing runs on food. I think that may settle down once people have stocked up and realize that the supply chain here is still robust. Businesses you frequent want to reassure you they will be open to serve your needs, although their service and facilities might be run a bit differently. Everyone is indeed taking this very seriously.

Companies with large staff levels are turning their operations inside out to minimize personal contact. Where possible, employees are being encouraged to work from home. If they must interact, they should be at least at arms-length from each other. Any suggestion of illness should be met head-on with testing or self-isolation.

Public facilities like libraries, recreation centres, theatres, museums, churches, etc. are being closed. These in addition to the large arenas and concert halls. We are told to stay home unless absolutely necessary.

One thing that has not changed yet is that all the genealogy-related emails I get from people continue unabated. Many do mention, however, that the conferences or local society meetings there were going to attend have been cancelled. People and genealogical societies are rapidly shifting more to online presentations to exchange information and ideas.

The common theme you hear from every source is “We are living through very uncertain times…” No kidding!

You start to worry more about your children who live far away – particularly in Europe where the infection rates are well above of where we are in Canada. It’s bad enough being part of that older, “vulnerable” generation. The concern you always have for the well-being of your children now is compounded.

The drums keep pounding…