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| The late Nick Cordero, his wife Amanda Kloots, and son Elvis (CNN) |
The attitude by the young seems to be one of dismissal. They
seem to believe that government and health officials are over-reacting -
making a mountain out of a molehill. And
that even if they get the virus, it will not be serious and they will get over it.
As Dr. Tom Frieden, one of the nation's leading experts on public health has
said: 99% of the people affected will recover.
But that does not mean that everyone getting it will be
asymptomatic. It might just mean that they will become so sick they will need
to be hospitalized and placed on ventilators. With long recovery times. And
uncertainty about the long term effects of the disease.
Nor does it mean that only the elderly and health compromised will
suffer those consequences. Just yesterday Nick Cordero, a 41 year old actor who
was the picture of health died from the disease after being hospitalized since
March. He got so sick that he was placed on a medically induced coma; later had
a leg amputated because of complications that developed; and finally passed away. Leaving a wife and one year old son!
His wife said they were both practicing all the precautions recommended by
health officials and neither of them had any clue how he caught it.
Think about that and contrast it with what went on in all
those states on July 4th where beaches were open. How many of those revelers will have that
kind of fate? Most will not. But some
might. Is it worth taking that kind of chance? I guess they thought so.
There is still so much that is unknown about COVID-19. It seems
like new information about it comes out every day. Most of it not good. Just
to mention one thing I heard today: 6 feet may not be enough distance to prevent
contracting the disease from someone else affected by it. Scientists studying the disease
have discovered that someone infected that coughs, sneezes, shouts, or sings
will propel aerosol containing microscopic virus particles much further than 6
feet. And it can stay in the stagnant indoor air for long as 12 minutes.
And yet there is more public pressure than ever to open things up and get as back to as normal as possible.
One infected nurse that was interviewed by a CBS reporter explained this phenomenon. Most people do think the response to this pandemic is overblown. Until they get infected themselves and become seriously ill.
Or someone close to them does. You will them hear them singing an entirely
different tune – warning people that this is no joke. That nurse is currently hospitalized
and in serious condition.
Until that happens to you or someone you love you will not
pay as much heed to the warnings as you should. Even if you are serious about
it, you can easily forget and do something you shouldn’t. Like walk out of the
house and forget to wear a mask. Or absentmindedly
walk over to someone you see in the street and say ‘hi’. When you’re healthy and so is everyone else
around you, it’s easy to forget at any given moment - what is going on outside your
house.
True, most people won’t get it. And of those that do, most
cases will be mild. Especially if they are young and healthy. And even of those
that become seriously ill, most (99%) will recover.
What they are not thinking about is the 1% that die alone in
bed after suffering tremendously – much the way Nick Cordero did. And that his health and relative youth didn’t help him. I wouldn’t be
surprised he felt the same way – even though he took all the necessary precautions
just in case. Unfortunately for him and his family he was proven wrong.
The trouble is that most of us kind of think: this isn’t going to happen to me. Until it does.
I believe that in many ways, this is how the Orthodox Jewish
community feels. Which is why there is so much anger among Jews living in New
York about the state’s refusal to allow overnight summer camps to open up. The
feeling is that the well thought out precautions they were willing to implement
were good enough to protect the children
and camp staff from the disease. And that the religious welfare of Jewish
children unable to spend productive time in camp was at risk. Which far outweighed any risk
presented with the ‘good enough’ precautions they were willing to make.
They see the state’s refusal to allow these
camps to open as an infringement on their religious rights instead of a health issue. Why do they not see
that staying home is the far safer option? Is it really worth taking a chance
that someone will get infected without knowing how - the way Nick Cordero did? And
end up with the same fate?
It might be the case that infections among Orthodox Jews are
way down. As are deaths from the disease. I don’t know. But they have not
disappeared. If I am a parent, responsible educator,or community leader, I
would think that erring on the side of excessive caution is the far better
option.
The Orthodox Jewish establishment in New York is angry at the
wrong party. It is not the governor that is impeding their religious
goals. It’s the virus.
As for me, I am as confused as ever. Sometimes I too am guilty of treating the
pandemic too lightly.
I have been going on a 20 mile bike ride everyday and
pass by tons of maskless people. I have been going to 3 different Shuls every
day for Shachris, Mincha, and Maariv. I have been attending Shul on Shabbos.
In
all cases wearing a mask and leaving quickly - spending as little time indoors as possible.. And although I try, I have not always been successful
in keeping six feet away from others in Shul. Things happen.
And sometimes I am frightened to death of doing all that. And
worry, what if…?
What does the immediate future hold? What will a long day in Shul on Rosh Hashana look like? And an even longer day on Yom Kippur look like? What will Hoshanos
on Sukkos look like? What will the dancing on Simchas Torah look like?
Will there
be classes for day school and Yeshiva students this fall? How is that going to
work? What about the future of weddings? Will we be able to see a large
gathering of people any time soon? How will religious institutions like schools and yeshivas able
to raise funds without a banquet? Or concert? How will this affect philanthropic
contributions in general?
And what about those of us that have not been able to work
and earn a living because of this virus? what are they going to do? How will charities that help in these situations be able to raise their own funds?
Just some of the thoughts that occupy my brain these days.
