Thoughts About Where We Are in the Pandemic

The late Nick Cordero, his wife Amanda Kloots, and son Elvis (CNN)

Yes, the pandemic is still very much on my mind. How can it not be?! People are still getting sick and dying. In certain parts of the country – in record numbers! And just as was the case on Memorial Day, July 4^th has proven to be no different. Restrictions designed to keep people from getting sick were ignored on beaches all over America in states and cities that permitted it. In Florida, the median age of those testing positive was 21!

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 4^th 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.