Things will get better, but most likely, they’ll first get worse.
🏙
But nobody died of COVID-19 in New York City the other day. It’s the first time since early March we’ve been able to say that.
Meanwhile, I’m in San Diego, where our case rates are setting new records. Like a lot of other spots, there’s no good reason why we shouldn’t be taking things as seriously as we were in early April.
🏙
There’s a lot to be frustrated with. Individualistic selfishness, the threat to kids in schools, the disproportionate toll this disease has on Black and brown communities, and the fact that it looks like most other countries have made much better progress. Yet, in spite of all this, I’m hopeful.
My family is at a higher risk, so I’ve had to keep tabs on what we’re learning about the virus and potential treatments pretty closely. Vaccine trials are showing good results so far, testing innovations will open more doors (like literal doors), and 80% of new cases come from outbreaks in hotspots. Figure out how to get those under wraps will help a LOT. Rolling out a vaccine won’t exactly be a reverse-Thanos-snap, but it isn’t far-fetched to see how that, plus a combo of strategies could make COVID-19 less deadly and less infectious.
📊📊📊
I get it. So many of you are tired, and I am too. But try not to look back too much, comparing summer 2019 to summer 2020. Be present and look forward. Let the current chapter be a difficult one so that the next one can bring life and liberation.
▪️We take a break from our usual travels and adventures, so that we can venture into a healthier, more sustainable world in the near future.
▪️We have tough conversations with our loved ones so that parents of Black kids no longer need to have “the Talk.”
▪️We deal with our summer plans being cancelled so that others may have more summers ahead.
🌐🌐🌐
Arundathi Roy points out that, “historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.”
I’m with Arundathi on this one. Mask up, wash up, stay in, order out, keep doing the right thing.
