There are ads on the internet and links on government sites for the public to track this latest coronavirus threat, COVID-19. You get to know where it's been diagnosed and how many deaths have occurred as a result of it. Numbers and pictures, data in colorful graphs.
So, here's my question – why do I want to track it, get a breakdown of where it is country by country, state by state, county by county, town by town? Why is it necessary for me to know the most up-to-date numbers on the subject? It doesn't raise my awareness that there is a pandemic. I'm already there, thank you, perhaps more knowledgeably than others on the subject. It doesn't make me wash my hands any more frequently than I already do - they look like Death Valley in summer, by the way. and that's with using a moisturizer. It doesn't scare me into compliance – with the exception of wearing a mask (that's another entry), I am as compliant as remote working, socially distancing, shopping cart wiping, donation making and hand washing allows me to be. It doesn't make me want to move to a place where the numbers are less, either. I like where I am, and that would be unnecessary travel, anyway.
Normally, I'm a stats person, craving info like a good Reuben sandwich. But knowing how many people have been diagnosed (not as many as have or have had it - that's another entry, too), how many have been hospitalized and, sadly, how many have died as a result of it holds no interest for me. If it had a purpose in my life to know, then I would be all over it. But it doesn't. It is more purposeful to me to hear and see how it's impacting us, to know how to help and, if need be, how to get help.
My life goes on in blissful ignorance that is the result of avoiding the number-crunching of COVID-19. I can't get away from it completely, of course. But like the virus itself, I can limit the possibility of exposure.
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