COVID 19

An Essential Workers perspective

posted on April 6, 2020 by Al Bell

Wow! What a year so far. Who would have thought we would be talking about a pandemic? It will certainly be a year to remember.

With all the talk about COVID-19 I thought it appropriate to share an inside perspective from an essential workers point of view. Essential worker as defined by Department of Homeland Security Cyber + Infrastructure.

For the next couple of months, I plan to share details of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on a middle-class essential worker. Expect highlights from the onset of hearing about the pandemic break out from Asia to the States individually issuing Stay At Home orders in the US.

All information shared will be gathered from reputable sources ranging from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), States in the Union with affected residents, well known health and wellness facilities and some of the most respected news agencies . Most of the content will be of written content with the occasional referenced video.

My goal is to provide a bit of personal perspective from the field perse’ sharing interactions with and observations of others during this pandemic in hopes that one might be informed, encouraged and comforted. I will note that I am not a health professional nor expert in the field of medicine but a dedicated researcher with a passion to inform and inspire others.

So, what is COVID-19 (coronavirus disease)? It is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.

When I first heard of it, I must admit I thought it was another flu-like virus that was making its way throughout the population as one hears about yearly and paid it not much attention. There always seems to be during the winter months some kind of Flu making its way around so in spite of hearing reports on the news of a virus affecting people in Asia and spreading to parts of Europe I observed with no sense of alarm.

It was not until I heard reports February 8, 2020 of a cruise ship being held offshore by Japan and under quarantine that I began to pay more attention. Little did I know, that by mid-January the virus had already affected areas within China specifically the city of Wuhan. It was also around this time that the United States had its first case of corona virus reported by a patient who arrived from Wuhan to the state of Washington.

As I watched the periodic news reports concerning novel coronavirus 19 come in, I was still mentally concerned with the day to day operations of my work responsibilities. I travelled to work as I did every day only concerned with completing the daily tasks. I suppose I could have been a bit more concerned but most U S news outlets shared limited information meaning it seemed the disease was really only an Asian European disease. Even the White House made light of the diseases impact in our country by noting it was under control.

Unbeknownst to me was the fact that the virus had already a foothold and was growing specifically from those of the United States who had travelled abroad and were reentering the States. There seem to be plenty of this activity going on all the while the rest of the population went on about there daily lives.

Little did I know this was the beginning of a storm. It was much like one knowing when a storm is coming by the changes in atmosphere. The clouds begin to darken, the winds pick up and the temperature begins to cool. A storm was coming for sure!