The "Four Cs" . . .
As New Mexico lifts restrictions, guidance about navigating the minutiae of everyday life is hard to come by. There probably won't be a ready solution to every circumstance.
Dr. Preeti Malani, an infectious disease expert and chief health officer for the University of Michigan said in a recent
New York Times
article
,
“Ramping down was easy by comparison, even though it felt hard at the time — we basically flipped a switch. Reopening is much more complicated. There is no template, no playbook. We can’t just say, ‘Follow these ten rules, and you’re good.’”
What Dr. Malani and others are saying is that the risk reduction practices that have been in place since mid-March remain necessary. The article identifies "Four Cs" we should each keep in mind as we navigate our new world:
Contact
We each need to continue with social distancing precautions. This means wearing masks, washing hands well and often, and keeping a distance of at least six feet from one another. No hugs and no handshakes.
Confinement
Avoid extended indoor contact with others. Indoor activities in confined enclosed spaces, even large spaces, are more conducive to spreading the virus than events held outside, especially if the air inside the building is being recirculated or the windows don’t open. A flow of fresh air dilutes the virus.
Crowds
Large groups are risky. Even outdoors, crowds mean more people, more contacts, and more potential sources of infection. Preventing infection is a numbers game, where less is more.
Choices
Every individual ultimately must make a personal decision about the level of risk he or she is comfortable with, weighing their own age and health status, life circumstances and general level of risk aversion or tolerance.
Dr. Barbara Taylor, an infections disease specialist at the University of Texas Health Science Center, summarized it well.
"We are our brothers' keepers . . . so it comes down to not just thinking about ourselves, but our whole communities and how we all have to protect one another."
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