The largest neighbourhood park now has a seven or eight foot fence blocking access. Why? I've read reports stating that fomites -- contaminated surfaces -- are not an important source of COVID-19 transmission. Furthermore, bright sunlight and high heat, according to some respected sources, can quickly eliminate the viability of t he virus.
Of course, it is possible that there are so few COVID-19 patients who are known to have caught the virus from a contaminated surface because such a good job has been done at eliminating this threat from our lives. Playgrounds taped off, credit card stations wrapped in clear plastic which is wiped after every use and the list goes on.
After communicating with a chap on this very site, I decided to determine just what I did and didn't know when it comes to COVID-19. I'm certain masks work. I found lots of support in medical journals going back more than a decade.
I'm also certain that COVID-19 is not just like the flu. But there are some great similarities and the flu is a lot more dangerous than many like to believe. There's a reason this old geezer with a failing heart always gets his flu shot. He knows the flu poses a serious health threat to him and his wife. Both diseases leave behind a lot of dead seniors.
The big difference between the flu and COVID-19 is that COVID-19 leaves behind a lot more dead seniors. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, "Doctors and scientists are working to estimate the mortality rate of COVID-19, but at present, it is thought to be substantially higher than that of most strains of the flu. Link: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-disease-2019-vs-the-flu
Note the words, "at present" and "thought to be." By the time I got to the second thing I was sure of, I was beginning to rely on fudging words. I never got to a third item for my list.
This is a new viral threat. It should come as no surprise that nouveau means there are big gaps in our knowledge. At this time I will wear my mask and hope others do the same, I'll keep my distance, wash my hands and wash and wipe surfaces where possible. I'll follow the suggestions of those in authority and hope, and pray, they are right as they modify their actions based on the latest knowledge.
And I understand that that knowledge indicates we might, just might, open playgrounds to children. Enforced inactivity may be more dangerous to developing children than the threat posed by fomites found in playgrounds. What demanded a fence yesterday may be open to all come tomorrow.
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