Life is coming at us fast these past few days. Even only a week ago many of us still hadn’t fully realized the scope of the coronavirus pandemic and what was yet to come. (We still don’t, not really.) So in light of where we’re at as of March 17 (schools closed, many businesses closed or at a minimal capacity, events with over 25 people banned, all restaurants, bars, etc. in the state banned from on-site service, the list goes on), it’s on all of us to do what we can to help mitigate this pandemic.

• Stay at home if you can. That means, if you can work remotely, do so; don’t take unnecessary trips out; minimize your contact with people if you do need to go somewhere; isolate yourself as much as possible. If you don’t need to leave the house, don’t do it. Even if you don’t feel sick, you could still be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus and spread it to others.
  • Okay, if you need to go for a walk, get some fresh air and sunlight, things like that, go ahead as long as you’re not around or close to other people.
• If you’re out in public, practice social distancing. Social distancing is the new black. That means, keeps a buffer of six feet around you from everyone else. Don’t touch people if you can help it—handshakes are out.
• Wash your hands, a lot! We’ve all been seeing the song lyrics to help you wash for a minimum of 20 seconds. Want a better (and funnier) tutorial? Watch Alton Brown’s handwashing tutorial video.
• The economy is taking a big hit, particularly among small and local businesses. While keeping in mind the social distancing and at-home isolation needs, if you feel the need to support your local restaurant or store, do so remotely and carefully. For restaurants and bars and such, that means take-out or delivery only (per the Governor’s orders); call in your order and minimize contact by curbside pickup or delivery if you can. One idea I’ve seen is gift cards—that’s cash in hand now for these businesses that you can redeem later. For shopping trips, keep up your social distancing practice and try to avoid touching anything except for what you need.
• And I’m sorry, it’s going to hurt, but in some cases it’s just going to be best to stay home and not go out shopping or picking up food.
• That being said, help your neighbors when/if you can. There’s a good Facebook group that just started last week to help facilitate this: Pandemic Partners Bend.

There are good online and local resources for coronavirus information that I’ve listed on my original post that I’m repeating here:

• Deschutes County coronavirus page: local resources and updates, including the option to sign up for daily email updates
• Oregon Health Authority updates: good for the statewide status
• The Source Weekly has been all over the local COVID-19 coverage with online updates. Follow on Twitter if you’re not checking the website.
• The Bulletin’s Coronavirus content is free to read and not behind the paywall.
• KTVZ’s Coronavirus page is also staying on top of the latest news to unfold.

The bottom line is, the best thing we can do right now to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus is to stay home and minimize contact with others. (And washing hands.) It’s a tough pill to swallow but we all need to realize how serious this is and how bad it’s going to get before it gets better. So stay home! People’s live depend on it, literally.