In between providing commercial janitorial, with an emphasis on pathogen, including COVID-19, control, and doing a good bit of specifically Coronavirus disinfection service, I'm noticing much less opportunity for any social and creative endeavor.
There is much social interaction that we've lost in this time of lockdowns. The old 4th of July photo is of the Scottsdale Trombone Choir, which I've played in for 30-some years, and managed for a few. I've also played for years in the Salt River Brass Band, and in an amateur concert band. All the groups are on hold for the foreseeable future. Our audiences - free admission for two of the groups and ticketed, generally through a season subscription, with Salt River, are no longer enjoying live music, and are doubtless getting a bit stir crazy, with few places to go. Our musicians lack the comradery, and the challenge, of preparing and performing rigorous music for a discerning audience, and of honing, and enjoying, their skills.
None of these losses, both to people and to society, figure prominently in economic stats, or in much of anything else. But they are nonetheless real, and hurtful.
Further, it looks like the virus is not going away anytime soon. Current thinking is that immunity after recovery is both fleeting and fragile, so the "herd immunity" we've been awaiting is unlikely. And, since a vaccine depends on the same bodily reactions as does one's post recovery immunity, the benefit from a vaccine, should we get one, is similarly likely to be both fleeting and fragile.
This all might be the "new normal". Should we give up much of what makes life worth living to, sometimes, avoid the disease?
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