The Privilege of Quarantine

With the rise in cancellations, encouragement of social distancing, concerns over schools, and recommendations from the CDC, I realize that I, and many of my friends, family, and colleagues, are in a place of great privilege when it comes to taking and endorsing drastic measures recommended to help slow and contain COVID-19.

• I am able-bodied and can walk, shop for myself and use a self check-out without needing help from others, perform elaborate hand-washing routines, sneeze into my elbow, etc.
• Nobody in my household is elderly or severely immune compromised
• I am easily able to work from home (in fact, I already do work from home about half the time)
• I have access to technology for entertainment, communication, and to avoid going in public by ordering food and supplies online
• I have a car, and don't have to rely on public transportation, ride sharing services, or the kindness of friends to get where I need to go
• I don't have children, so don't need to worry about schools, activities, or just making sure they remembered to wash their hands and cover their cough
• My husband and I have a safe home with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms that could be used to quarantine a sick person; space to store supplies should we need to stock up further; adequate heating, cooling, and laundry utilities; and space to work separately or just get away from each other if we need
• And I'm sure we have many other advantages that haven't even crossed my mind because I don't have to worry about them

Not everyone has these advantages, and I think that's part of what makes the drastic recommendations and actions being taken right now so hard to accept. For many, a mass quarantine or recommendations to stay out of public and cancel events impacts their livelihood.

Some recommendations I've seen suggested or implemented:

• Lenders in Italy are suspending mortgage payments
• US insurers are covering and waiving co-pays for coronavirus treatment
• Legislation has been proposed to provide financial relief to workers who are sick, quarantined, or caring for others
• For college campuses that have closed, allow students to stay in student housing if needed, with limited services available (e.g. food, medical)
• For public school students receiving aid, offer breakfast/lunch pick-up

I'm thinking during this time we may see a shift from people working in affected industries to new or existing ones that support social distancing: for example, grocery shoppers and deliveries (or other types of stores), supportive roles for community food delivery, maybe even some people moving into medical support roles that don't involve much training. Companies that support online meeting and collaboration tools are probably expanding, plus we will need to keep or build out infrastructure like wireless towers and cable and internet lines. Not to mention the toilet paper, Lysol, and Purell factories 😂 (actually not kidding - they are stepping up production!)