b'EDITORIAL|COVID-19: Two WeeksThats why we decided to do this arti-cle. No research, no sources, no statistics. in the New Normal Just two weeks worth of observations from living in the COVID-19 era. Is two weeks enough time to form lasting impressions? Maybe, maybe not. But we tried anyway.How do we stack up against other countries?Lets preface this by saying what is hope-fully clear: one death is too many, and the loss of human life both domestically and worldwide from this virus is catastrophic. But to evaluate our losses as a nation, we look at the morning of today, March 25, where U.S. deaths have just exceeded 800. This same morning, the United States became only the third country to exceed 60,000 total cases of coronavirus. Among total people to test positive, the mortality rate is between 1.3 percent and 1.4 percent.Five observations with no bias, no sources, andMortality rates, thus far, have proven higher in nations like Spain and Italy, no statisticsBy Rob Senior though the pure number of positive cases is lower in Spain, and statistics suggest the T oday marks Day 14 since COVID-19 changed daily life in our area. If you live in SeattleU.S. will surpass Italy by the weekend. This or the state of Washington, chances are its been longer. Other areas didnt see majorcan be explained partially as a factor of pop-changes until the middle or end of last week. ulation (the combined 107.1 million people The last night before this all became very real may seem like a while ago, but I still remem- living in Italy and Spain are less than one-ber the detailsattending a high school hockey game and getting alerts on my phone. Thethird of the U.S. figure of 327.2 million.) COVID-19 virus, which wed all heard about for weeks but hadnt confronted in any directOthers have pointed to the older population manner, was seemingly exploding into American culture. of Italy specifically as a factor, as we know An NBA player had tested positive, and the season was postponed or cancelled (messagesmortality rates spike for people past age 70. were mixed at the time.) Around the world, 78 different countries The president had gone on TV to reassure the nation.have now documented at least 100 positive World-famous movie star Tom Hanks was in isolation in Australia after testing positivetests for COVID-19. Its fair to call this a for Coronavirus.worldwide pandemic at this stage.All this in the space of the first 17 minutes of a hockey game. Rumors were moving through the stands and apparently, down to the ice. Before the second period, one of the coaches stoppedSOCIAL DISTANCINGby to ask exactly what was true. Telling everyone to stay home was always Tell the kids to play their (butts) off, one spectator said. I dont know when theyll getgoing to yield mixed results. But Ive person-to play again. ally been somewhat pleasantly surprised at the effect the orders seem to have, at least in THE IMPACT our community. By the next afternoon, everything was very real. Schools in our area were closed through theLast week, schools were closed, while all rest of March. Business were encouraged to have employees work from home if possible.but essential personnel worked from home On the larger scale, just about every major sporting event was cancelled or postponed, alongin our area. But at least every other day, Id with countless social activities within the community.venture out in the afternoon to do some Since that time, weve attempted to cover the COVID-19 pandemic from every angle pos- grocery shopping (we go through a lot of sible. One of the challenges? Finding reliable sources that arent immediately contradicted bymilk with two teenagers stuck in the house another report. The main question, when will everything go back to normal? has answersall day.) Once I was out, sometimes Id just ranging from right around Easter to sometime in 2021, if they can perfect a vaccine. Thedrive around aimlessly, partly out of bore-leading complaint people have is that they cant trust, believe, or verify what they read, watch,dom and partly curiosity. Stores and parking ISTOCKor hear. lots were sparsely populated, but it wasnt 4 INFECTIOUS DISEASE GUIDE|2020| www.elitecme.com'