The situation facing our nation is largely unprecedented in our collective memory. Some residents remember the dark days after 9/11. There have been scares involving other outbreaks that petered out before reaching pandemic levels. Only a very few of our most golden citizens recall the Great Depression or WWII.
We cannot control this virus. The best we can do individually to halt the spread is practice social distancing. That means staying at home unless absolutely necessary to be out and about. Even then, do not linger, shopping for entertainment or diversion. The one thing we can control is how we respond to the situation in which we find ourselves.
Panic must be discarded. Carefully consider the information source before following the advice offered. Some skepticism is perfectly acceptable but total disregard of state sponsored information is not.
Knowing what some terms mean can be helpful. A state of emergency can be declared before an emergency exists. That emergency might never develop. Mostly, in the case of the nation and the state, it means the response scenarios are already lined up. The resources are identified, and in some instances, ready to mobilize right away. Officials know where the money and personnel are going to come from to fight this thing before it gets out of hand.
As President Franklin Roosevelt once famously said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” What are we afraid of? Running out of supplies? Since this is rural Oklahoma, most residents are used to keeping an extra loaf of bread in the freezer in case the weather keeps us from getting to the grocery. Having a small backstock is not out of the ordinary. That is fine. Buying up entire aisles full of baby formula so it can be sold at vast profits is profiteering at its worst. Don’t do it and don’t tolerate it.
There are already responses in place to deal with short supplies. Trucking regulations have been eased to keep the supply lines open. The Department of Agriculture is ready to keep school lunch and summer feeding programs operating whether school is in session or the meals are on a takeout basis in order to maintain quarantine.
It is recommended by financial pundits that families and individuals maintain an emergency fund that could cover a month’s expenses – housing, utilities, revolving payments like car or credit card payments, insurance bills – but that goal is difficult to achieve for many.
What are individual plans for your life if your workplace is under mandatory shut down? The first step would be to talk to the human resources department, the business owner or manager and ask whether in that case paychecks will still arrive on time. Many businesses – think fast food – will not be able to pay their employees during an extended shutdown, because they aren’t selling any burgers or whatever they sell.
Those individuals need to talk to their creditors now – call the landlord, or the bank where the mortgage is, look at the utility company website. Immediately after 9/11 many companies had special arrangements for people who worked in the hospitality industry – tourism, airlines, restaurants – to help them deal with the abrupt drop in income. Many companies are doing the same now.
And remember to be ready to check on neighbors, especially if they are alone, have small children or underlying illnesses. Arrange a system now to communicate from a distance if need be. Be ready to drop off needed items on the porch or summon emergency personnel.
The biggest take aways as this crisis unfolds are ‘Don’t panic,’ ‘wash your hands,’ and ‘stay home if you are sick or afraid of becoming sick.’
By applying the Oklahoma Standard – caring for each other when times get tough - we can get through this together.
Connie Burcham can be reached at Editor@WatongaRepublican.com