Outbreak Diary - Day 006

As this blog says, I am an Absurd Word Nerd, and whilst I am a bit of a stickler for language being used concisely and to avoid misunderstanding, I do appreciate a good pun, so I'm enjoying some of the new terms coming out of this pandemic.
If you're scared of becoming coronic¹ in the wake of the rona², you may well be coronaphobic³. But whether you're scared, or fearless, don't be a covidiot⁴; because there is a coronacopia⁵ of ways to catch Trump Flu⁶, and we're all in this together... facing the coronapocalypse⁷.

¹ Coronic (src) adj. To have contracted coronavirus.
² the Rona (src) n. (slang) Shorthand for "the coronavirus".
³ Coronaphobia (src) n. The generalized fear of catching the current strain (COVID-19 in March 2020) of human coronavirus.
⁴ Covidiot (src) n. A person ignoring public health warnings regarding COVID-19 , or hoarding goods, denying them from their neighbours.
⁵ Coronacopia (src) n. (informal) a place which has a plethora of ways to spread the coronavirus infection.
⁶ Trump Flu (src) n. 1. A communicable disease, often with flu-like symptoms, which puts careless, unisolated, old, overweight & unhealthy persons (i.e. persons much like Donald J. Trump) at high risk of infection and death. 2. (informal) COVID-19.
⁷ Coronapocalypse (src) n. The apocalypse, specifically as caused by coronavirus.

Hey, you have to find ways to have fun during this pandemic, and ways to refer to new concepts, such as idiots ignoring the rules... it's unfortunate that we've had so many of these people that we're labelling them, but covidiot is definitely the term amongst these which has spread the farthest into the community at large.

People can be quite ignorant of the severity of this spread - but thankfully not all of them are "covidiots". There are some people that simply don't know, or maybe they don't understand, how or why things are the way they are. And if I'm honest, I don't blame them - the Australian Government has been scrambling to try to put the genie back into the bottle on this one, since they implemented public health guidelines too late, and as a result it seems like we're getting daily updates on new things that are closing, new restrictions in place and contradictory policies. And since the main concern is simply shutting them down, rather than explaining why these ones are being shut down, yet others remain open, it can sometimes seem like they're being picked at random. So, let's lay this all out so it's clear and easy to understand.

So, what is and isn't closed, and Why?

Let's start with the most comprehensive list of "which businesses are shut and locked down, which aren't, and which are in between" that I can manage. So, at time of writing (27th March, 2020):

Arts Venues (such as Art Galleries, Historic Sites, Museums & Public Libraries); Community Services (such as Community Centres & Youth Centres); Entertainment Venues (such as Amusement Parks, Arcades, Casinos, Cinemas, Gambling/Gaming Venues & Night Clubs); Beauty Therapy (such as Nail Salons, Piercing Salons, Tanning Salons & Tattoo Parlours); Licensed Venues (such as Bars, Clubs & Pubs); Indoor Sport Venues (such as Boot Camps, Gyms, Enclosed Courts/Fields, Fitness centres, Sport Stadiums & Yoga Studios); Play Venues (such as Community Pools, Play Areas, Playgrounds [Indoor & Outdoor] & Children's Entertainment); Sex Work Venues (such as Brothels & Strip Clubs) & Wellness Centres (such as Bathhouses, Massage Parlours, Saunas & Spas) - are CLOSED, no exceptions. They must close their doors, and not offer any goods or services until restrictions are lifted.

Accomodation Services (such as Bed & Breakfast, Boarding Houses, Campsites, Caravan Parks, Hotels & Motels); Barbershops (such as Hairdressers & Hairstylists); Hospitality Venues (such as Bistros, Cafés, Food Courts & Restaurants); Performance Venues (such as Arenas, Auditoriums, Concert Halls & Stadiums); Real Estate Services (especially Auction houses & Open houses); Religious Gatherings (such as Church services, Funereal Services & Weddings) & Travel Services (such as Airports, Cruise Terminals, Docks & Train Stations) - are RESTRICTED in their operations, but may remain open. They must either offer goods via delivery, drive-thru or take-away; offer services with limited capacity such as specific limits on the customers/attendees or they can only offer their services strictly via telephone or online.

Community Aid (such as Food Banks & Homeless Shelters); Education Services (such as Boarding Schools, Early Childcare Facilities, Primary School & Highschool); Essential Retail Services (such as Bottle Shops, Grocery Stores & Petrol Stations); Essential Healthcare Services (such as General Practitioners; Hospitals & Pharmacies) - are OPEN, with no specific qualifications (as yet). They still must observe social distancing & health guidelines wherever possible, of course.

Okay, so, why are these restrictions in place? Why are people banned from getting a haircut, but not a bottle of wine? How come I can't travel to foreign countries, but foreigners can come here? And most importantly, how come we've shut down places where adults gather, but not schools, with hundreds of kids in one place?

Well, let me introduce you to something known as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs...
The concept is simple, we all have things we want, but there are some things we need. You may want to have friends, we all do - in fact, it's necessary for mental health in social creatures like humans. But, if someone grabs your throat and starts strangling you, as important as friendship is, it's much more important to get air into your lungs. So, the hierarchy is organized like so, with the least-important necessities at the top, but the most vital of needs at the bottom:

Self-Actualization
Achieving Personal Goals
Self-Esteem
Maintaining the Ego & Emotional Health
Social Belonging 
Being an Integral Part of a Society or Social Community
Safety
Keeping Comfortably Distant from Harmful Persons, Objects, Situations or Ideas.
Physiological Needs
Things that help you survive: Breathing, Drinking, Eating, Sleeping; Staying Clothed & Sheltered.

Believe it or not but, for the most part, the reason why some things are closed and some things are open seems to align pretty well alongside this hierarchy of needs. Now, this pandemic involves a virus that causes serious harm and even death, it threatens our Safety, and it spreads from person to person, by touch or close proximity, this means that if you look at this hierarchy now, everything involving "Social Belonging", and above is considered in the Red, it's not only less important in the hierarchy, but often holds potential risk. Only Safety & Physiological Needs are in the Green.

That doesn't mean that you don't need to achieve your goals, or be a part of the community - but we're currently being strangled by this virus, we're gasping for air, so we need to focus on Safety first.

Everything, every single thing on the "CLOSED" list has clear safety concerns. They either require bodily contact or close proximity, foster large crowds or they take place in a high-touch environment (which is to say, a place where several people are required to handle the same products or touch the same surfaces), which means they put people at risk.
So, Arts Venues, Community Centres, Entertainment Venues, Licensed Venues & Play Venues, are shut because of the crowds, keeping distance is difficult, and since they're not vital, they close.
Beauty Therapy, Indoor Sports Venues, Sex Work Venues & Wellness Centres are shut because they are high-touch venues (gym, spa and sports equipment changes hands a lot), or they require direct bodily contact (such as with massage & prostitution), and since they're not vital, they close.

Things on the "RESTRICTED" list, they tend to have safety concerns, but they either serve some vital role in our safety or physiological health, or all risk can be removed with simple restrictons.
Performance Venues, Real Estate, Religious Gatherings & Travel Services all have crowds - however, if you restrict the crowds (as has been done), or only allow online services, such as online performances, auctions and religious observances, then all risk is eliminated. Except perhaps for Travel Services, since there's still a risk if foreign people enter the country when coming from places with a high community infection rate, and that concerns me, but there are plans to limit that kind of travel. (Author's Note: Keep an eye on this one though, this is just my opinion but there still seems to be a lot of traffic going in and out of Australia, for all of it to be "essential".)
Accomodation Services; Barbershops & Hospitality Venues all provide necessities, since food, shelter and health is important - and don't worry, I'll explain barbershops. Now, although most people can buy groceries, if you are, say, a doctor or a nurse, you may be too tired or busy to cook your own dinner or make your own breakfast, especially if you live alone or - as this crisis often calls for - have a demanding and tiring job. Also, accomodation services are merely allowing current and permanent residents to stay, but not admitting new or temporary tenants.
Now, Barbershops... this one seems weird, and I admit that it is probably the odd-one-out. But, I believe the reason why they have an exception is because having long hair can not only get in the way for some jobs (think how nurses and food workers often need hairnets), but since hair has natural oils on it, viruses can stick to it. Most importantly, although the majority of people can probably cut their own hair, the elderly & many people with mental or physical disabilities either cannot, or can't do so safely. (Author's Note: Personally, I feel like there are other workarounds for this - why not have specialist hair-dressers do at-home visits for those in need, and for everyone else, give them hair-cutting tutorial? Honestly, I don't know. So, unless there is some other vital need for haircuts that I'm missing, this is the only reason I can see.)

Now, the 'OPEN' list. These are things which are essential, or which pose a greater risk if they are shut down.
Community Aid & Essential Healthcare Services, as well as Grocery Stores specifically - these keep people alive. Grocery Stores, Food Banks & Homeless shelters, duh, provide Food & Shelter to those in need; and obviously healthcare services are caring for those who are infected, as well as people who need urgent care.
Essential Retail Services, such as Bottle Shops and Petrol Stations, well, petrol stations are obvious, if you close them then people can't refuel, and since town-planning assumes the ability to travel by road, that would make travel impossible. Not to mention, if you travel by car, you're in an enclosed space, so it's less risky (from a virologists point of view) to drive to work than to walk. But, why Bottle Shops? Well, the sad fact of the matter is that according to some statistics, 1 in every 5 Australians are responsible for 75% of the nation's alcohol consumption, and at least one million people reported an average of EIGHT (8) standard drinks on a daily basis. We have shut down all the licensed venues where people can get a drink in public, but we don't know what would happen if we suddenly forced approximately 5 million alcoholics to go cold-turkey overnight, so bottle shops remaining open is simply a safety issue. We can't risk the fall-out of taking away their vice, so rather than having people drunk on the street, we're having them drunk at home.

Now, lastly, and finally... Education Services. Why are the schools open?
There is clearly a risk of crowding - classrooms have an average of 25 students often sitting side-by-side at desks, not to mention when they play on the playground together. And, children aren't responsible enough to maintain social distancing rules, or wash their hands. So, aren't they at serious risk at school?

No. Kids aren't at serious risk. I wouldn't say they're "safe", because as far as we can tell no one is immune to this virus, so no one is safe from it, but they're not at greater risk at school - and there is some risk when you keep them home. To understand why, there are four things you need to understand.

1. School-Aged Children are at the Lowest Risk from COVID-19

I want to show you a graph, and this graph comes from the the Australian Government's Department of Health Website. The link to the website should have an updated graph, but the image presented below was last updated 26/03/2020, the day before yesterday, at time of writing:

These are all of the Confirmed Cases of People that are Infected with COVID-19 in Australia, Sorted by Age and Separated by Sex. These aren't all the dead people, this are just the total number of people with the disease. Now, one of the first thing's you may notice is that 20-something women are high risk, I'm not sure why, but it's an interesting datum.
But, the other thing you will notice is that the bulk of the numbers in this graph consist of people aged twenty to seventy-nine. Considering that Elderly people are in the high-risk category, we get to give ourselves a pat on the back for our luck and/or effort that has kept them healthy - since they are still the highest fatality rate worldwide. But there are less than 25 cases of children aged 9 or less getting sick, and less than 100 cases of kids as old as 19.

Now, what about deaths? Well, as I said in a previous post, there have been NO FATALITIES for children aged 9 and under worldwide, let alone Australia. And As for 10-19? Well, it's hard to get exact numbers - but from what I can tell, there have been 2 worldwide (1 in the U.S. & 1 in Spain), but none in Australia. Don't get me wrong, the death of any person is a tragedy, especially someone so young, and I don't want to pretend like these deaths don't matter, because they do.
But, that being said, we're talking 2 in the whole world, and both from areas with high infection rates. Plus, although there is no data to determine whether these victims had pre-existing conditions or weakened immune systems, there is also no evidence to the contrary, so the possiblity that they were higher-risk still remains.
So, as it stands, schoolchildren have the lowest risk of contracting this disease, and then the lowest risk of dying from it, if they get sick.

2. If a Child is at School, they aren't in the Community

Children are, in general, irresponsible. They usually don't wash their hands properly, they often don't do as they're told, they aren't well-educated (yet), they are easily distracted, they often put things in their mouth, I've never seen a schoolkid under the age of 10 cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze & they fall over and hurt themselves a lot.
So, doesn't it therefore make sense to send them to school, where teachers have years of experience dealing with them and keeping them busy, than to have them out in the community at large? As I said prior, schoolchildren are the least likely to get sick - so, doesn't it make sense to let them all bounce around and against each other, than it is to send them into the community, to bump into someone who has a higher likelihood of getting them sick in the first place, or more likely transferring that sickness around to others?

If schoolchildren are at school, it reduces their risk of getting sick, but more importantly the risk of everyone around them, since our risk is higher than theirs. Now, you might think "well, why not just lock schoolchildren inside, and not let them out?"
A couple of things. Firstly, if you're not at home with them, then that may very well be illegal, falling under "supervisory neglect", which is when a child is left unsupervised for an unreasonable amount of time (Author's Note: The Law is deliberately vague on what constitutes "an unreasonable amount of time", as it depends on the age of the child, the circumstances they're left in and the provisions made for their care). Secondly, schoolchildren need to be able to get out and play and keep their minds busy, because keeping young schoolkids locked up inside isn't good for their development - they need supervision. Even if a lack of supervision doesn't put them at danger, it still puts them at a severe disadvantage. Schoolkids need to be supervised.

3. Some Children Can't Stay at Home

Maybe some parents can stay home and supervise their children, and if you are at home, as a family, then this is a good opportunity to spend time together. However, not everyone can do that. If you have a job, you need to keep that job, so you can't take time off work to take care of your children that are suddenly at home 24/7. In some households, both parents work, or one of the parents works nightshift and sleeps daily, or one parent has a disability, or it's a single-parent houeshold, or one of the family members is self-isolating or a member of the family is stuck overseas, outside of our borders - there are millions of people in this country, and everyone has their own story, and not every story is as simple as "well, I'll just quit my job and take care of the kids, and everything will be fine."
The fact of the matter is that there are a whole lot of nurses, doctors, grocers, politicians & researchers who cannot take care of their children at home right now - and simply asking thousands and thousands of people to hire a babysitter or a tutor not only isn't something they can afford (and bringing in grandparents to babysit just puts them at risk), and even if they could, it would violate social distancing and social isolation, putting the children and the sitter/tutor at risk.

There's also suggestions of having distance-schooling, and that does seem like a viable option for some people, by having schoolchildren learn stuff online. But the problem with that is not only do some schoolchildren have a harder time learning without one-on-one support, but there are a whole lot of people who don't have access to the internet. I know that seems crazy in this day and age, but we're talking about the entirety of Australia. Like I said,

4. When it comes to Educating Children, Timing is Critical

A school is not simply a babysitting service. it may seem like it from the outside, but even early childcare and kindergarten is for social development, and is vital for a child to develop necessary skills and habits. I struggle to explain how important schooling is because, to me, it's self-evident. Young schoolchildren learn how to speak, read, write, follow tasks, use problem solving, play and socialize but also learn the importance of separating work time from play time & they learn more and more about this amazing world we live in, which you and I get to take for granted because we've already been to school and we know all this cool stuff already. Then for older students, it teaches how to work together, it teaches critical thinking skills, responsibility, time management, setting and accomplishing goals.
And the reason I'm listing all of this stuff, even though I think it's obvious, is because if you don't teach children this stuff now, you might never be able to.
This is a concept in biology known as a Critical Period, which states that as you mature, there are specific spans of time in which your nervous system becomes more sensitive to environmental stimuli, meaning that if you aren't exposed to such stimuli, then it may become difficult - even impossible - to learn certain tasks or skills. Basically, as a child, your brain is growing, and growing, and it's able to stretch and warp and bend - like warm plastic, hence why this concept is called "neuroplasticity" - this means that children can learn new ideas, new concepts and create the connections in their brain necessary for the understanding of those ideas. But, as you get older, that neuroplasticity starts to solidify. You can still learn, but it's a lot harder to learn, because instead of your brain growing whole new connections, instead it has to rely on the old connections, meaning that you can only understand concepts if it aligns with the ideas you already have.
I am no neurologist, so I believe you can still create some new connections in your brain - but it's a lot harder to do, and you're actually more likely to lose old, unused connections than to gain newer ones.
So, as far as I'm concerned, taking children out of school is a very dangerous game, not only for everyone in the community now, but also for their future.


Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think this is a simple issue, and "go to school and learn" or "stay at home, locked away" aren't the only two options. People have talked about having restricted schooling - only those who cannot keep kids at home can school them. Or, we can do what we're essentially doing now, having people take their children out of school if they can afford to (although, for now, I do insist: please, send your kids to school so long as it's open, it really is the best thing for them, unless they're in the high-risk category). Also, children aren't the only issue - teachers go to schools as well, and have to interact with these kids, and if that's going to continue, then safety measures for those teachers need to be put in place.
I'm not telling you "these are the reasons why children MUST stay in school", these are simply the reasons why it's okay that schools are still open, why it's been legislated this way, and why I believe you should send your children to school, unless there are outstanding circumstances.

I'm the Absurd Word Nerd, and what do you think about all this? Are you for, or against, school closures? Let me know in the comments. Until Next Time, I'm going to go see if I can learn something new about this virus...