Leslie Goldman, writing at Vox:
The closures are a way to enforce social distancing, a crucially important public health intervention that can help stop coronavirus transmission by avoiding crowds and large gatherings such as weddings, concerts, conferences, sporting events, and mass transit. Best practice requires maintaining at least a six-foot distance between yourself and others.
You may have already come into contact with an infected person — the woman who rode the bike before you at SoulCycle, the kindly fellow who coughed while standing next to you in line at Costco, or someone who touched your mail as it made its way to your mailbox. (At least one study estimates that about 25 percent of transmissions of coronavirus may have occurred in pre-symptomatic stages — meaning it may be spread by people who don’t yet know they have the virus.)
Things are really weird right now. Waking up to the various news headlines on my phone feels impossibly surreal. We’re still trying to figure out everything and what our lives are going to look like going forward. Hannah’s currently in our kitchen doing violin lessons over Skype and I’ve got beach sounds going through my headphones to block out the world and get some work done. I thought this article did a good job walking through how and what our responsibilities and lives should look like going forward in the short to medium term.
Stay safe out there, and wash your damn hands.