The title is a very common phrase that we say and hear every year around this time. After a long and cold winter, the first signs of spring are in the air, with cold mornings and afternoons, while the temperature rises at noon. These signs are what motivate most people to go out and start collecting what was hidden under the snow.
Unfortunately, this is going to be a spring to be remembered not for what we are going to enjoy, but for what we won’t be doing. And all because of a darned virus, so small and invisible, still lethal, that we do not see or feel when it enters our body, or who transmitted it to us and that it can cost us our lives.
As prevention, the authorities have taken measures that seem extreme, so extreme that they seem incomprehensible, such as prohibiting crowds of people not only in closed spaces but also those that take place in the open, such as baseball games, football, soccer, and even golf.
Something we will greatly miss is the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade that has been held in cities like New York since 1762. In Lawrence, the decision to cancel the parade was made with great caution and in an effort to keep city residents from Lawrence and the Great Merrimack Valley healthy.
Local governments follow the example that national authorities are implementing with radical measures to protect citizens, while other countries are being affected, even more, thus avoiding reaching their levels.
Cholera, bubonic plague, smallpox, and the flu are some of the most brutal killers in human history. Outbreaks of these diseases across international borders are adequately defined as a pandemic, especially smallpox, which throughout history has killed 300-500 million people in its 12,000-year existence.
Fortunately, authorities worldwide have learned from the past, that the most effective way to control epidemics is to isolate the infected.
The recommendation that we hear from the experts is social distancing, especially for vulnerable groups (older people and people with chronic diseases), isolation of homes and eventually of towns or cities with a high number of infections (as Italy is currently doing).
Let us maintain communication with our loved ones, family and friends, be attentive to their needs but reserve visits for when the weather improves, it is our recommendation.
