Social distancing: it's a term you likely hadn't heard before and now you can't stop hearing about it. In the case of COVID-19, it means staying away from large groups of people or not going out in public when it is not necessary in the hope of slowing down the virus.
Why should we care?
Think about the grocery stores right now: everyone ran out and bought all of the hand sanitizer, wipes and toilet paper. That illustrates what could happen to our hospitals if we don't social distance ourselves. Everyone could get sick at the same time and the hospitals could have trouble finding enough beds, doctors, nurses, respirators and medicine to take care of people.
This is all just a possibility of course and it isn't meant to scare you but I think we need to face the reality that even if we are healthy and not worried about coronavirus, we all have a responsibility to keep other people safe and we can do that by cutting down on the time we are out and about, especially if it's unnecessary.
It's why cities like LA and New York City are closing bars and theaters right now to reduce the number of people coming into contact with each other. Don't treat these days off of your normal schedule as an excuse to do whatever you want. Listen to what officials are saying and stay home as much as you can.
That's my '2 Cents.'
- Maddie Gardner