Our society is paying a tremendous price with the novel coronavirus pandemic; either with our health, job loss, financial loss, stress, or being forced apart from family. Unfortunately it seems that we are nowhere near the height of the devastation of COVID-19 even though drastic measures like social distancing, school closures and work from home guidelines have been implemented in an attempt to slow down the spread of the infection.

Reminders about interventions we all need to make are now widespread like “Do the five.” But do we need to do more? A full on curfew wouldn’t be tolerated in the land of the free.

One of the many things that worries me about the new coronavirus is asymptomatic transmission. It has become clear that this virus is being spread before people start to feel unwell. One study showed that “86 per cent of cases were “undocumented” – that is, asymptomatic or had only very mild symptoms.” https://www.newscientist.com/article/2238473-you-could-be-spreading-the-coronavirus-without-realising-youve-got-it/ This is probably why many hospitals have completely shut out visitors (even for births!) and have mandated surgical masks for all employees during their entire shift.

However, I have serious concerns that despite all of the restrictions – the virus will continue to spread because we are missing the mark in other ways. One example is the fact that “essential businesses” that remain open are operating as they always do and possibly serving as the hub of more community acquired infections of the novel coronavirus. Sure I see employees sanitizing equipment, signs reminding people to keep 6ft from each other and the installation of some plexiglass sneeze guards, but I don’t see crowd control. Grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor stores and other businesses still allow throngs of people in at the same time, and this undoubtedly increases our risk for exposure.

Although my family has been avoiding going to shops (instead opting for delivery services like Instacart), this morning we ran out of some essentials, so I ventured out nervously. As I finished checking out at the grocery store chain, I chatted with the employee and asked her how come she didn’t have a mask or gloves.  I worried because if she helped 8-12 people check out per hour – she would probably encounter about 60-100 people in her shift. She replied: “the CDC guidelines said you don’t need them…” and then she paused and continued “actually it’s because they (her employer) don’t want us to look unprofessional or cause panic for the customers.”

This is insane.

Our society cannot afford to keep up appearances over ensuring the safety of all of us. These workers definitely need masks and gloves – they are on the frontlines serving our society to ensure we get essential items like food and medicine. I don’t have all the answers, but perhaps these essential businesses need to enforce dedicated hours to specific age groups. Example: 8 AM to 10AM ages 70+, 10am-noon people in their 60s, 12-2pm 50s, etc, and then repeat for evening hours. This may decrease the chance of exposure to the virus to both workers and customers alike by limiting their interactions with others.

What do you think – what other ideas can we implement to limit spread in communities?