Last Saturday, I received a WhatsApp message from my friend in Cerea, Verona, Italy. In his long-winded message, which took me four scrolls to read over, I learned that one of our mutual friends, GS, became a local hero by stopping a potential kidnapping.
I was pretty astonished. How can the GS that I know, who barely dares to slap a fly, stop a kidnapping in one of the safest towns in Europe? Upon further investigation via Verona Nights, I discovered that the kidnappers were not some masked bandits, but parents who feared COVID-19.
Since COVID-19 cases started to surge for the second time in Italy in early June, GS had been unable to contact his girlfriend. After three months of waiting, GS was afraid of a potential kidnapping and called the police. The police stormed the girl’s apartment and they quickly found out there was no kidnapping. Instead, the girl’s parents had kept her inside for three whole months just because they, first, didn’t approve of their daughter seeing GS (that’s much less important here), and second, were afraid that their only daughter would contract COVID-19. This farce ended with the girl’s parents being charged for attempted abduction (Veronasera.it).
Looking beyond this somewhat funny story, there is a much more important question proposed: to what extent should we protect ourselves from COVID-19? Hopefully, we won’t have a perpetual pandemic, but COVID-19 will be in our daily lives for the foreseeable future. In order to live our lives as normal as possible, not create any panic, and not cause any harm, we need an appropriate solution that balances normality and protection. However, in our society today, the two extremes of this issue seem more prevalent than a solution in the middle. On one side of the spectrum, we have people going to bars and parties without wearing a mask and without obeying social distancing. On the other side of the spectrum, we have people like GS’ girlfriend’s family, who absolutely minimize their contact with the outside world, and people who go shopping with full helmets and gloves. The former is irresponsible and dangerous, and the latter might create unnecessary trepidation.
I don’t think there is a “correct” way to stay safe from COVID 19, but a moderate solution should involve people following the guidelines and considering their individual needs while avoiding extreme methods. Older people and those with health problems might need to be more careful when going out and limit their exposure to overcrowded places since they are the people who are more prone to COVID. However, the keyword here is “limit”. CDC guidelines do not say “stay inside for three months.” This same logic applies to the opposite group of people as well. For younger and healthier people, as long as they obey social distancing and sanitizing rules, there’s not much of a reason not to go outside. The keyword, in this case, is “follow”, which implies an always, a continuity of such actions. CDC guidelines do not say one can take off one’s mask at one’s own discretion in public. Rules are in place for a reason. They are scientifically proven methods that can prevent the contraction of COVID. As long as people follow them, there’s really no need to get kidnapped by people’s own fear.
Of course, these methods of precautions are subjected to change based on individual needs; there’s no harm in washing your hands a bit longer than what the guideline says. The bottom line is that regulations and precautions put out by the CDC work. As long as people follow these guidelines, they should be protected from the virus while being able to get on with their day. There’s no need to play to the gallery and carry out some extreme methods or not follow the regulations at all. That’s exactly the perfect middle ground of COVID protection and the purpose of those rules: maintain some sense of normality in the midst of this global pandemic.