I want to share an experience that I have had over the past couple of days because it might help some people get a better perspective on how contagious this virus is. My wife and I have been “hiding out” since March, avoiding people as much as possible, wearing masks, maintaining distance, washing our hands, etc. We do everything that is recommended in the media, very seldom entering buildings other than our home. A couple of months ago I had a surgery for carpel tunnel in my wrist, which has been slowly healing and now is to the point where I should be exercising my hand by squeezing a “nerf” ball. I had to go to the local sporting goods store to purchase a ball. I masked up, as did the clerk at the counter even she was behind a plastic shield. There were only two other people in the large store. We were “distanced” by 20 feet or more. I was perhaps in the store for 10 minutes.

On Monday (three days later) I woke with a really nasty “cold” (I hope – I am going to get tested today). As far as I can determine, that brief exposure to someone with a cold was sufficient to infect me. We had both taken the recommended precautions, but that doesn’t seem to have been sufficient. Upon reflection I realize that my history of “catching” colds is similar, it just takes someone with a cold to be in the vicinity of me for it to infect me. This isn’t because I am particularly susceptible to colds, everyone I know has a similar experience. The cold “just happens” when an infected person is nearby. Since covid-19 is apparently much more contagious than the “common cold” virus, it is obvious that covid can be caught in a similar casual way.

I think those of us who have been lucky enough to have avoided being infected with covid-19 have come to believe we did so because we took all of the necessary precautions. I suspect that it is probably more likely that we just haven’t been in the vicinity of an infected person. It is probably not that we have been so careful, but it just hasn’t spread widely enough for us to come into contact with the disease, especially if we have been spending most of our time at home. I am taking my catching a cold to be a precautionary message that I am perhaps not nearly as “protected” as I would like by simply wearing a mask, washing my hands, and staying clear of people in public. As we enter what is clearly going to be an extremely dangerous period of time during the holidays, I am going to double-down my efforts to stay at home and away from stores, buildings, and people. Please – BE CAREFUL and don’t get it so you don’t spread it.