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To Relax Self-Isolation or Not?

I had a great six-year anniversary weekend with my partner and our daughter. And while I'd love to tell you all about it, there's something more important I want to discuss today: should we relax our self-isolation or not?

Despite the fact that COVID-19 is on track to kill more US citizens than died in all of WWI, and despite the fact that cases are spiking in several states after reopening, my state of Wisconsin seems to still be flattening the curve after being forcibly reopened–at least it appears that way for now.

And with summer just around the corner, there's more and more pressure and desire to cautiously return to normal. Father's day, Independence Day, and various birthdays are just a few occasions coming up in my personal life that I'd love to spend with the family and friends I've been missing.

The odds are, apparently, in favor for relaxing my family's self-isolation. So why am I still hesitant to get back into close physical contact with anyone new?

Simply put, even if the odds of myself, my partner, or my child getting COVID-19 are low, the disease and its ramifications are horrible enough to give me pause.


Additionally, it has created a new condition that affects children. Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) is a newly-discovered condition that seems to affect children who had COVID-19 or were exposed to someone who had it. MIS-C shows up weeks-to-months after infection, and while it is rare, it has put some children in ICUs and killed others.

I have a young daughter that means the world to me. The idea of her even having a cold or flu breaks my heart. The idea of exposing her to something like that against her will–I don't even know if there's a word for that kind of guilt and fear.
COVID-19 is designed to kill you. And because this is America, even if you survive, the hospital bills of as high as $1.1 million can end whatever your newly disabled future looks like.

So yes, even if the curve is being flattened in my area, and even if the local hospitals are more prepared and not overflowing with cases, this disease is not something I want myself or my family to ever be exposed to.

Would you ever play Russian roulette, even with a single bullet in a 100-chamber revolver? Would you force someone else to play it? That's what breaking social distancing does.

But I could also say that about driving a car.

I suppose we should probably all stay home forever.

Stay healthy and sane.
-Ryan
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