Why should I practice Social, Physical Distancing

By now, nearly all of us have heard the term social, or physical, distancing to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. But, do you understand why it’s important?

Social or physical distancing is important because coronavirus spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes small droplets—packed with the virus—into the air, onto a surface or even onto another person. These droplets can then be breathed in, or can cause an infection if you touch a surface they have landed on, and then touch your face with unwashed hands. The less time people spend together, the less chance there is of this happening.

Anyone of any age can get sick with COVID-19—and anyone faces a chance of hospitalization. Staying away from others as much as possible helps protect us, our families and the members of our communities who are most vulnerable to this illness, such as:

• People 65 and older
• People with chronic medical conditions that weaken their immune systems
• People with COPD and lung disease, diabetes, chronic heart failure, and others

And, most importantly, everyone needs to stay home when they are ill, unless they need medical attention. And, if you do need medical attention, please call your doctor or healthcare provider first before walking into a clinic.

The other day, Gov. Mark Gordon encouraged all Wyoming citizens to stay home as much as possible. Please:

• Combine your errands so you make as few trips outside your home as possible, and try to only send one person out for errands.
• Create meal plans for the week to avoid multiple trips to the grocery store.
• Maintain a distance of six feet between people when you have to go out.
• Limit groups to less than 10 people.

Essentially, please avoid play dates, sleepovers, bars, restaurants, parties or houses of worship—avoid all crowds.

The goal of all these measures: limiting and slowing the spread of the virus so that we don’t overload the community healthcare system. After all, mothers will still be having babies, fathers may still have heart attacks, grandparents may have strokes, and children can still have accidents. We all need access to healthcare to continue.

The health and wellbeing of our community is our top priority—we’re all in this together. Visit www.coronavirus.gov for the latest tips and information from the CDC. For local updates, please visit www.cchwyo.org/covid19, www.ccgov.net or health.wyo.gov.