I’m Quarantined.

 You’ve heard the phrase “rude awakening.” My family had one this morning. Actually, we were already awake when my teenage son’s girlfriend called and told us that she had been sent home from school to self-quarantine because she was in class with person who tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

The story that emerged was that another student went to school last week while exhibiting symptoms of Coronavirus that include loss of the senses of taste and smell. This student had undergone a COVID test but went to school before the results of the test came back positive. Other students who had been in close proximity to the sick person were sent home and told to quarantine for 10 days.

Now, because of the irresponsible act of one student and the parents who allowed her to go to school sick, several other students, faculty, and their families have been exposed. These people and their families, mine included, now have to self-quarantine or risk spreading the infection. The actions of one infected person are cascading throughout the school system and community.

Were it not for masks, the situation would be worse. My son’s girlfriend attended church with us yesterday. Afterward, we went out to dinner together. We also had to make a couple of stops at stores. We wore masks and social-distanced at all of these places and thank God we did! These mitigations are not foolproof but they greatly reduce the chance that we could be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic spreaders of the virus. As a pro-life person with a conscience, I would not want to pass the disease to others, especially those who could be high-risk.

You may recall that my wife and I decided on virtual school for our children. Our current situation underscores the fact that your health depends on the actions of others. Even though we tried to be cautious and responsible, our lives are now impacted by people who refused to be cautious and responsible. Even if the virus doesn’t spread to any of the others involved, the carelessness and selfishness of the sick student and her family has impacted dozens of others.

This is how the virus spreads. This is why the economy can’t get back to normal. This is why governors have to enact emergency orders.

Not only do a number of kids and teachers have to self-isolate, so do their families. Because one student went to school sick, now I can’t go to work. I have to be responsible because someone else was not.

If you want to get the country back to normal, the best way to do that is to be responsible and stop the spread of the virus. Wear a mask, social distance, and for goodness sake don’t go to school, work, or anywhere else if you are showing Coronavirus symptoms. When you spread the disease, you not only put your friends and neighbors at risk, but you slow the recovery and the return to normal.

Originally published on The Resurgent