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I am privileged in my ability to leave the city and keep myself safe, but there are so many like me that are in more dire situations who I cannot help.

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy Lauren Hoffman
PHOTO: Hoffman takes a self-portrait in her parent's house in Philadelphia.
>

The blatant refusal to self-quarantine if sick and the sheer lack of understanding of most basic hygiene makes me want to scream. The jokes and the memes and the blase way people are making this seem less important than it is makes me want to cry until someone realizes that this isn’t just a Darwinist gameshow and that actions do indeed have consequences.

Here’s just one example of what an effective action can lead to: In a data visualization by the World Economic Forum in tandem with Statista, cases of COVID-19 dropped from 1,660 to 36 from February to March in Wuhan, China, after a mass quarantine was imposed.

I have been weighing being an alarmist amongst peers against shoving the imminent threat of this virus down the throats of everyone I know, not wanting to stand on a soapbox and preach how this is the end of the world, but needing someone to understand that my life is quite literally at the mercy of the public.

This is why hand-washing and self-quarantining, and especially social distancing, are so important. It limits the potential for disaster and allows people like me to continue to lead a safe life. It allows for places like grocery stores and food delivery, places that are integral to society in a pandemic of this scale, to remain open because there is the understanding that those who are sick are not in public. But that has not happened.

These aren’t just suggestions, they are protocols for a reason. If these protocols aren’t followed, a lot of people are going to be affected, and potentially die.

A data visualization from the Washington Post, demonstrating the fast progression of a virus through people who do not social distance, summed it up best: “That is math, not prophecy.”

To the people in my life making things as comfortable and easy for me as possible, I thank you. You mean more to me right now than I can put into words.

To those of you who want to make jokes, dismiss this threat as unimportant, use it as a political pawn, or fear monger for the wrong reasons: do better. Be better. Realize that what you are doing has an impact, and it’s the wrong one. Realize that there are those who are truly suffering, or soon will be. I am limited in my capacity to help people because I myself need help. You have the power to do something about it.

You have the choice to stay healthy. I do not.

Don’t make the choice for me.

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