The newest unbelievable tidbit of the day is the Coronavirus Task Force is being phased out, with an expected end date of June 1. It is unconscionable that our federal government continues to walk away, wash their hands of the devastation of its citizen’s health and economic security, while the bodies just continue to pile up. Dr. Fauci believes we are not anywhere near being past the first wave (hence he is not allowed to testify before the House because we all know he will not lie), and the domestic terrorists demanding to get their hair cut and their nails done will guarantee that we will see a much more deadly second wave. But the plans to “reopen” continue.
My new job’s office is located on the east side of Manhattan, in a mixed-use building. The senior leadership met today and discussed what re-opening the New York office would or could look like. Five of the six of us questioned why we need to have an office space at all – we have demonstrated that we can work effectively and efficiently from our homes – and if we have to have a face to face meeting for some reason, we could always rent a meeting space. The consensus is that no one should feel pressured to take mass transit of any kind just to go into an office. The lone objector to doing away with the expense of the office was concerned that we wouldn’t have a physical address to attach to. I am not sure that even that is an effective argument. We didn’t spend much more time on it, because we simply don’t need to make that decision now. No one is commuting into New York any time soon.
The world has certainly changed, and permanently. And while we all crave in-person interaction and the hum of humanity around us, I for one am not at all interested in exposing myself or my family to a deadly virus – I have never been one for games of chance, anyway.
So for now, we hunker down, we stay put, we socialize with one another via video, hope the high school seniors in my home finish off their last year as children strong, and we all remain healthy through what feels more and more like Armageddon.