During the coronavirus crisis, just stay home

Staying home exposes you to fewer people, which makes it less likely that you will catch COVID-19.

By JPOST EDITORIAL
A man wears a face mask as he walks in a market in Ashkelon while Israel tightened a national stay-at-home policy following the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ashkelon, Israel March 20, 2020. (photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
A man wears a face mask as he walks in a market in Ashkelon while Israel tightened a national stay-at-home policy following the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ashkelon, Israel March 20, 2020.
(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
The government has issued even stricter lockdown orders for Israelis in the wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of Wednesday night, Israelis who do not work in jobs deemed necessary may only leave the house for a short amount of time and must stay within 100 meters of home.
Public transportation has been significantly reduced and can only be used for approved reasons.
Delivery of food and other necessities, but not other items, may continue.
These decisions were made after a long and intensive debate in the cabinet, which grew heated at times. Careful consideration was made of the actions needed to keep the public as safe as possible from the highly contagious novel coronavirus, while taking into account the economic burden of even more people being trapped at home and unable to earn a living.
This is a difficult time for each and every one of us in Israel and in many countries around the world. A worldwide pandemic is worrying enough, but there are even more stressors people are facing.
The number of Israelis applying for unemployment benefits went from an all-time low to the highest in many decades; not knowing where the money for food and rent will come from is anxiety-inducing. Being in one place all the time, in a small space with the members of our families or alone, is already taking a toll on our individual and collective mental health.
Despite the difficulties, however, there is only one thing to be done to get us through this as quickly as possible with fewer lives lost.
Stay home.
Don’t go out unless absolutely necessary.
When you go out, take protective measures. Wash your hands and try not to touch your face. Do not waste gloves and masks that medical staff so desperately need, unless you are sick or in a high-risk demographic.
In general, just stay home to reduce the chances of you and your loved ones getting infected.
Staying home exposes you to fewer people, which makes it less likely that you will catch COVID-19. And if you are a carrier - which you can be, even if you are not showing any symptoms - then you will infect fewer people. The slower the rate of infection, the less likely it is that our hospitals will become overwhelmed and unable to treat people with coronavirus, as we have seen in places like Italy that has been suffering a horrifying and high death rate from the virus.
It may take several weeks to get to a point where we can start returning to our normal lives. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already told people to have their Passover Seder in two weeks with their immediate families only, which will surely be difficult for many of us.
But this is the only way to keep our extended families safe. Just stay home.
Natan Sharansky, former prisoner of Zion, cabinet minister and Jewish Agency chairman, recorded videos in Hebrew and English to give people some perspective on this situation.
Sharansky has plenty of experience being in isolation. He was sent to the Gulag for his Zionist activities and spent nine years there, half of which were in solitary confinement.
Among his tips were not to expect the isolation to end soon, and to only make plans that depend on one’s self, not on external factors.
Another is to keep a sense of humor. He also advised people to keep up their hobbies. Sharansky famously played games of chess against himself in his head while in Soviet prison.
He also told people to remember that, even in isolation, we are not alone and can feel a connection to others and the Jewish people around the world.
Sharansky also told people to keep in mind that we are "at war with a very dangerous, though invisible, enemy and whether we succeed in the battle depends on your behavior."
We are all soldiers in this war against the coronavirus, and we must do our best to fight it valiantly. Right now the way to do that is to stay home.