A green light doesn't always mean accelerate

“What do you do at a green light?”

That was the question posed to my driver’s education class over 10 years ago.

“You go,” the class answered.

Then came the follow-up.

“Immediately?”

We were puzzled.

“Look guys, just because you got the green light, doesn’t mean you have to be the first one in the intersection,” said the instructor. “What if there’s a driver trying to beat the red light? If they’re going to hit somebody, I would rather it wasn’t me.”

Many of us are antsy to get the green light back in our lives, and COVID-19 feels less like a stoplight and more like the endless train cruising by at the railroad tracks.

California’s safer-at-home orders (or “quarantine,” “lockdown,” whatever you want to call it) went into place on March 19. Originally, we were told it would only be a matter of a few weeks.

Of course, we have now entered May.

Words, phrases and slogans such as “social distancing,” “flatten the curve,” and “essential worker” have become everyday vocabulary. Businesses have shuttered. Schools have closed for the remainder of the school year. Use of video conference platforms like Zoom has skyrocketed, while gas prices have plummeted. Events and festivities have had to be postponed, reimagined, or outright cancelled. 

Life itself as we knew it has been completely upended. Meanwhile, many continue to get sick. Hospitals remain warzones. 

People continue to die.

The wide-spread frustration is tangible, made obvious by the protests that have occurred in past weeks, and the images of mass gatherings at the beaches during our recent hot summer weather.

There are those among us who have chosen to accelerate into the intersection, because “Dammit, this light has been red for too long.”

I’m not a medical expert, nor am I a political leader; I don’t have the answer nor the cure to COVID-19.

What I do like to think I have is just a little bit of common sense.

When COVID-19 really began to take hold in the United States, the projected numbers for California weren’t pretty: over 6000 dead by August, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IMHE).

That projection has been dramatically shrunk to around 2100, with IMHE reports saying that “relaxing social distancing may be possible with containment strategies that include testing, contact tracing, isolation, and limiting gathering size.”

I am not insensitive to how people are struggling with the current circumstances, be it mental, financial, or business.

Still, we need to understand that a green light by our government (even a staggered one over time) does not mean the threat is gone and no longer serious.

Some will still get sick. Our healthcare facilities and workers will still need to remain diligent.

And yes, people will still die.

I know we are all frustrated, tired, and ready to move on from this new way of life.

But this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Even as our leaders begin to consider waving the yellow flag, we should still be pumping our breaks.