I have set up news alerts and any topics of interests pop up on my phone screen every so often. This can be overwhelming, especially now with the bombardment of Covid-19 information and statistics. Social media is not helping, the timelines are filled with gloom. I’ve seen so many posts of people I know, some share their positive results and their journey of healing and others pay tribute to loved ones, courtesy of Corona.

The Roodepoort Record article which popped up today confirmed my suspicions. My ward has around 513 confirmed cases (as of 7 July). I am very observant when I am out on my jogs and I can confirm that it is mostly the youngsters who don’t wear masks. Yes you do get a few so-called adults who think they are the law unto themselves. Those who think the world revolves around them. Those who go around saying: “do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is?”. The special ones….

I am curious about the age breakdown of these cases, especially after receiving news from our eldest son’s school that there were 2 more cases. That of sisters, one of them in the same grade as our son…not the same class, somewhat of a relief. This is the 2^nd case in the same grade and we hope there won’t be more.

Now I ask, is the ‘Woke Generation’ too cool for masks? Do masks cramp their style? Or in their lingo, is the mask ruining their drip? Or is it simply because your breath is so vile that you know wearing a mask would lead to your unconsciousness? WHAT UP?

The sad thing about this is that you could take all precautions when up and about, only to end up being infected by your ‘woke’ child because peer pressure dictates what is cool and what is not. A perfect example would be when driving, you could be the law-abiding citizen, only to have a distracted and/or inconsiderate driver bumping into you or contributing to your accident. This is the same person who tests positive and deliberately walks around without a mask, with the hopes of infecting as many people as possible because “someone infected me so I may as well spread the love” or “why must I die alone?”

So, unless you plan on sending your parents (with core morbidities) and grandparents (with weakened immune systems) to their early graves PUT ON THAT MASK. If not, we will make assumptions and draw the conclusion you were on a quest to cash in on the insurance payouts and claim the inheritance. You are infamous for being the generation with a high sense of entitlement after all.

My Humble Opinion: We need to get used to this new way of living. Truth is, life as we knew it got us to this point. Mother Nature has decided to teach us valuable lessons, Mother Nature is teaching us who is really in charge. We cannot possibly go back to normal. It is unfathomable that is took a virus to teach us basic hygiene, sanitation and how to set and respect boundaries. Social distancing has helped many of us. I cannot count the number of times I’ve stood in a queue, the person behind breathing on top of me. Moreover, I don’t like random hugs and I always ask others if it is ok to hug them. This should apply especially where kids are involved, yes, they also have the right to say no. The new norm would be me not sending my child to school if they show signs of a cold and/or flu and if they have to go to school (for whatever reason) then insist that my child wears a mask to avoid the spread. This will also teach my child to be considerate towards their peers and others around them. The new norm would be employers insisting on you working from home if you have contracted something infectious. The new norm would be for them to be understanding and not dock your pay if you take up sick leave. That way we won’t have sickly people going to work even after testing positive, just so they can get full pay.

“Class is considerate of others. It knows that good manners is nothing more than a series of petty sacrifices”– Ann Landers