As the weather improves, our thoughts naturally turn to summer and the many activities and get-togethers we typically enjoy during that season of the year. That is, at least, before we were confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, before heading out for a picnic or a visit to camp, there are a lot more things to consider than whether we have enough beer or if we have everything we need for s’mores. Did we pack the hand sanitizer? Do we have enough space to keep social distancing?

As we watch the nightly news, we see that many states across the country have begun to relax their precautions, and pockets of protests have sprung up demanding the economy be reopened. At the same time, we hear medical experts warning it is simply too soon to relax precautions; lives continue to be in danger from this invisible, yet daunting, enemy.

My son recently sent me some very good information. A practicing ER doctor with a bachelor’s degree in cell and molecular biology/genetics and a master’s degree in public health, in addition to a doctorate degree, took the time to list all of the reasons COVID-19 is not a flu. So, in case you were tempted to let down your guard and sit around that campfire anyway, these words from this well-educated, experienced doctor should help you think twice.

“1. COVID is a separate species. It is no more like influenza than you are like a hippo. Different species!

“2. It is an airborne virus. This means the tiny droplets can stay in the air for a full two hours. So, if a person coughed in aisle 4 of Target an hour and a half ago, they may be home now but their COVID cloud is still hanging there, just waiting for you to walk by and take a breath. Influenza is not an airborne virus. It is droplet spread — meaning someone has to directly crop-dust you with their sneeze to get you sick. COVID is much more contagious.

“3. COVID is more virulent. Virulence factor is a measure of how catchy something is. For example, the flu is like beer. It takes a bunch to get you drunk. COVID is more like tequila — a little goes a long way. You need to suck up a lot of flu particles to actually catch the flu; with COVID, even a few particles are enough to infect you.

“4. COVID has a longer incubation than the flu. When you catch the flu, you typically get sick in the next one to two days. This is awesome, because it means you stay at home while contagious because you feel like a heap of fried garbage. COVID has a blissful five to nine days of symptom-free time during which you are well enough to head to the movies, gym or Mar-a-Lago while also being contagious enough to infect everyone you encounter.

“5. COVID has a longer duration of illness than flu. With COVID, you have five to nine days of blissful asymptomatic contagiousness. This, then, turns into about one week of cough and overall feeling like hell but still surviving. Week two is when things hit the fan and people end up unable to breathe and on a ventilator. Many stay on the vent for up to 15 days: five days incubating, plus seven mildly sick days, plus 15 days on a ventilator makes for 27 days of virus-spreading illness, (assuming you don’t just die of massive asphyxiation and body-wide collapse from overwhelming infection somewhere in that last week). The flu has an average incubation of one to two days and sick time of seven days for a total of nine infectious days. In the world of deadly viruses, that 18 extra days might as well be a millennium.

“6. COVID is more deadly — a LOT more deadly. The flu has about a 0.2% mortality rate, meaning two of every 1,000 people who get sick with flu will die. On the contrary, the death rate from COVID is reportedly 2%, so 10 times more deadly than flu. Ten times more death seems like a lot more death to me. What’s more worrisome is that 2% is actually incorrect because it doesn’t tend to kill kids, so that skews the average. With COVID, age is a major factor in survival. If we don’t include people under 30, the death rate for adults is on average 4.5%. Nine out of every 200 adults who get this will die from it. Do you know 200 adults? Do you think losing nine of them is no big deal? Since mortality increases with age in COVID, the risk gets worse as you get older. So, if we put 100 grannies in a room with COVID, only 85 would make it out alive to make pies and tell great stories of the old days … and that just sucks.

“I hope this helps to clarify why COVID is in no way a flu, why you are in no way a hippo, and why staying home is the only way for non-essential people to do their part while I spend my days at work covered in a plastic poncho, sucking air through a stuffy respirator mask, leaving my scrubs in my driveway, and showering the COVID off at 4 a.m. when I get in. And thinking to myself, ‘Now, do you still think it was just a flu?’ as I risk my own life with my face 2 inches from their highly contagious, gasping mouth while I slide the plastic tube down their throat and start up the ventilator.”

We are not yet out of the woods. We need patience in order to avoid becoming a patient. The experts are doing their part for our benefit. They are working around the clock to find a cure, develop a vaccine, and determine the protocols needed for all of us to get through this with our lives. Physicians, nurses, first responders and other care providers are putting their lives on the line every day to save ours. The very least we can do is to follow their advice and instructions. Help them as they help us, so we will all be able to safely return to normal life … and live long enough to say, “I remember when …”

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The usual senior living activity calendars and senior center menus will not be published this week in an effort to avoid confusion. Due to the coronavirus and the vulnerability of their elderly population, daily life in our senior living facilities and senior centers has changed dramatically.

All living facilities have closed their doors to public visitation, and the activity calendars have been modified to allow for one-to-one room visits only and individualized activities to keep residents engaged and active as much as possible while remaining within the health and safety guidelines provided by state health experts. Group games are being substituted with individualized activities residents can do in their respective rooms. Staff are providing supplies as well as “overhead announcement bingo and trivia” games and “hallway games” that can be played in individual rooms or by sitting within individual room doorways. YouTube and DVDs are being utilized to provide religious services. A big dose of gratitude and appreciation goes out to all senior care staff for their creativity, caring and perseverance through a difficult situation.

All senior centers have also been closed to any center-based activity. Until they reopen, no information is being published that talks about activities typically available at these centers. Meals continue to be delivered. Some centers also are preparing meals to be picked up. Menus are printed below for those centers that are either preparing take-out or providing home-delivered meals. Questions can be directed to the individual centers at the numbers all listed below.

SENIOR CENTERS

Alpha-Mastodon Center

906-875-3315

Amasa Center

906-822-7284

Breen Center

906-774-5110

Crystal Falls Center

Head cook: Lucy Korhonen

906-875-6709

Crystal Lake Center, Iron Mountain

906-239-0278

Home-delivered-only meals menu for week —

— Monday: Cheese omelet, oatmeal, spiced peaches;

— Tuesday: Smothered pork chop, mashed potatoes, carrots;

— Wednesday: Chicken sandwich, baked beans, applesauce;

— Thursday: Spaghetti with Italian sausage, breadstick, corn;

— Friday: No meals being offered to home-delivered clients

For more information, contact Christine McMahon at 906-774-2256

Felch Center

906-246-3559

Home-delivered and/or takeout meal menu for week —

— Monday: Philly steak and cheese sandwich, French fries, broccoli;

— Tuesday: Lasagna roll-ups, corn, garlic bread;

— Wednesday: Chili, salad, dinner roll.

Aging and Disability Resource Center of Florence County, Wis.

715-528-4890

Director: Tiffany White

Home-delivered-only meal menu for week —

— Monday: Baked chicken, parsley noodles, butter beans, spinach orange salad, fruit;

— Tuesday: Sub sandwiches with lettuce, tomato and onion, pasta salad, fruit;

— Wednesday: Ravioli in meat sauce, beet salad, bread sticks, fruit, cookies;

— Thursday: Mother’s Day Dinner — Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, bean medley, fruit crisp with topping;

— Friday: Glazed pork chops, au gratin potatoes, carrots, fruit.

Fence Center/Town Hall

715-336-2980 – RSVP for meal at 855-528-2372

Same as ADRC menu — home-delivered only.

Florence Community Center/Town Hall

RSVP for meal at 715-528-4261

Same as ADRC menu — home-delivered only.

Tipler Town Hall

715-674-2320 – RSVP for meals.

Same as ADRC menu — home-delivered only.

Hillcrest Senior Dining Center, Aurora

715-589-4491 – RSVP for meals

Same as ADRC menu — home-delivered only.

Hermansville Center

Coordinator: Pam Haluska

906-498-7735

Iron River Center

906-265-6134

Home-delivered-only meals menu for week —

— Monday: Biscuits and gravy, peas, fruit;

— Tuesday: Philly steak sandwich, spaghetti salad, fruit;

— Wednesday: Smoked sausage, mashed potatoes and gravy, sauerkraut, fruit;

— Thursday: Lasagna, cauliflower, garlic bread, dessert.

Niagara Northwoods Senior Cafe and Center

Meal site manager: Corrie Maule, 715-251-1603

Senior center director: Jill Anderson, 715-251- 4154

Norway Center

Director: Susie Slining

906-563-8716

The center will remain closed; however, takeout meals will be prepared for pick-up – must call ahead. Menu for week —

— Monday: Chicken salad with lettuce and tomato, sweet potato fries, salad, fruit, juice, dessert;

— Tuesday: Bourbon steak over noodles, Brussel sprouts, soup, salad, fruit, juice, dessert;

— Wednesday: Liver or Burger and onions, mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots, salad, fruit, juice, dessert;

— Thursday: Tater tot casserole, green beans, soup, salad, fruit, juice, dessert.

Sagola Center

906-542-3273