Pandemic Persists Because We Don’t Care for Each Other

This morning, I went to the Kellogg Cancer Center at Evanston Hospital for a blood draw. While I am thankful not to have cancer, I know that others in the waiting room do. They are likely immune suppressed and sitting ducks for Covid-19. But rather than being extra careful, the hospital and some people coming to the center act as if we are not in the midst of a pandemic. The hospital made some effort by having socially distanced circles on the floor by the registration desk and by removing some chairs in the small lobby so patients are sitting six feet apart, but this is not nearly enough.

As I entered, I saw that the very sweet woman who reads the standard questions and checks your temperature was located close to the entrance. So, I waited in the inner lobby until the person ahead of me had finished checking in and had moved on to the registration desk. As soon as I approached the check-in person, a man entered behind me and stood by my side. “Are you together?” she asked. “No,” I replied as I moved as far from this man as space permitted. Rather than asking him to move, the woman decided she could save time by reading the questions to both of us at the same time and checking our temperatures in rapid succession. As I left after my blood draw, I observed the same scenario. Two women entered at the same time. The second one not was not only too…