As Covid-19 continues to spread across the world, I have so many questions and thoughts. As I mentioned in my post 2 days ago, less questions about the actual state of things now, and more questions about what things will look like in 5, 10, or 20 years.
There are so many stories that are being made because of this virus. People who have been planning trips, maybe for 10 years, that now have to cancel or postpone their trips.
People who were on cruises and suddenly the ship is quarantined and half the passengers end up being confirmed to have a virus – a virus that maybe they don’t know the parameters of.
Or maybe it’s people who were living their daily lives in Wuhan, China, selling food at an unsuspecting market there, and now their life will never be the same because a virus outbreak in a city as big as New York City had its epicenter there.
Maybe it’s a worker who is hired to build a fully-functioning hospital in under a week in the heart of Wuhan, China to deal with the outbreak of the disease.
Or maybe it’s the combined story of the tracking of each of these people. Someone who was in Wuhan who went back to their home in Northern Italy, started living life as normal, only to later come down with symptoms of something that would end up taking over the world. Only later to realize the people they came into contact with, who then came into contact with others.
One of the most stunning realizations that I’ve come to during this global pandemic is how mobile of a world we now live in. That in less than three months, this virus has spread to over 125 countires, and that’s with some countries taking precautions around travel. Sure, most of them too late, but there are still efforts. Imagine if no one tried to do anything to prevent the spread.
Back to the point though, it brings home for me the idea of 6 degrees of separation. That no one that you meet is ever more than 6 mutual friends away from knowing you. The world is so large, as I’ve mentioned in other posts, but it’s also so small. And the access to other parts of the world and the people there is becoming easier and easier with technology. Physically with technology being able to visit in person and technology like video comunication and VR.