I’m looking at coronavirus, since re-branded “COVID-19,” in far more than the too-limited terms of healthcare

Zenith ZWL-183-93 portable computer used for D2 Enterprises work during the 1990s. © 2020 d2 Saline, All Rights Reserved. USA

From the editor—

A month or so ago, I wouldn’t have had a new virus, heathcare systems, or global supply chain conditions in mind for my March 2020 editorial. [1-4]

In fact, I was rather thinking that a discussion centered on race would be hard to bump from leads in and around these parts. Readers outside of Saline can be forgiven in thinking, “Well sure; makes sense, just coming off of Black History Month and all.” [5]

Here at home, we know better. [6-9]

Coronavirus, officially named “COVID-19” almost three weeks ago now, changed all that. Regardless of any one given position on the numbers, this is a worldwide health crisis, and a health crisis in the United States. We have a White House Coronavirus Task Force, headed by Vice President Mike Pence. [10-13]

I know from both reporting and recently completing Community Emergency Response Team training with my wife that our region and county are well positioned to plug into this when called upon to do so. [14-16]

The thing that concerns me is that a necessarily comprehensive look at, and hopefully understanding of the societal issues of what’s at stake here are being missed almost completely missed. [17]

For example, I am thinking of the impact that the Michigan Avenue reconstruction project had on the health of our downtown businesses in 2016. Despite long lead time and well meaning efforts such as the Saline Main Street “Pave It Forward Campaign,” businesses were hurt and failed due to loss of patronage directly attributable to the inconvenience of accessing their affected locations. Some on the heals of all that, others some time later. [18-21]

“When” — as opposed to “if” — coronavirus arrives in the State of Michigan, there’ll be no Pave It Forward effort on behalf of uptown Saline. Nor Eastgate Saline, nor anywhere else in Saline. Nor Washtenaw County, nor anywhere else in Michigan, for that matter.

Wouldn’t make a difference if there was.

“Self-quarantine” and appeals to take “social distancing measures” are the overwhelming messages that come with COVID-19. [22-26]

That scales impact from family diner to movie theaters and events such as the FIRST Robotics competition in which our own Saline Singularity competed on February 28 and 29. No more Newsies musical experiences like the show that closed here yesterday. [27,28]

Key points on the blog post today by our superintendent Scot Graden particular to coronavirus include request to stay home when sick and note that face mask barriers “are not a good prevention tool for healthy people.” How long until those who’ve argued that distance learning is “just as good” get a chance to find out if they’re right (assuming sufficient band-width to handle the load), school buildings shuttered. [29]

Permanently lock up our library, too, of course, given the fear of contagens part-and-parcel of any community gathering place. Seems there’s already a lot of momentum behind “displaying” the Bixby marionettes online as opposed to the sort of physical presence they once enjoyed here anyway. [30-32]

Virtual-only City Council meetings via the web might result in larger stakeholder participation. Depending on intensity of emotion, perhaps Michigan will be ready to eschew traditional polling locations in favor of voting exclusively via Internet — 2020 Iowa presidential caucus experiences notwithstanding. [33]

Still, much as it seems society is all set for workarounds to being there, I can’t help but think about how an impact to the “collaboration” of some future visions might alter if not cripple their promise. For example, when I sat down last year during NAIAS to interview Alisyn Malek, then of May Mobility, she spoke of ubiquitous acceptance of building elevators in casting immanent inevitability of ride-sharing shuttles. [34-36]

A few months later, she was on Mackinac Island and used the word “overstatement” when speaking to the same subject content. And with an arrival of coronavirus, I doubt that close quarters would make elevators appealing for any sort of analogy today.

Barely into March of 2020 now, I think we’ve hardly scratched the surface on what we need to know about coronavirus disease. I also believe that apple will move through the snake a lot faster than some of the larger potential cultural impacts that may come along with it.

Ironically, referring back to my comment above about COVID-19 having usurped discussion of ongoing concerns regarding racial discord in Saline, I can see how it might serve to underscore appeals to avenues for healing that do not involve legislation or appeals to morality. [37,38]

Can you think of anything more powerful than eighteen months of social isolation limited to the confines of your own home or neighborhood to make the idea of getting out to thoroughly mix it up with completely different groups of people a source of unbounded excitement?

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