COVID-19 shame

I think I speak on behalf of my non asthmatic age group when I say COVID-19 never felt like much of a threat.

Sure there was a concern for passing on the disease to elderly relatives but for us catching it ourselves, the consequence seemed only as serious as 2 weeks isolation.

A scenario that might not be very different from most’s normal life.

So I think health-wise COVID-19 never felt that dangerous.

But I think another deterrent came to the fore.

A non health related motivator.

Shame.

The shame of being someone who caught COVID-19 was enough to keep some extremely cautious.

It’s a lot harder to cast aspersions on the characters of those attending illegal parties when that was the way you got sick.

It doesn’t matter if you caught the disease being ludicrously cautious. You still get associated with those reckless individuals who show a complete disregard for public safety.

Then even when you are fully cured of the disease and there’s no chance of spreading it to others you can just imagine being treated like a leper. Logically others would know they can’t catch it but fear would naturally creep in and keep interactions over the phone.

The sheer mortification of admitting to others that you caught the disease was enough of a deterrent for some.