I Have a Chronic Illness, and I’m Glad the World is Closing for Business

Like many other people these days, I suspect, I’ve been spending way too much time on Facebook. That means I’ve seen way too many people saying way too many things about the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, that in many cases they probably shouldn’t.

You see, I’m a professional travel writer. It’s my job to spend as much time as possible traveling around the world and writing about my experiences. However, the kicker in this present day is that I’m a wheelchair user with multiple sclerosis — an autoimmune disease.

Because I have MS and I’m not exactly sure how my body would react to a coronavirus infection, I have literally cleared my calendar of travel — or had it cleared for me by cancellations — for the rest of the year. This is a really strange thing for me because for each of the past two years, I’ve spent more than 130 days out of the country. I have things to do here, but it’s not as exciting being at home. It’s definitely what I need to do to stay healthy.

So, given my situation, let me tell you what it feels like to see people in Facebook travel groups saying things like, Don’t live in fear! Travel now! You’ll be fine! If you’re younger and healthy it won’t affect you! Take advantage of the cheap deals! When I read this, all I see are a bunch of virus carriers who could potentially infect hundreds of other people.

Look, I’m not an epidemiologist and I don’t work in the healthcare industry. I’ve read many reports and seen many statistics, so I have only a general idea of what my odds are. However, I’ve lived long enough to understand how people think, and in particular, how American society works. In our culture, we are groomed to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. By nature, we don’t prioritize the safety of the herd, just the safety of individual members.

This may sound like a judgment, but it’s not. It’s merely an observation. I’ve also spent enough time in Asia observing their culture to understand that they are the opposite. They prioritize the whole over the individual, so taking these drastic isolation and social distancing measures hasn’t seemed nearly as extreme to them as it does to us.

When some people say they want to keep traveling in spite of the coronavirus, it’s hard to not take it as a slap in the face of the elderly or those of us with chronic illnesses. These travelers come across as thinking they’re brave for risking their health and their health only, when in fact each one is risking the health of potentially hundreds of people.

The world is starting to close for business because health experts understand this phenomenon. It’s not about stopping the spread; it’s about slowing it down enough so that sick people don’t overwhelm healthcare systems around the world. If someone with a chronic illness needs to be hospitalized because of something related to their chronic illness, they might not be able to get healthcare because the hospitals are clogged up with coronavirus patients. People like me could die from something completely unrelated to coronavirus, and that would be just as tragic.

Part of me is very sad at seeing all the closures and cancellations. In addition to being a travel writer, I’m also a travel agent. My colleagues and my industry are suffering greatly right now. I know of agents who live off of their commissions, and their client cancellations are resulting in some of them not being able to pay their mortgage or their utility bills. This is no different then part-time workers with no health insurance who can’t afford to take time off of work, or see a doctor. It’s hitting a lot of people very hard.

That being said, a bigger part of me is glad the world is closing for business. This is probably one of the hardest decisions that government and business leaders around the world will ever have to make. But, I’m glad they’re making it because it’s keeping many of the most vulnerable members of our society healthy and safe.

In 1977, former vice president Hubert Humphrey said:

“The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”

How the world reacts to the coronavirus will be a moral test of many governments and of civil society. Closing the world for business will be painful for millions, but history tells us that pain will be temporary. Losing a loved one to an illness that could be prevented by avoiding travel or closing a business is forever.