Charleston Gazette-Mail – Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, in the unimaginably distant days of springtime, somebody came up with the slogan “West Virginia: Practicing social distancing since 1863.” It made it to a T-shirt. Read the full op-ed.
There’s some truth to that, although we didn’t prove to be as immune to the disease as it seemed at first. Still, living in a rural state with ample open space made things a bit more bearable for lots of people I know. I have friends in big cities who were cooped up in tiny apartments, experiencing claustrophobia.
We know now that the virus is most dangerous in places where social distancing is difficult or impossible. Known as congregate settings, these are places where groups of people live, meet or otherwise gather in close proximity for limited or extended periods of time. Examples include nursing homes, shelters, prisons, jails, juvenile detention centers, workplaces and schools.
