Unintended consequences of social distancing

Human beings are social creatures.  We rely on each other not only for the goods and services we need for the physical basics of food, shelter and clothing, but also for the emotional basics we need, such as compassion, understanding, friendship and love.

As the weeks of lockdown and self-quarantining from the COVID-19 virus have extended into months, and as the pandemic hits its half-year mark this month with no end in sight, it’s becoming evident that while we’ve made great strides in protecting people from a deadly virus, we’ve inadvertently exposed far too many people to other unhealthy environments.  And it’s going to take a concerted effort—with health and safety professionals at the forefront of that effort—to find a way to fix the damage.