Americans are already lonely. Could coronavirus isolation make it worse?
As coronavirus spreads in the United States, health officials recommend people keep their distance from others to help slow the rate of infection.
But in a country where residents already experience loneliness, could feelings of isolation grow?
What are the recommendations?
To reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus, people are advised to avoid large events and group meetings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationwide, major festivals and sporting events have been canceled, and some universities have moved classes online.
Experts say these efforts, which fall under a practice called social distancing, could help curb the spread of the disease and give researchers time to come up with a vaccine to protect against it, McClatchy News reported.
The CDC also advises older people and anyone with a vulnerable immune system to stay home, as they have higher risk of getting seriously sick, according to health officials.
Those who may have come in contact with the disease could go into quarantine or isolation, according to the CDC.
But all of those measures can come with a toll.
How can I stay social?
“There’s going to be a level of social suffering related to isolation and the cost of social distancing that very few people are discussing yet,” sociologist Eric Klinenberg told Vox.
During an infectious disease outbreak, people sometimes experience “loneliness associated with feeling cut off from the world and from loved ones,” according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, the National Institutes of Health said loneliness can impact all ages, with one-fifth of adults reporting they felt “lonely or socially isolated.” And 43% of older adults said they felt alone, the Health Resources and Services Administration said in January 2019.
So what can be done?
People can visit with older adults or help them learn technology skills to communicate with others remotely, Bill Hanage, an associate epidemiology professor at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told The Washington Post.
There’s even QuarantineChat, an app that helps lonely people to facilitate voice conversations, Business Insider reported.
If you need to get away from home, there are also ways to avoid risk.
“A walk outside or even a picnic is safer, from a public health perspective, than a dinner in a crowded restaurant,” Vox reported.
People should stay about 6 feet away from others if possible, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended last week.
That’s because the virus can spread through droplets, the World Health Organization says. When people with the infection cough or sneeze, they spread droplets that people in close proximity can breathe in, according to officials.
Nationwide, the CDC on Thursday reported 1,215 coronavirus cases and 36 deaths.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Americans are already lonely. Could coronavirus isolation make it worse?."
