Critical Distance

Seeking critical distance can require some fancy footwork.

In Chinese martial arts, we sometimes refer to the range at which our opponent can reach us as critical distance.  At the surface, it's pretty simple - if you stay far enough away from your opponent, they will be unable to hit you.  But the idea becomes more complicated when your opponent closes in.  Your opponent may have critical distance with their leg, but not with their hands.  Or, if you are really close together, the legs may be unable to reach their targets, but the hands can.  As you become more experienced in sparring, you learn how to evaluate critical distance and where the potential threats can come from.




It is that sort of thinking that must be applied with the COVID-19 outbreak.  Just as you gauge where your opponent is in sparring, you must now start to gauge the environment around you.  But instead of this situation being limited and over as with a short sparring match, dealing with such a virus requires an awareness that continues at all times.  It can be exhausting thinking about what you touch and whether or not it harbors harmful microbes.   Just in entering your workplace or home, there are countless surfaces to encounter - your keys, your car door, the door to your building, the door to your office, etc.

In many of these cases, you are not the only one touching all these surfaces - so is everyone else who is entering the building.  What if you push a door open, and then check a text on your phone?  Perhaps you have transferred a microbe from one place to another, and now after washing your hands, you are sitting down to have a coffee and a snack - and again, you're checking your cell phone for news.  You've done everything right, but have forgotten about the key threat - your phone.   It's slipped inside your guard and you didn't notice - I mean it is your best friend, right?

Cellphones are now being identified as potential sources of transmission of viruses (in addition to bacteria).  In a recent study published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection, cellphones of hospital personnel were swabbed to sample for viruses.

"For the first time, we demonstrated the presence of RNA of epidemic viruses such as rotavirus, influenza virus, syncytial respiratory virus, and metapneumovirus on mobile phones (professional and personal) held by HCWs. In our study, 38.5% of sampled mobile phones were contaminated with RNA from viruses. RNA of rotavirus was the most frequently-detected virus, mainly on phones sampled in the pediatric emergency ward."

Granted, that these are not coronaviruses, but one can imagine that if these other viruses are found, COVID-19 may not be far behind.

My point with this post is not to make you crazy with worry about everything, but to have you go through the mental exercise of knowing where the threats can come from.  If you're concerned about getting infected, you should pay attention.  Then, you can find what the key dangers are and address them appropriately.   For example, when you walk into work, if you are a cell phone addict like most of us, realize that your phone will become a host to all kinds of critters, and cleanse it when you reach your desk.  Wash your hands as often as you can.   Don't touch your face.

Threat assessment: "It's important not to let the spider touch your face."  https://xkcd.com/2275/

For my part, other than washing my hands every so often whether I need it or not, I also clean the surfaces that my hands frequently touch - my cell phone and my laptop in particular.  For me the laptop is difficult since this requires a shutdown, and I'm used to having it up and running, sometimes for months at a time.  If it's on sleep mode, any keypress will wake it up - so it's got to be off to properly clean.  These extra steps are probably prudent since after your cellphone, your keyboard is likely to harbor all sorts of beasties.

The neuroses that you will develop as a result of all this hypervigilance are a discussion for another time.  Or maybe for now as shown in this Guardian article.  Don't over-do it or you'll drive your family and friends crazy, but do expand your awareness.   Small things can make a difference.

All the best,
Sifu Tim