Social Distancing Vital Among Young People: Moorestown Doctors

MOORESTOWN, NJ — A pair of doctors from Moorestown offer this op-ed to further explain the importance of social distancing, even among young healthy people. They also offer some advice on how to stave off loneliness at a time when it is important to keep a healthy distance from others to help prevent the spread of new coronavirus. The following opinion piece was submitted by Dr. Stephen Trzeciak and Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli.

These are extraordinary times. Concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic have gripped the world including our local Moorestown community. It is natural to feel unsettled and anxious. Since we have experience in health care and managing crises, we wanted to share some thoughts to help minimize potential COVID-19 effects in our community. It is important that we all stay as calm as possible and focus on the facts.

Unequivocally, the practice of “social distancing” is necessary. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines social distancing as “remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet) from others when possible” to limit the ability of the virus to spread. This is the rationale behind decisions like school closings and other event cancellations.

To date, it is true that when young healthy people get COVID-19 it is commonly a mild illness and the mortality risk is low (i.e. less than 1%). This fact has led some people to believe that large-scale social distancing measures (e.g. widespread event cancellations and closings) are an overreaction, perhaps “overblown.” We strongly disagree.

Although it is true that young healthy people are very unlikely to die from COVID-19, this is not the case for elderly people and those with chronic illness. For example, the most recent data from Italy show that the case fatality rate for people aged (years) 60-69, 70-79, 80-89, and 90+ are 2.7%, 10.8%, 17.5%, and 21.1%, respectively. Elderly people and those with chronic illness are extremely vulnerable.

So young healthy people are unlikely to die from the disease, but likely to carry it. The prevalence of the virus in the general population is a primary determinant of risk to vulnerable populations. The more the virus spreads in the general population, the higher the risk of extending to the most vulnerable.

Therefore, young healthy people have a vital role to play in the battle against COVID-19, even though they are not the ones at highest risk of death. Adherence to social distancing practices among young healthy people will hold down the infection rate in the general public. This will — by extension — protect the elderly and chronically ill.

It is important to talk to your children about practicing social distancing, even with their closest friends. Infection prevention through social distancing is not just necessary when young healthy people interact with vulnerable people, but also when young healthy people interact with other young healthy people. In the context of school closings, it is critical for students to practice social distancing while school is out. If kids gather in large groups it could, in effect, reconstitute the risks of having school. You can explain it to your kids this way: adherence to social distancing by our kids will protect their grandparents, and their friends’ grandparents. Everybody’s grandparents.

Here is the bottom line: adherence to social distancing practices by young healthy people is a vitally important act of compassion toward the most vulnerable and fragile people in our community.

There is, however, one caveat to consider with social distancing: loneliness. Abundant scientific research shows that loneliness can be harmful not only to one’s mental health but also to one’s physical health, including weakening one’s immune system function.

Like COVID-19, loneliness may disproportionately affect the most vulnerable. Currently, many elderly people are terrified to go anywhere, even if they keep a safe distance from others. As a result, they are struggling with basic needs (e.g. food supply), and the fear and depression associated with loneliness may be devastating.

Please reach out to the elderly and infirm around you. Maybe offer to drop off some meals with a card that says to call if they need help. An encouraging word can make an enormous difference and raise their spirits. And science shows quite clearly that helping others in a time of need is an excellent way of boosting your own mental health, reducing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression about the pandemic that you may be feeling yourself.

During this time, we believe it is crucial (and compassionate) to maintain a safe physical distance, but we must not lose our sense of community and interconnectedness. We believe it is possible to maintain a safe distance and comfort others. They are not mutually exclusive. Relationship with others is vitally important, and we need to support each other, perhaps now more than ever. Please let the people around you know that you care about them. Let them know that we are all in this together.

Communities, including ours, need to pull together in this time of crisis. We must all show compassion to others and do our part. We will get through this, together.

Dr. Stephen Trzeciak and Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli are physicians and Moorestown residents, and authors of the book, "Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference."

Dr. Trzeciak is a specialist in intensive care medicine and Chief and Chair of Medicine at Cooper University Health Care and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, where Dr. Mazzarelli practices emergency medicine and is Co-President/CEO and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs.