I caught the coronavirus this past October on a commercial flight returning home from Denver. My aisle seat was toward the back of the sold-out flight with an airline that refused to keep middle seats open. By hour two of the flight, there was a line for the bathroom. All those people standing over me, breathing down my neck—I’m not an epidemiologist, but I’m going to guess that didn’t help. I also took off my mask for a few moments during the flight to inhale a bag of pretzels and guzzle a can of ginger ale, so I may be complicit in my infection.
The Smell of LL
Key Takeaways:
- The author, initially extremely cautious about COVID-19, contracted the virus on a crowded commercial flight after choosing it over his private plane, attributing the infection to his own complicity and a lapse in judgment.
- He experienced severe symptoms, including the complete loss of his sense of smell, and considers himself fortunate that the disease did not progress to his lungs given his prior respiratory issues.
- The article uses this personal experience to highlight the danger of complacency, illustrating how initial vigilance and fear can erode over time, leading to a "shifting baseline" that gradually accepts greater risks until an incident occurs, a lesson relevant to both health and aviation safety.
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