TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — In this week’s Cate’s Corner, Keith Cate talks about six degrees of separation.
Here are his thoughts:
“The actor, Kevin Bacon once said, ‘He had worked with everyone in Hollywood or with someone who’s worked with them.’ It led to a fun little game called ‘Six degrees of Kevin Bacon,’ based on the idea that any actor can be linked back to Bacon within six steps.
If you apply the six degrees of separation concept to someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, then I believe our collective degrees of separation in Tampa Bay have been reduced to one.
In early March, I didn’t know anyone who had the virus or anyone who knew anyone who had it. It was six degrees of separation, if not more. Today, I know several people who’ve had it. That’s just one degree of separation.
I’m guessing you know someone too… a friend, a co-worker, a family member. As of today, 73,000 people across Tampa Bay have now tested positive, 1,200 have died. That’s “just” Tampa Bay.
Lives have been turned upside down and some families destroyed. And here we are four months later, and the president is canceling his convention activities in Jacksonville saying, ‘things will probably get worse before they get better.’ That is not what you want to hear as you think about sending your kids back to school.
We’ve come so far and yet here we are, still trapped in the fog of this pandemic, with no clear way out. We all want more information, but daily statistics can be confusing and contradictory. Our reporters try to explain the numbers, but the truth is no “one statistic” tells the whole story… especially when the numbers are politicized.
But there is growing consensus that until we get a vaccine for coronavirus, we can’t let our guard down. Keep your distance, wash your hands, cover your face, and find distractions where you can to avoid falling into a funk.
Instead of ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,’ how about ‘Six Degrees of a Vaccine?’ I look forward to seeing how that plays out over time.”
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