POSTPONED: Randy Sabien, Bill Camplin

press release: We have made the difficult decision to close the Cafe Carpe for the duration of the public health emergency caused by the new corona virus. Slowing down the spread is key, and social distancing is deemed the best preventive measure. We feel it is not socially responsible for us to provide space for people to gather, however cautiously and antiseptically. People can be carriers and asymptomatic for a long time, and in this mobile society, any of us can be unwitting carriers.

Epidemiologists and exponential math are telling us that the infection rates may be low, but then rise quickly, causing a flood of patients to overwhelm the health care system, as in Seattle and Italy. Think of the rush to buy toilet paper causing a shortage, and substitute ICU beds and ventilators.

Public health is a community project. If we flatten the curve by staying apart and lowering the spread of infection, we can hope to avoid the worst scenario.

This crisis will have devastating implications for many, and we trust that community-mindedness will prevail, and that we will all take care of each other. Our community is kind and caring. Let’s keep striving to make the world healthier, safer, and better for all its inhabitants.