I'm in a pretty good spot as far as interacting with other people goes. I'm retired so no job contact and I farm alone so nothing there either. My only contacts are my wife who also practices mitigation and a couple good friends who also do the same and that's it for my contacts with the outside world and candidly, I like it just fine that way.
If you are at retirement age I will just assume you're at, around, or over 60 years of age. Given that, I think taking some common sense mitigation measures is smart. I don't think anyone can really argue against just some basic common sense things like this. I don't begrudge people out wearing masks and things. In Asian countries, it is very common for folks to wear surgical masks there all the time when they are sick with flu, cold, or anything. There are a few folks here who will do this as well if they are feeling sick - they will just wear a mask when out. That's all fine. I dont focus much on the individual. I am a strong individualist. Because of this however I tend to be fairly resistant when the government shuts the entire economy down, destroys peoples financial lives, starts arresting people and charging them with crimes for not wearing a mask, and upends nearly everyone's life in some form over what is a minor respiratory illness for the vast majority of people. There is even a very valid health based argument out there that, in todays world, you cant just shut down a viral pandemic by issuing "shelter in place" orders and taking all these draconian measures we have taken. So the argument is that we cripple the economy, force millions out of their jobs, kill many who have cancer and other conditions who need surgery or other procedures but are put on hold - kill a lot of rural hospitals who cant afford to just be shut down with no income. We do all of these things to hopefully "flatten the curve" - not kill the spread of the virus, because thats impossible, but to hopefully flatten it a little. The medical argument is that the best way to get over a viral pandemic is for the population to build up an army of immune hosts. The only way that happens is for people to be infected. All of those asymptomatic people walking around are the soon to be immune hosts. Eventually the virus can no longer spread as it hits lots of dead ends. So the question is what have we gained at this point by destroying our economy and forcing millions out of work? I can tell you one thing, if I was one of the people who had lost his job over this mess, I would be extremely angry about it. I know some folks who have went from a great life to sitting on the edge of financial ruin right now because of the measures we have taken - Their days now consumed by anxiety for their future and how they will pay their bills. When you see the damage done by the measures, its hard to ignore. When you also see the vast majority of people testing positive having hardly any symptoms, the whole response starts to look drastically over played. After all the draconian measures are taken, we STILL have to deal with the virus spreading because that still doesnt stop it, so we are just inflicting even more harm on ourselves and our society.
I think the way it should be handled is to have common sense measures in place - encourage folks to wear masks. Encourage the elderly to keep their distance for their safety. Nursing facilities like those my wife is working at now should heavily guard against all visits to the facility - I do think this is a good measure because that is where the most vulnerable are living, and they are there in large quantities and in close proximity to each other. Put out public notices, make sure folks are aware, safeguard those most vulnerable, but then the rest of us should be allowed to continue our lives and our work and move forward. Eventually enough people will get the virus, develope antibodies, and become immune. These immune people will then become dead ends for the virus. Evnetually enough dead ends are developed through natural biology, and the virus will die out, or in some cases morph, like the flu virus does, and get around our immunity somewhat. This is a biological battle that has occured for thousands of years. None of this is new. How we have responded this time however has been entirely new. I hope to god this isnt the new precedent for how we plan to respond everytime a new coronavirus or bird flu, or swine flu, or other respiratory virus shows up. If it is, we will literally jump from panic to panic every 5 to 10 years. Why are we so addicted to panic and outrage as a society today?