"I am staying calm and washing my hands a lot," Rep. Debbie Dingell posts today on social media, referring to the subject that instantly replaced Tuesday's primary as Topic A.
"There was never an if -- it was when would Michigan get its first coronavirus case," the Dearborn congresswoman says on Facebook. Noting that at least two Metro Detroit patients are confirmed, she adds: "And quite frankly, more are likely."
Debbie Dingell and Gretchen Whitmer show the new etiquette. (Photos: Facebook)
Besides echoing safeguards suggested by the federal Centers for Disease Control, Dingell has been on an online mini-crusade recently about elbow-bumping instead of hand-shaking. She shared the pose at right last weekend, a few days after tweeting a video and posting photos from Washington (below).
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"We have to work together on this current health challenge," the Democrat suggests. "We need to stay calm, but be educated, prepared and smart.
"It's time for all of us to think before we hug or shake. We need to bump" -- a cultural shift that's hard, Dingell acknowledges:
"I am flunking bumping and it is not smart. I am ok in DC, but I get home [and] people want to hug and shake. I feel the same way, and we are all doing it too much.
"Common sense tells us to put our hands on our heart towards someone, bump, touch our shoes -- let people know you care, but don’t shake hands.
"I am trying to renew my commitment as more reports come each day. Look, this is common sense -- we pass colds and flu the same way. ... It’s time for all of us to think before we hug or shake. ... Stay calm, wash your hands and bump, don’t shake."
Bump, don’t shake! https://t.co/C6lfMyf2f5 pic.twitter.com/yHStrjDc3S
— Rep. Debbie Dingell (@RepDebDingell) March 3, 2020
The congresswoman goes elbow-to-elbow with Tricia Yearwood and Garth Brooks last week at a Library of Congress dinner honoring him with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
"Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and I wanted to keep showing bipartisan efforts to bump not shake," says Dingell's caption on Facebook with this shot from the Library of Congress event March 4.
