Suddenly everyone is talking about the end of the Covid-19 quarantine and easing social distancing. There are protests around the country by people who want to return to life as we knew it before this disaster struck. It hasn't affected them so obviously it is nothing to worry about. HOLY CRAP, PEOPLE...are you living under a rock or are you JUST PLAIN STUPID?
I get it...being confined to your house alone or with a partner or with a bunch of restless kids is really wearing away the fabric of your sanity. You are running out of ways to keep the day interesting and are starting to feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. The weather is turning nice and those beach walks and nature hikes are so inviting, not just to you but to all of your neighbors as well! The money is getting tight and the future status of your jobs and businesses is uncertain at best.
But we are still dealing with this deadly virus in all aspects of society. The numbers are still spiking in the U.S...18,558 NEW cases and 1090 NEW deaths just yesterday (April 17) according to the Center For Disease Control (CDC).
Yet, officials, under public pressure opened beaches in Florida which immediately filled with sunbathers, walkers, dog owners, surfers, and swimmers, ignoring any distancing rules and making them top contenders for the Darwin Awards.*
The number of South Dakota residents who have tested positive for coronavirus has surpassed 1,100, and more than half of those cases have some connection to the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Sioux Falls. This comes as Governor Kristi Noem reiterated Tuesday that she won't be ordering people to stay home amid the coronavirus pandemic. Health officials said Wednesday that 180 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in the last day, bringing the statewide total to 1,168 confirmed cases. Of those, 934 cases were in Minnehaha County, the location of the Smithfield Foods plant, making the site one of the largest known clusters of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. As of Wednesday, 644 people with connections to the plant were infected, including 518 employees.
Protests in Michigan and Ohio are angrily demanding a reopening of the economy so unemployed workers and small businesses can see a return of paychecks and cashflow.
But what good will that economic stimulus do them if they fall sick and perhaps succumb to this deadly virus? Or, if they end up bringing it home to more vulnerable members of their families: elderly parents, immuno-suppressed spouses and children. Do they want the deaths of those innocent victims on their hands?
This is the most serious threat to the nation's collective health that we have ever seen. Our health care facilities are not equipped to handle significantly more victims. Life and death decisions are being made each day, forcing medical professionals to prioritize which patients will have access to the short supply of ventilators and other medical assistance. In addition, we are placing the lives of these health care professionals at high risk. Nearly 10,000 professional health care workers have died of the virus to date, a heartbreaking and devastating loss at a time when the need for their expertise is at its most critical. Many are making huge personal sacrifices, often relocating from their homes to avoid exposing their families, and working countless hours on end.
So, can't we all just sit home a little longer and give the virus a chance to subside naturally. Research has shown that staying out of public is the most effective way to stop the spread. Wearing face coverings, washing hands frequently and using hand sanitizer are effective but if we're not there to begin with we can't pick up the virus. We need to extend the opportunity for medical researchers to find an effective treatment and work on the long-term hope of a vaccine. Patience, People! Put away the "I want" in favor of the "I need to..."
This is not the garden variety flu that we are used to. It doesn't spike and recede with the seasons. It requires us to be so much more vigilant and pro-active if we hope to ever be able to return to some semblance of normal...and that normal is likely to be very different than anything we have ever known.
STAY HOME...STAY SAFE
*The Darwin Awards commemorate individuals who protect our gene pool by making the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives: by eliminating themselves in an extraordinarily idiotic manner, thereby improving our species' chance of long-term survival. In other words, they are cautionary tales about people who kill themselves in really stupid ways, and in doing so, significantly improve the gene pool by eliminating themselves from the human race.
No comments:
Post a Comment