STAY HOME, THIS IS BIGGER THAN YOU: An Angry Asthmatic’s Opinion on COVID-19
I’m just going to assume if you’re reading this that you know what the hell is going on in our world. For those who watch the news or keep up with what is going on during this absolutely insane pandemic, some may have heard of the upcoming “apex,” or surge in casualties resulting from the widespread virus known as COVID-19 (AKA Corona Virus, AKA NOT the Chinese Virus)
Disclaimers before reading:
- All information was gathered and presented on Sunday, April 5th, 2020 at roughly 1:20PM EST. Statements otherwise influenced by variables such as time will be marked with a “*” as much info is rapidly changing as time passes*
- Also, although many statistics and facts are presented, this is very much an opinionated piece. If you decide you do not want to see the numbers* related to this pandemic, scroll to the section titled “Downplaying the Events of Today.” However, the statistics and facts provide insight on both my opinion as well as what is going on in the United States, so I recommend familiarizing yourself with the numbers provided.
What is COVID-19?
For those who do not know what the virus actually is/does (whether you willingly choose to not inform yourself or simply do not know) here’s a brief intro. These are a few excerpts from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) informational article titled What you Need To know About Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)*,
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first identified during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan, China.
Patients with COVID-19 have had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of • fever • cough • shortness of breath
Some patients have pneumonia in both lungs, multi-organ failure and in some cases death.
There is currently no vaccine to protect against COVID-19.
There is no specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19. People with COVID-19 can seek medical care to help relieve symptoms.
You can find more information regarding COVID-19 through the CDC here, in which they further describe symptoms, precautions, provide a self-checker for the virus, and steps to take if you contract the virus.
Quick Statistics Regarding COVID-19
To use as an example, I will use the most recent* information gathered on the State of New York.The numbers in New York State is just a glimpse of how big things are getting. According to NBC New York (You can find the article here),
“A total of 122,031 people in New York State have tested positive for COVID-19, up from 113,704 on Saturday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday — bringing the total number of cases in the tri-state to 161,431.
New York State has now seen 4,159 coronavirus-related deaths, up from 3,565 on Saturday, Cuomo said at a news conference. New York City has seen 67,551 of the total novel coronavirus cases, including 4,245 new ones, he said.”
Within a one-day span, New York States’ number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 jumped by 8,327.
4,159 coronavirus-related deaths in New York State as of April 5th, 2020. On Saturday, April 4th, 2020 there was a recored 3,565 coronavirus-related deaths. That’s 594 more deaths in a one-day span.
Sure, in comparison, 4,159 coronavirus-related deaths is “only” about 3.4% of the total cases. On a larger scale, according to The New York Times — Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count, The U.S. has a total of 311,536 positively tested COVID-19 cases with “only” 8,499 (2.7% of total cases in comparison), resulted deaths (check The New York Times’ updated statistics here).
According to the website WorldOMeter.info, 16,598, or roughly 5.3% of total cases, have recovered from the coronavirus as of April 5th, 2020 (Check updated statistics from WorldOMeter.info here)
I’ll go ahead and play Devil’s Advocate here real quick. The rising number of cases could very well be a result of increased availability of testing units. With that being said, there could have also been people that have had it for a while, were asymptotic, or did not have the availability to get tested. Regardless, these numbers are facts and have only increased since the pandemic started.
Although these are the numbers of today, what happens if things progress for months on end? I’m not trying to be a Debbie-Downer, as I am normally far from being a pessimist, but the truth is we are not sure when this global issue will subside.
Downplaying The Events of Today
Personally, I’ve heard so many people around myself that downplay what is happening as a result of COVID-19. I’m just going to go ahead and say it:
You’re an idiot if you take this lightly and think that you’re above the virus, and your excuses are bullshit.
I’ve heard a ridiculous amount of people say that if you get it it’s “not that bad” and that “it’s just like getting the flu, it’s not that big of a deal.” My favorite one is, “If I got it, I’m not at high risk of it being fatal and I would just recover from it.”
Despite any and all precautions that various levels of government are implementing around the states. Curfews, state-lockdown orders(Virginia’s can be found here, and even threats of fines or being arrested are being implemented throughout the country. You can find how each state is handling the pandemic here). There are literally still people out here gathering in large crowds, partying, traveling from state to state, being flat-out reckless, ignorant, and oblivious to the effects that not adhering to social-distancing has.
People truly believe that they are above the virus because it does not directly affect them or hasn’t affected them yet. Whether due to sheer ignorance or lack of responsibility, this virus is not something people should take lightly as there are still many risks associated with the disease. My question to these people is this,
What’s it going to take for you to take this seriously?
Who is being affected directly and who is at higher risk?
Let’s break down who can/is being affected.
Last few statistics are about the various groups that are affected which can be seen in these graphs found on WorldOmeter.info*, and updated results can be found here.
To sum up the graphs above, you’re at higher risk of dying if you contract the disease if you are over the age of 50, a male, and/or have underlying cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, Chronic Respiratory diseases, Hypertension, and/or Cancer. However, if you do not fall within these high risk of fatality groups, it does NOT mean you are impervious to the risk of permanent damage to your lungs or death.
Sure, most of us aren’t over the age of 50 and are relatively “healthy.” Also, if most of us contract the disease we may have a higher chance at recovering. But that doesn’t mean you should disregard the safety of others.
This Pandemic is Bigger Than YOU
Here’s how the virus affects me personally:
- I have Asthma
- Both my siblings have asthma
- My parents are over 50 years old
- Both my parents are pre-diabetic and have hypertension (high blood pressure)
Now I’m definitely not here to bitch and whine about how our lives are at stake and make this about me/us. While we are definitely fearful of getting sick, we are taking the necessary precautions and staying safe to minimize any and all risks of contracting and/or spreading the disease. The continued growth of this pandemic affect so many different levels. Here’s just a few societal aspects that come to my mind when looking at the big picture of this disease:
The impact on Health-Care workers and Hospitals
First and foremost, Doctors, Nurses, and other health-care workers are working tirelessly around the world and making the BIGGEST sacrifice of us all in a collaborative effort to treat patients who have contracted the virus and to find a solution/relief to this growing problem. Working while directly exposed to the Coronavirus, putting themselves at risk, and having to sacrifice being around their families is a sacrifice that is currently unmatched in my eyes. Hospitals throughout the states are steadily crawling towards potentially reaching max capacity, forcing the Government to create COVID-19 new treatment centers (FedEx field was recently converted to a treatment center for the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area).
School shut downs
On many levels, schools have closed down and/or resorted to online formats of teaching. For most grade schools, the academic year was slightly over halfway through. Many grade schools (K-12) are deciding that the academic school year is over, promoting students to the following grade after the grade they were in at the time of the shutdown (my sister was a Junior in HS, but is supposedly now a Senior). However, what about students who aren’t prepared and/or need assistance in a classroom environment in order to be ready for the next level? Some say the solution is virtual classrooms, but what about low-income students who come from families that don’t have the means to provide that kind of environment? Lastly, for many students who come from unsafe home environments, sometimes their only escape is going to school and getting away from those environments. It hurts my heart to think that those who are in need of an outlet from a toxic household have been stripped of it and are now forced to deal with it on a regular basis.
Workplace closures and furloughs
Many non-essential business are being forced to shut down to reduce large crowd production. The gym I work at closed, and now I can’t train clients in person. Fortunately, I’m blessed with parents that are willing an able to assist me and provide a roof over my head.
What about those who are less fortunate? Some of us live pay-check to pay-check in order to make ends meet. Yeah okay, file for unemployment, receive the relief stimulus package, etc. Not all of us are even eligible for the relief stimulus package. What happens when this pandemic continues, lockdown times are increased, and unemployment checks aren’t enough to get by? Where do people who can no longer afford rent go? What about small-businesses that don’t have the backup of corporate companies to keep them afloat? And the people that work for them?
Returning to “normal”
Assuming and God-willing a cure is found and eventually we are able to return to our everyday lives. How long is that going to be? There are so many social variables relating to people as individuals, businesses and the stock market, Governments, and so much more. How badly will society already be impacted when we finally reach that point? How will we adjust to an inevitable newfound “normal?” I guess the only answer I can really think of is we’ll react based off of how we handle ourselves at home amidst this crisis.
STAY. HOME.
It’s a simple concept: The less people out and about = lowered potential of contracting the disease = lower potential of spreading the disease = a greater potential of containing and curing the virus = LESS TIME HAVING TO STAY HOME
I see and hear so many people complaining every time the Government extends the social-distancing/self-isolation/self-quarantine time frame. A major reason the time continues to extend is because some of you are being selfish and still carrying on like things are normal. It’s going to be an endless cycle if we don’t all collaboratively abide by the guidelines presented to us. If y’all want to be able to leave the house free of any consequences, FOLLOW THE DAMN RULES.
Stop hitting up your friends to coordinate plans in large groups. Stay away from COVID-19 “Hot-Spots” and traveling from state to state. Practice social-distancing. It’s not worth the risk of contracting the virus and exposing others to it. Given some of the State-Mandated Orders, why even risk the legal consequences? If you’re willing to chance both potentials, you may have a bigger problem on your own hands.
In Conclusion: I’m Angry
I’m angry at the world.
I’m angry that there are people in this world taking this lightly.
I’m angry there are people in my life who are being careless.
I’m angry that I don’t have the ability to be out there making a difference like our health-care workers are.
I’m angry there’s people less fortunate and have it worst than I do, only for their struggles to be amplified by the virus.
I’m angry that the chances of anybody I love and care for getting sick and potentially dying has increased
I’m angry that this virus even exists and there’s currently no cure.
Although I’m so damn angry at the world, I get it. People want things to be normal again. Normal provides peace of mind. Normal is comfortable. But you want to know what is not normal right now? The World.
Change is inevitable, and I believe things will never return to what we yearn for as “normal” for two reasons:
- This pandemic will have an everlasting effect on our lives because of the drastic changes the world is undergoing because of this virus
- We are now forced into situations whether we will yield either a positive or negative change amongst ourselves (whatever that may be), affecting how we will navigate through life moving forward, resulting in how we as a human race will interact with each other/what our society will be like.
What’s Next?
I get it however, I really get it. It’s a stressful time, and there’s so many variables as to how people react and what each individual’s next move is. I feel for people who have small-businesses and the frustration that they may have regarding lack of financial support. I get how some people absolutely need to work in order to make ends meet. I get it.
We have so much more time on our hands to put our energy into doing something productive from home. Stop making excuses as to why you can’t do new things. Don’t get too comfortable. Work on your self-discipline. Expand your creativity.
Do all these things from the safety of your home to contribute to a bigger cause than yourself. Despite my negative connotations about everything going on, my wish is just for this global issue to fade away. Although I can’t help directly, this is my contribution in raising awareness and spreading the important message.
COVID-19 is here, and as of now its time amongst us only continues to grow. Since it’s here and having an disrupting our lives, we can’t do anything but contribute to combatting this virus by staying home. We as people hold the power within ourselves as to whether or not this ends. All of us can do so all while bettering ourselves in new ways that was otherwise disregarded.
This is much bigger than us, and it’s going to take all of us to make a change. COVID-19 may not affect you now or ever, but doing your part can help prevent it from affecting others.
