Well...we have been in quarantine for...well forever it seems! I say let's get things back to normal! No really! I truly think it is the only way. And I'll tell you why...
I am one of those moms that always thought it was better just to take the bandaid off with one quick motion. Better than prolonging the inevitable if you ask me. haha! My kids may not have agreed with that theory. Don't worry...I used the theory on myself more than I did them. ;)
If you don't know this about me, I take xrays at the hospital. So I am frontline against this. I am right there in the mix of it. I take portables all over the hospital, on every floor, and in every department. I understand that this virus is scary and deadly. You can see it on the faces of coworkers and patients. People are scared. As they should be maybe. This is a new virus, and information about it continues to change. Here are some numbers for Covid-19.
According to the CDC, the numbers for the US as of today are:
Total cases: 579,005
Total deaths: 22,252
According to the WHO, numbers for the world are:
Total cases: 1,844,863 confirmed
Total deaths: 117,021 deaths
Let us compare that to the flu. Here are the influenza numbers.
According to the CDC, as of April 4th, the US numbers are:
Total cases: 39,000,000 - 56,000,000
Total deaths: 24,000 - 62,000
According to the WHO (Which are dealing mostly with guestimates that I have found. As you can see they don't seem to add up):
Total cases: 3,000,000 -5,000,000
Total deaths: 250,000 - 500,000
Regardless, the numbers just aren't there to cause the alarm that has been raised. I have said from the beginning that I think the government is over reacting to the closing of almost everything. I have also been a supporter of the "stay home, stay safe". Let me explain. I feel like if the government issued such an order that I should do my part to honor that. I should give them time to figure out resources, reallocate items if needed, and get a grasp of this if it is going to get out of hand. I was also super hopeful that it would encourage the government to loosen the strings if people were complying and then we could just move on already.
NC is supposed to peak tomorrow, April 15th. That is our peak date...the date with the highest number of Covid-19 cases. We have had no where near the numbers that even I thought we might have.
Depending on where you live in this country, you may not be experiencing the same thing. In NY for example, they have had higher numbers of Covid-19 positive patients. And that makes sense. Many are practically living on top of each other within the city. A lot of things I have read about NY hospitals say they were already struggling before the virus hit, so that also would make sense for them to be in more of a need for health care workers. (I don't live there so I can't say that from first hand experience.)
Where we live, we depend a great deal on the travel industry. We NEED people to visit here. To stay at our hotels. To eat at our restaurants. To visit our landmarks and tourist attractions. It is the livelihood of the area. The people here are struggling. Not just the tourist industry but every business here. We are not NY. We do not live on top of each other. We do not have the same outbreak numbers that NY or other areas have had or are having. (Sorry I keep using NY because they seem to be the most talked about.)
The government has shut down every "non-essential" business so that we can flatten the curve. Over 3.3 million people have applied for unemployment. Which suggests an increase from just over 3% to a possible jump to 9% or even 12%. (Really depends on what you read.) I have even seen some estimate it could jump to 20%.
Areas of this country need to start back to work. We can't take much more of this! We really can't. Some will say that we shouldn't rush back too quick. But you know what?! People are going to get sick anyway. This virus isn't going anywhere just because we "flattened the curve" or our numbers did not go as high as they thought. We are at home people. We are only putting it off. Once we get out and about...YES...numbers will start to go up again. That is how it works. We either stay in and hope the virus goes away, crash the entire economy, and people get sick on the tail end. OR, we get back to work before our economy crumbles and people get sick now. Those are our options.
People with immune problems should stay home and be cautious. Just as they should with the flu. Everyone should be more careful. Just as they should with any illness. We need to do better. But better does not include the economy falling out from under us.
Sorry but that is my opinion. Everyone has one. But a lot of people agree with me. We need to rip the bandaid off!!!!!!
2 comments:
Agreed. Illness (germs, viruses, etc) are always going to be. Just watched Little House on the Prairie episode where they had 'the fever' come through. Everything shut down, no school, etc. Wasn't long at all and everything was back up to normal. There is way too many people around here and everywhere else to simply shut everything down and let it die out. I have never seen Lowe's so busy at many times throughout the week. Fletcher Feed has been crazy busy and I'm sure other places like that have been as well. People don't know how to properly use gloves and people are getting hurt by microwaving their masks. Everything is deadly to someone at some point. People die on their way to work or home. I am not trying to be mean or sound harsh, but that's reality. The government cannot protect us from everything. We have to use our noggins and do what's right for us. Don't go out if you don't want to. If you own a business and don't want to be open, don't. If you feel you don't want to work because of the virus, then apply for temporary unemployment. As you said, let's get back to 'normal' and move forward.
I agree, Denise.
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