More Bad News :)
- fionacsweet
- Jul 9, 2020
- 2 min read
So, at this point, I feel like COVID-19 cases have taken off, and California is not doing too well. Each day I wake up and get an update from the news on my phone that tells me how many new cases we have each day. In May, I would get concerned if the total exceeded 2,000. Today, the total number of new cases in California is 8,761.
I have grown increasingly frustrated with how the Trump administration is handling this virus, choosing to focus on decisions that would prevent women from getting birth control and the LGBT community from getting to adopt (links below for information on these cases) instead of treating the virus like an actual deadly disease that is spiraling out of control. Trump even asked in a press conference what the 19 stands for in COVID-19. As I, and the rest of my family knew, the 19 stands for 2019 - aka the year the virus was "found". I don't feel as if Trump really cares about the virus because he feels like it won't directly affect him. He gets tested daily, so he would know right away. It is the same reason why he doesn't care about women, or the LGBT community, or POC. He doesn't care because he is not affected by their problems - he is a white, straight male.
Now on to the real news reported by actual experts. One of the nation's top infectious disease experts, Dr. Anthony Fauci, believes that states with spiking coronavirus cases can still contain them by simply pausing their reopening processes, instead of just shutting down completely. Fauci said this: "Rather than think in terms of reverting back down to a complete shutdown, I would think we need to get the states pausing in their opening process."
There are four states that account for 50% of all new cases - Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas. So, following Fauci's new advice, these states need to aggressively keep people socially distanced by closing bars and preventing large groups.
Three of these four states have reported very disturbing rates at which people are testing positive for coronavirus. 28% of all people tested for coronavirus in Arizona are positive, while 26% of all people in Texas tested are positive, and 19% of all people tested in Florida are positive. According to previous recommendations of the CDC, test-positivity rates of greater than 20% would prevent first-phase reopenings, while 10% would prevent fuller reopenings. Unfortunately, reverting back to these initial reopenings are not really possible for these states.
However, I do understand that states do need to reopen as unemployment soars and jobs are lost for good. 18.1 million Americans are currently on unemployment claims and more than 3 million Americans appear to have lost jobs that are not coming back soon.
Please keep socially distanced and please wear a mask! It is supposed to keep others safe around you, and if others respect you the same way by wearing one, you will be protected as well. Otherwise, we are not going to stop this until we find a vaccine.
Try to still stay positive during this trying time. If you have Disney+, go and watch Hamilton - it will make you feel better. We're all in this together!
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