With the World Health Organization declaring coronavirus a pandemic it leaves many people asking a reasonable question; “Should I be worried?”
The answer is yes even if you yourself are not in too much danger, some of the people you could spread it to would be.
With the decision made to suspend all face-to-face classes on campus, many CSULB students have had mixed responses to the handling of the situation. Though there are no cases to have been confirmed on campus as of yet, it hit home when three cases were confirmed in Long Beach March 9.
Even though every news outlet from the Daily Forty-Niner to CNN is covering this pretty much around the clock, it’s still easy to make light of the situation. We’ve all seen the memes and Reddit threads.
I’ve laughed at a couple myself.
It was extremely easy to shrug off a situation even after the city declared a state of emergency.
According to recent statistics published by ZME Science, the biggest age group affected by COVID-19 is 50-59-year-olds, and only 5.3% of cases confirmed are critical.
Take into account the average age of a CSULB student is 23, why should any of us worry?
We might be fine, but can transfer it to family members or friends that might not be. We don’t even need to mention the fact that existing health problems, regardless of age can complicate treatment and recovery.
All we’d have to look at is the fact that COVID-19 isn’t showing any discretion as to whose affected.
Riverdale has suspended production due to COVID-19.
Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for COVID-19.
NBA all-star Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz has tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the remainder of the NBA season to be suspended indefinitely.
I don’t think this is something that can be reduced to memes of Vick’s Vapor Rub and a bottle of ginger-ale being the haymaker that’s going to knock out coronavirus.
I also don’t think it’s something that we all should sit around and wait to care about until it hits home.
If it means that we skip a few basketball tournaments, miss a few classes, or push back a hang-out at Disneyland, so be it.
The necessity of preserving and protecting public health greatly outweighs whatever selfish compulsory need we have to satisfy our own needs.
Sports venues, college classrooms, movie theater lobbies, and amusement parks will all still be here in a few weeks, disinfected, and better prepared to handle the crowds once more.
This will get better. But in order for that to happen, we have to calmly, but firmly, take precautions that will keep as many people as safe as we can.
We may not like having to stop the indulgent lifestyle we’ve all become accustomed to, but a serious global threat demands that serious action be taken to combat it.
We as Americans need to stop joking and take this seriously.
The rest of the world is.
We need to as well.
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