While we don’t want to incite fear in the world, we do need to take precautions at home, and especially when we travel. The current Coronavirus, or COVID-19 is something that could ‘potentially’ have devastating global affects. It is showing as of this morning worldwide deaths reaching 5619 and before posting this late afternoon, it jumped to 5,819. That’s quite a daily increase. While over 74,500 have recovered, another 76,000 are still active and almost 6,000 in critical condition. Testing has really only just begun in America, this is far from over. Unlike typical influenza that has an incubation rate 1-4 days and kills more than a half a million people every year, a coronavirus carrier can go 2-14 days and have no symptoms. They can have a lot of interaction with others in that time frame while not being cautious. This is where the possible spread can really multiply quickly and why they are taking it so seriously.
Thankfully, I don’t think it has hit my county in North Carolina though the state has 23 positive cases. The possible contamination of this virus it is still in the early stages. With 55 deaths in America, I feel that this could be one of those ‘crippling’ viruses for not just our country, but the world. Most of us haven’t seen this type of disease in our lifetime and it leaves us being overly confident that it won’t happen to us. America started off with fake news ‘It’s a hoax’ being spread for the first few weeks, putting us behind in getting it under control. I hope people are taking it serious now. This is real! Update: as of 3/17 it is recorded in neighboring town
Words from The President
Here is documented timeline of actions and words from President Trump from the beginning with the first known case in America. This timeline documentation comes from news briefings, and Mr. Trump’s twitter account.
I applaud the efforts taken place now. They wouldn’t be cancelling major events, banning out of country travel, closing schools, and shutting down theme parks if this virus wasn’t worthy of doing so. This virus has potential to have serious casualties like some other historical pandemics have in the past. Add in factors like ease of worldwide travel that we have today, and those numbers of the past outbreaks may be small comparatively. They are doing this to attempt to stop it. It must be annihilated quickly! Though I do believe they aren’t verbally sharing the severity of the situation in order not to induce panic. I’m afraid it’s too late for that… have you seen the stores shelves? You can’t find toilet paper, rubbing alcohol, or sanitizers anywhere. Even dog food is scarce, and Fido won’t be happy about that!
In America, they have only tested a thimble full comparatively to the 327 million people in our nation. I’ve also heard that there is such a backlog in testing procedures, in some cases, tests waiting results have expired without actually getting results. If you only test a glass of water out of the entire ocean, it’s fair to say your numbers won’t be accurate, so I think the numbers aren’t really in. These false numbers also give us a feeling of being safe, when we may not be. We don’t want to be coddled and misinformed, we want facts, science, and truth. Our very lives may depend on it!
For LIVE updated news, facts, and numbers on the Coronavirus visit : https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
With all that is going on each day, it is often tough to keep up. But here is some positive news that will affect the outcome. According to Rep. Katie Porter, the CDC has a responsibility to the people of its nation, and she made sure we got it! Watch the video below! Now we need to see if they follow through. https://twitter.com/RepKati…/status/1238147835859779584…
I did the math: a full battery of coronavirus testing costs at minimum $1,331.
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) March 12, 2020
I also did the legal research: the Administration has the authority to make testing free for every American TODAY.
I secured a commitment from a high-level Trump official that they’d actually do it. pic.twitter.com/RmolCtmNbG
The Struggles Within
That’s one step in the right direction. But more will need to be done if we want to limit its potential to spread. With over 27 million uninsured Americans, that’s 27 million who wouldn’t have gone to the doctor if they felt ill as most people can’t afford the $100 doctor fee, let alone a $1300 testing. Though we may have many breakthroughs in medical technology, not affording such treatments is another thing altogether. If testing is so expensive, what will treatment be in a quarantined ICU?
Another big factor is the majority of Americans cannot afford to miss a day of work, let alone weeks. Do you think they will self quarantine for days, or weeks if need be? I’m guessing not. Could you afford too… could I? Out of desperation, this will most assuredly cause some with the virus to keep going on as usual. People who can’t self quarantine for fear of losing: their job, their incomes to pay for their home, utilities and food… to support their families. This will keep people from testing and even reporting it. I understand the struggle of the people that can’t just ‘stay home’ even if they want to, even if we all want them too.
With stagnant wages, and cost of living constantly rising, many people are just one paycheck away from life’s collapse already. One missed day of wages can cause a domino effect of negativities from bounced checks, compounding late fees, hungry children, & even potential eviction that can take months to heal from. Missing work for many… it isn’t always just an option. So what do we do in cases like this? Who steps up to support the family while they receive treatment to stop the spread? Who has the answers to these questions?
For LIVE updated news, facts, and numbers on the Coronavirus visit : https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
In Conclusion
So here’s the truth… none of us are safe. It’s out there and one day will likely reach your community. It’s just a matter of when. All we can do is keep taking precautions the best we can and help one another. The CDC tells us how to prepare: Stay out of public if you can, limit your outings. Wash your hands often, for at least 20 seconds using soap. Use sanitizers of at least 60% alcohol. Wipe down surfaces with bleach or alcohol. Masks can help if worn properly, keep your fingers out of your mouth, nose, and eyes. Cover your mouth if you cough or sneeze, and don’t reuse tissues after use.
If you are sick, follow guidelines to be tested within your state. My state is North Carolina. This NC gov page is updated daily at 11am https://www.ncdhhs.gov/covid-19-case-count-nc
You can track the disease in your state with the CDC – Center for Disease Control or go to your local state government agencies for more accurate information as the CDC hasn’t been up to speed due to the administrations abrupt removal of the entire White House pandemic team back in the spring of 2018 , and was never replaced. Yes… sadly this really happened.
But in a more positive note….
I saw a heartwarming story this morning about an elderly couple sitting in a grocery store parking lot, a woman in tears waiting for someone to help her do her shopping as she was afraid to go in the store as the first case tested positive in her town.[6]
Are there elderly people who could use your help delivering groceries so they don’t have to worry about deadly exposure? Be sure to spray their change with alcohol to limit any transference. It only takes a drop. Doing this may not save the world, but it may save one person. Help when you can, it’s the little things we do that will make a difference.
Updates – whats happening and why
3/17/20 How Governor Coumo of NY is handling things and why
Reference:
- CDC https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html
- North Carolina testing https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-response-north-carolina/testing-covid-19 https://www.ncdhhs.gov/covid-19-case-count-nc
- Death updates https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
- Pandemic team firing https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/28/michael-bloomberg/did-donald-trump-fire-pandemic-officials-defund-cd/
- Katie Porter takes on CDC https://twitter.com/RepKati…/status/1238147835859779584…
- Elderly couple good deed https://twitter.com/rebecca_mehra/status/1237891575897718791?s=20
- Tracking of President Trump’s handling of coronavirus https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/14/tracking-trumps-false-or-misleading-coronavirus-claims/?fbclid=IwAR3eP9Q2axGQHbo3UjLfFZNCSJxBsrF31-ImedtSoCzSGV0IdwZVnYu7Npc
- https://www.pbs.org/articles/2020/02/heres-what-you-should-know-about-the-novel-coronavirus/
RSS - Posts
Hey that was a beautiful article Robin thank you for your truth