Covid Sufferings Will Not Be In Vain

By: Joe Mauricio

 

The lockdown boredoms are getting to many of us. Six months lockdown are just too much for anybody to take. That’s how long some of the world’s leading health experts say it would take to finally get the Covid-19 pandemic to a halt. The solutions to combating coronavirus are no mystery, as we have the experience, knowledge and input of the world’s health experts at our disposal.

If America were to take the right steps, many thousands or perhaps more could be spared from the ravages of Covid-19. The economy could finally begin to repair itself and Americans could start to enjoy something more like a normal life. For proof or model, look at Germany, Thailand, New Zealand, France, or any other countries in the world.

In the US, after a short period of multi-state curve flattening, case counts and death tolls are rising in so many places that Dr. Deborah Birx, the Trump administration’s coronavirus expert, described the collective uptick as a sprawling “new phase” of the pandemic. Rural communities are as troubled as the urban ones. And even clear victories over virus in places like New York and Massachusetts feel imperiled.

At the same time, we are fatigued from spending months under “semi-lockdowns” as bars and restaurants are reopening in some places for indoor services, and debates are underway over if and when and how to do the same for schools, even as the virus continue to spread unchecked. Long delays in testing have become an accepted norm.

As the national death toll climbs above 160,000, mask-wearing is still not universal. It’s no mystery how we got here. The Trump administration’s immediate response has been negatively rejected by the state leaders that resulted and was suffused with politics in dealing with the overall country’s health. Among the state leaders, the response has also been wildly uneven.

Unless something changes quickly, thousands or perhaps millions more Americans will be sickened by the virus, and may ultimately die from it. The path to avoiding those outcomes is as clear as the failures of the past several months.

Scientists themselves have learned a lot about the coronavirus. For instance, they know now that airborne transmission is a far greater risk than contaminated surfaces, and that the virus can also be transmitted through singing, shouting and speaking, as much as coughing, and that an infected person is a potential vector (carrier).

Just because the U.S. has quite a large number of deaths does not mean it cannot turn things around. This country can do much better, and it MUST.

If the pandemic forces a nation to meaningfully grapple with these issues, then perhaps all this suffering will not have been in vain.

But that work cannot really begin until Americans solve the problem that is right in front of them, with the tools that are already at our experts’ disposal. Hopefully, soon.###