Covid-19… What’s to Fear?

Covid-19 continues to grasp the world in its hold. As of March 3^rd, Washington state has reported three more deaths from the virus making the total death count in Washington state nine out of the 31 confirmed cases in the state. There are currently 100 cases in the United States and 92,312 cases worldwide. Cases in South Korea are continuing to climb with 5,186 reported cases. 60% of the cases are linked to a secret religious sect, and the South Korean government has accused the founder of the church of not fully disclosing those infected to prevent the government from containing the virus. There have been a total of 28 deaths in South Korea linked to the virus and the number of cases of the virus don’t seem to be slowing down. Unfortunately, as seen in places like South Korea, the United States, and European countries, more cases are beginning to emerge outside of China, the viruses’ origin, than inside China. This tells me that the virus has only begun to breach into other countries and that if proper precautions are not taken, the number of cases of this virus could skyrocket.  

As of March 3^rd, there has been one confirmed case in North Carolina from Wake County. The individual reportedly travelled to Washington State to visit the Life Care Center nursing home that was currently having an outbreak of the virus. Personally, I don’t understand why more precautions were not taken in the Life Care Center nursing home to prevent the transmission of the disease. In that same nursing home seven elderly people have died from the virus. While most of the cases in the nursing home had preexisting health conditions, an article by the Seattle Times has reported that healthcare workers treating the patients may have now become exposed to the virus. According to FDA reports, over 1 million Covid-19 tests should be prepared by the end of the week. After a rough start in creating the virus test, the government has asked private companies to help them more effectively produce Covid-19 diagnostic testing. While many feel this is a sign our government is not capable of preparing against this virus, I think that every government is unprepared in the sense that I don’t feel like anyone thought this crisis would get so bad.

I personally am appalled because I never would have thought that this virus would sweep the globe like it has. I am more concerned about the rapid transmission of this virus throughout the world rather than its symptoms. The fact that local cases are arising in countries such as the man from Surrey in Great Britain who became infected when he has not travelled is particularly concerning. It just seems that this virus is so hard to predict how much longer, and where, it will continue to spread. With spring break coming around and people from across the country traveling, it’s the perfect opportunity for the virus to spread across college campuses, and eventually every state in America. I think that it would be beneficial for college campuses across the nation to hold mandatory meetings to educate individuals on campus about the best ways for students and faculty to protect themselves and others from the virus.