As a few of my friends and colleagues have pointed out, COVID-19 did not end just because people decided they were bored of it. Cases are still in high numbers, and even rising in some places, most commonly in states that were late to shut down or enforce social distancing and were too early in fully re-opening, rather than in stages. Not all of these cases will result in death, but too many of them can and will. Yes, survival rates are high overall, but that’s still a significant amount of people who are dying from this pandemic. None of you would like to see your loved ones succumb to it, so don’t chalk it up to statistics. Statistics mean nothing if your family member or friend is the one that dies.
We saw these cases rise after things re-opened and people had Memorial Day parties where they did not bother with masks or social distancing for crowd control. You can time it out. Do not let anyone fool you into thinking that it was the protests. Most protesters have been outside, mobile enough to maintain distance, and masked, which is good.
If you are going to be out in public around other people, wear a mask. It’s not about living in fear, it’s about protecting your fellow human beings. Some of you try to justify it by saying that you’re not selfish by not wearing a mask. That one meme says “We feel that your fear is your problem.” That, in this situation, by definition is a selfish sentiment. Wear your mask, maintain social distancing outside of your household. Yes, we can start to come together in small groups, less than 10, but we should still take precautions. COVID-19 is not over and isn’t done infecting or affecting people’s lives. Don’t be part of a resurgence that could realize our fears of overwhelming the hospitals again. Don’t be selfish. Don’t complain about businesses enforcing these guidelines to protect their customers. And don’t dismiss the pandemic just yet.
Source of graph: The New York Times, which is a flawed newspaper in many ways, but look at their graphs. They go state-by-state. It’s worth seeing the trend to show how much COVID-19 is not yet done with us.
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