5/21/20 Derek Coffey Period 1

Derek Coffey
5/21/20

1. What are the recent updates around the world regarding the virus?
At this time in our collective battle against the virus, there have been many different sources of information. The news networks, social media, and of course reactions from friends and family all contribute to our collective knowledge about the current status of the “invisible enemy”. At times it has been difficult to know where to go for unbiased, unfiltered facts about important information such as the mortality rate and safety of certain activities. The differing perspectives seem to many times be fueled by political sides and personal experiences. For example a nurse working in the ICU seeing people breathing with the help of a ventilator on a regular basis is going to have a different opinion than a small business owner who just wants to be allowed to open as to have a chance to survive the economic hardship. This is essential to understand when talking to people in regards to the virus as everyone has a unique experience that has lead them to shape their own opinion. With that being said, there are certain facts that need to lead our decisions as a local community, state, and country in the upcoming weeks. First off, we are seeing through the data that the coronavirus is not nearly as deadly as we once anticipated. This has nothing to do with doctors opinions because statistics do not care. People under 60 that are healthy are extremely likely to recover from the virus. Secondly, the states that have been reopening are showing it can be done safely and without leading to a second wave that infectious disease experts such as Dr. Fauci has been warning about. States such as Florida have been doing an excellent job by utilizing their private sector and local governments to make sure that businesses do have the choice to open while following all of the social distancing that we have become accustomed to in the last two months. These two points that the virus isn't deadly for people under 60, and we can reopen safely (hence Florida, Georgia, and many other states) should be large factors as we consider how and when to reopen the country.

2. I am learning a lot about my community as well as family and friends throughout the pandemic. I’ve learned a lot about people's priorities including my own, as every activity that we’ve enjoyed our entire lives have been stripped from us. Personal liberty has been taken in the name of safety. Also I have learned a lot about my friends and who I will continue to be close with for the rest of my life and who maybe we shared just a brief moment as high school friends. Based on the reactions of the many people I've spoken to about the virus I have listened to many different viewpoints ranging from those who think we should have never shut down and those who believe we cannot open without a cure (which is nonsense).

3. My own personal opinion on the situation before us is fairly simple. We have all sacrificed a great deal to contain the health crisis to this point. This was not our fault as Americans. For me personally, one day everything was normal. I had my first game of my senior year baseball season. As many of my peers I was looking forward to completing my high school journey with events such as prom, graduation and many more. The next day, everything changed. And frankly I am not upset about missing out. Why? I have a friend who lost his Dad to covid. Nothing I could miss out on would be able to compare on the scale of losing a family member. So I am thankful everyday for the health of my family and pray it continues. Many more people would have lost their mothers, fathers, grandparents if we didn’t sacrifice all that we have. Maybe a million Americans would die if we continued with our business. So it was the right decision at that time when our hospitals were reaching capacity, and there was still much to learn about the coronavirus. 2 months later, we find ourselves with the inevitable repercussions from the shutdown. Nearly 40 million Americans have applied for unemployment. Suicides have skyrocketed as well as drug use. And being in New York, it still remains unclear when our normal lives will return. Most hospitals are currently less than half capacity and losing more money everyday from the loss of elective surgery which they make most of their money from. We have done our part by staying inside to prevent a disaster and flatten the curve. Now it's time to get our Country back.