Jacob Fox, Period 1, 5/1/2020 (LATE)

What are the updates around the world/community regarding the virus?

Within a short period of time last week, the subject of media attention has rapidly shifted from updates about Covid-19 to the ongoing protests and demonstrations across the country. Cases in the United States are still increasing at a considerable rate, and this has been exacerbated by the recent reopening of many states. With almost two million cases, over twenty thousand new cases daily and over a hundred thousand deaths, it’s clear that there is still a serious threat. In New York, under the direction of Governor Cuomo, stay at home orders and other restrictions on gatherings and business have been extended until June 27. It’s evident from looking at the numbers that these measures are effective. Comparing the graphs of daily new cases in New in New York versus the entire U.S. shows a clear difference. The highest number of daily cases in new york was 11,571 on April 14. There were 941 new cases on May 31. Comparing that to the entire United States, in which there was a peak of 36137 cases on april 24, but there was still 21703 on May 31. New York has experienced a decline by more than a factor of 12 since the peak, while daily cases in the United States as a whole have declined by less than a factor of 2.


What are you learning about your world/community based on the reactions?

As always, it’s difficult to get people to cooperate when you want to place temporary restrictions on their freedoms. A lot of people make it out like it’s either an all or nothing situation. Either we’re all locked inside our homes by an oppressive government, or we’re free and we can go wherever we want, do whatever we want, and not have to wear masks. Some of the stricter measures to reduce the spread of the virus wouldn’t be necessary if everyone observed some reasonable precautions such as minimizing time spent outside, especially around other people, standing at least six feet apart, and wearing a mask. I’m learning that a lot of people don’t take things seriously until it affects them personally.


Your own personal feelings and thoughts about what is happening right now.

It’s strange to me how quickly everyone has moved on from talking about the virus to talking about the protests. Coronavirus is still a threat, and is affecting the lives of thousands of people across the country. I think that it is entirely possible to stage a peaceful protest while observing the precautions necessary to minimize the spread of Covid-19, and there have been many examples of exactly that occurring across the country. In an ideal world, these types of protests would be the only ones occurring. Police officers would be able to stand by peacefully, only being there to protect the right of the nonviolent protesters to assemble or to intervene if any situation becomes violent. However, some people have been taking advantage of the distractions caused by the protests to vandalize and loot businesses. This has caused issues for law enforcement, and has caused a lot of unnecessary and unwarranted force to be used on demonstrators operating entirely within their first amendment rights. It doesn’t help that the message from the White House has been to condone violent acts against citizens and seemingly seek only to escalate the conflict. I’ve never seen a situation this bad in America in my lifetime.