Each day Americans are forced to deal with COVID-19, they also face new hopes and greater fears of what’s yet to come.
Mass closings of public facilities from large arenas to small businesses such as barbershops and beauty salons are exacerbating the public’s frustrations and fears. Escalating calls for social distancing, self- isolation, state-wide shutdowns and enforcement measures by police departments, as well as the National Guard, point to the seriousness of this established pandemic.
The case has been proven that this coronavirus affects everyone, from a recently reported 1-year-old child, to seniors over the age of 60, and everyone in between. This virus does not discriminate, and its effects have shown to range anywhere from asymptomatic to deadly.
Still, too many Americans are refusing to take this global health crisis seriously. It’s hard not to when the numbers show that [as of press time] there were 372,757 confirmed cases of infections across the globe, with 16, 231 deaths. In the U.S., the CDC reported on Tuesday that there are 44,183 cases reported among all 50 states and a total of 544 deaths.
Even President Trump has not yet grasped the seriousness of this pandemic. Most likely against the advice of his Coronavirus Task Force members, Trump declared that America will win the “war” against this “invisible enemy” by Easter. “Ultimately the goal is to ease the guidelines and to open things up to very large sections of our country, as we near the end of our historic battle with the invisible enemy,” Trump said during a White House press briefing on Tuesday.
Despite Trump’s wishes and government leaders’ mandates, the lead story is how Americans are coming together to help one another, despite the government’s delayed efforts. Acts of kindness can be seen all across the nation and right here in D.C., where in Ward 8, returning citizens are assisting nonprofits to provide food to families in need. Patrons of two of the ward’s newest and most popular establishments — Busboys and Poets and Turning Natural — received an outpouring of support after vandals broke open their storefront windows earlier this week.
Overcoming the fear of coronavirus is difficult against a backdrop of daily news stories that suggest fear is an appropriate response over hope. This pandemic will come to an end, and when it does, social adjustments will continue to be forced upon us. For many, life won’t ever be the same, and for many others, that may be something hoped for.
