By Jared Sullivan
In December of 2019, a strain of what appeared to resemble the flu appeared in the Chinese province of Wuhan. It seemed relatively insignificant at the time, but the Chinese government acted almost immediately, putting its citizens on lockdown and setting up hospital beds for the citizens who showed symptoms of the disease.
In the last few months, we have seen the virus spread to virtually all parts of the world. Major hot spots for Coronavirus, better known as COVID-19, include, but are not limited to, Italy, South Korea, Iran and China.
On Monday, March 16, the total number of cases reported for COVID-19 were 170,000 worldwide, with another 6,000 fatalities as a result. In China, the number reached 80,000 cases and 3,000 deaths (half of all world’s cases and deaths, respectively). Next up, Italy had 25,000 cases as well as 1,800 deaths. Iran had nearly 14,000 cases as well as 724 deaths as of recent. The United States on the other hand had nearly 3,800 cases and 70 deaths. At this point, basically every nation has had a case of COVID-19, if not more, ranging from the United States Virgin Islands at one case to China at 80,000.
The first reported case in the United States was in Washington State in January, before spreading to the East Coast. As the numbers in America Rise, criticism has turned towards the Trump administration for their alleged incompetence when it comes to handling the crisis. In 2018, President Trump had dismantled the Obama era Pandemic team that dealt with crises such as the Swine flu of 2009-2010. Furthermore, Trump’s 2020 Budget calls for increased cuts to CDC funding. He has also classified meetings regarding the virus and even blamed Obama for the crisis, even though he reportedly made false claims in his previous tweets regarding non-existent regulations set in place by Obama, which he claimed made things difficult for him, according to reports.
On top of this, Vice President Mike Pence, who Trump put in charge of the coronavirus task force, reportedly denied the test kit offered by the World Health Organization, which was first developed in China. Of course, while it is most likely the Trump Administration could have done a number of things to help contain the virus, keeping it out of the United States would have been impossible, seeing as how many countries have reported cases as of late. This new pandemic, as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it to be, raises the issue of how to effectively deliver healthcare in the United States.
I was able to interview a number of students at the college before it shut down; generally the students told me they did not think much of the virus when it was first reported in Wuhan. As the cases spread to Washington state, the attitude changed to shock and surprise, and when it reached the East coast, shock became fear and uncertainty. Others said they believed that this virus is being exaggerated.
Meanwhile, so far, while it does not seem to be as dramatic as the Swine flu pandemic of 2009-10, the virus has certainly become a worldwide crisis that has resulted in deaths, lockdowns, suspensions of schools and shortages of items such as toilet paper and other necessities.
Norwalk Community college has been shut down as a result of the pandemic, with classes and activities temporarily suspended until April 5. Classes will resume online after the March 16-20 spring break, resuming Monday, March 23.
It has been speculated that the people who are most likely to be affected by COVID-19 are the elderly, while younger people will generally not get the virus or not show overt signs of being infected.
It is highly recommended that you wash your hands at least a few times a day, and distance yourself socially from those who are at the greatest risk of infection.