The guidelines are simple: Stay home; wear a mask; keep your distance. Yet, over the last few weeks important officials dealing with and supporting the coronavirus outbreak have been caught with their masks down. Or breaking protocols on social distancing as in the case of British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson. New Zealand Health Minister David Clark violated the country’s lock down to visit the beach and Vice President Mike Pence visited a hospital sans a mask. Those are a few instances of people in the public eye, but take a walk around your own town and you are likely to see people not masked, not social distancing and breaking other stay-at-home protocols. The thing all these people have in common is...they're human. Let's face it nearly sixty days in quarantine without a dining out, happy hour or other public social experience (hello? NBA, NHL and most likely MLB seasons cancelled). No beaches , public pools, tennis courts, amusement parks or even playgrounds for that matter. The world has become boring and so have our lives. We are all feeling the rebellious need to break a rule by sneaking out to see a friend or go out without a mask. In Denver today it became mandatory to don a mask in public. No excuses. These types of orders are stifling the public and many don't understand them. So if you are misunderstood then get the information you need to understand. The virus is real (some fanatic people are calling it a hoax) and it is not going away anytime soon. On March 31, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the pandemic “the most challenging crisis we have faced since the Second World War.” Until a vaccine is created and the infections stop increasing (according to worldmeters.com there is a seven day moving avergae of over 85,000 new cases) the world will need to do what it can to prevent the spread. If that means wearing a mask, not traveling or visiting friends and family then so be it.
The facts are the disease, which can trigger severe respiratory symptoms, has been reported on every continent except Antarctica and in at least 180 countries. Over 3.7 million cases have been reported and remember those untested but carrying the virus are not counted in this number (researchers are saying 25-50 percent of people who have Covid19 are unaware). The death total stands at 263,382.
Do not be fooled or be a fool. The virus effects people differently according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Coronaviruses range from common cold symptoms to much more serious diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Strains spread more efficiently than others; the virus that causes covid-19 seems to spread easily from person to person. So, be diligent. Don't be lazy or tired of the restrictions because they were put in place to save lives, including yours. BE responsible. BE alive.
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