As of today the U.S. has been fighting arguably the most significant pandemic in the modern era. Since the COVID-19 virus arrived in the states, we as a country have suffered the loss of many pastimes, many jobs, and, most importantly, many lives. After the death of over eighty two thousand Americans, it would be reasonable to assume that the worse is behind us and maybe we can look to returning to some semblance of normalcy as a country. In fact many state governors are beginning to feel this way as states such as Georgia and Florida move into reopening non-essential businesses.  However, this decision has the potential to be (very literally) a fatal decision since due to the nature of the COVID-19 virus, there can likely be multiple waves of outbreaks if not handled correctly.

Already we have seen the effects reopening too soon has had on this country. In recent studies the projected total death count in the United States is now one hundred and forty seven thousand deaths. While that is already a jarring statistic on it’s own, what is perhaps even more significant about this statistic is that it has seen a rise of over ten thousand deaths in the past few weeks and the main cause credited for that has been the ease of stay at home restrictions. In other words the hastiness to reopen up states and return to business as usual is projected to be the cause of the potential deaths of ten thousand Americans.

Since the increase in these projections, many scientist have come out with their own warnings to the United States to refrain from any reckless or hasty reopens including Dr. Anthony Fauci (director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease).  Dr. Fauci in a recent address stated, “There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control.” This was a warning to state senators who are heavily considering reopening businesses in fear of taking too big of an economical hit. Dr. Fauci even went as far as asking the rhetorical question to the government, “How many deaths and how much suffering are you willing to accept to get back to what you want to be, some form of normality, sooner rather than later?” Although the question was taken as a rhetorical one, it feels difficult to imagine any morally based answer outside of “Zero.” We should not have to sacrifice lives to save our dollars, and that may be exactly what we would be doing if state governors allow workers to return to business as usual far too early.

Our jobs, not as workers but as human beings, are not quite done just yet. The health of the American people under no circumstances should be sacrificed in order to prevent economical loss. This virus is by no means under control and is still a very looming threat for the country and the world, whether you are a student, a worker, old or young, this effects all of us. It is critical to the success of this country to remain patient and make educated decisions using the facts that we have available to us. Economical loss can, and likely will, be recovered, eventually; however, the lives that we have lost and continue to lose will be gone forever.

For more information about the COVID-19 pandemic and where the United States currently stands, see the links below;

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/05/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-economy-models/index.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/12/coronavirus-fauci-says-earlier-social-distancing-would-have-saved-more-lives.html

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/anthony-fauci-congress-hearing/index.html