GUEST COLUMN: Fear isn't the method to beat COVID-19
I heard something funny while standing in line with my 11-year-old brother at my local dollar mart yesterday. We were there for the very same reason I reckon the other shoppers were: toilet paper. If you’ve been paying attention to any national media over the last couple of weeks, you’d know that due to the oncoming coronavirus apocalypse, we’re about to run out of toilet paper. I imagine many of you have seen the clips of people brawling in supermarkets over it. So as I stood with a cart loaded to the brim with toilet paper and coffee creamer (What? A guy can’t enjoy a little bit of vanilla flavoring in his coffee anymore just because the world is facing a pandemic?) when the person standing in front of me began to very loudly share his thoughts on the whole situation.
“This is all planned. Secret British Empire New World Order. They’re working with the Chinese to wipe us out. They’ve been doing it for years. I stay away from certain food brands because I know what they’re putting in it. You all ever see 'Soylent Green' with Charlton Heston? They’re putting dead people in all our food and cosmetic products to weaken us! The coronavirus is just the next step of their plan,” he said.
The man then proceeded to list off all of the brands that were feeding us dead people. You could hear a pin drop in the building through his entire rant. Two things immediately came to mind as soon as it was over. First, I can’t believe what I just heard with my own two ears; how do I share this experience? Second, and more importantly, it led me to an epiphany about human nature itself. Are we really so afraid that we would punch someone in the face over a roll of toilet paper? That we would shout the most deranged conspiracy theories to a crowd of onlookers?
As of the time of this writing, there have been over 115,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, at least 1,000 in the United States in general, and eight in Kentucky. Worldwide, we’ve seen a death toll of over 4,200. We know that it is a respiratory illness that can go without symptoms for weeks at a time and that it is particularly dangerous to the very young and the elderly.
Gov. Andy Beshear has urged Kentuckians to stay away from large public gatherings and has even asked churches to suspend services for the week and to avoid nursing homes at all costs for the safety of those living in them. Gov. Beshear also advised to avoid cruise ships or any travel abroad for the time being while also barring any non-essential travel outside of the state for government employees. Events are being suspended left and right, and many colleges (including my own) are temporarily making all classes online or cancelling the rest of the semester outright.
The last thing I want to do is downplay the dangers of the coronavirus. It’s a big deal, and yes, it is scary. And the cold hard truth is that we’re very likely going to start see it pop up in our personal lives very soon. Some people you know will probably come down with it and some may even die. And I am truly sorry about that. But this mass hysteria I’ve been seeing is quite possibly the worst possible way to react to a pandemic.
Punching a stranger in the face over a roll of toilet paper is not how you keep the coronavirus at bay. Neither is stoking up fear on your social media or in person with inane conspiracies. A calm and measured response is the best way to keep from being infected and to keep from spreading it around to friends and family. Unnecessary terror and desperation will only make conditions for the virus much worse for us than they actually are.
COVID-19 is not an airborne virus. It’s largely spread through person to person contact. The CDC’s advice for keeping it at bay are simple and incredibly similar to the steps everyone should be taking to watch out for the hellacious flu strain we’re also dealing with. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Stay away from crowded areas. It’s not really that much to ask for, and frankly, keeping your hands clean and away from your face is just a basic hygiene practice that should be followed all the time. In regards to the symptoms of COVID-19, they’re known for being mild. Most cases of it reported having a dry cough and fever as well as body aches. Around 5% of come down with a sore throat. Death rates for the virus are very low for younger people.
I think that our state government has done about as good of a job combating this as any could have given the circumstances. All eight of the confirmed cases within the state are either hospitalized or under home isolation. While there are almost certainly more cases in the state that are not contained, I take comfort knowing that we had a little more time to get ready for this than people in coastal states did; as it could’ve been a lot worse for us right out the gate. And the news coming internationally isn’t entirely bleak itself. At this point in China there have been more recoveries than there are infections. South Korea is also seeing infection rates drop off without having to lock down their cities. That alone is proof that it’s not the end of the world, and that like any other disease, COVID-19 can be contained if the proper steps are followed.
Things are going to get worse before they get better. Odds are we’ll all have to take some steps to help ensure the safety of ourselves and those around us that won’t be too fun. That much is a fact. COVID-19 is not something that should be taken lightly, but it’s not the world-ending epidemic that it’s being made out to be. That being said, if a few months from now I find myself in a shootout with someone over a roll of toilet paper, I will feel very bad about writing this op-ed. So for my sake, please wash your hands. Maybe don’t go to that crowded comic book convention or ball game. Try not to spend much too time in grocery stores. Be cautious. Be smart. But don’t be afraid. Fear isn’t the way to beat this thing.
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