SARS CoV-2, COVID-19, and The World
It's no secret that right now the SARS CoV-2 is wreaking havoc across the world. As of today, the United States has surpassed China as the nation with the most cases of the novel coronavirus, with over 86,000 cases in our country to date. This is all pretty crazy, especially considering that this is all because of a pathogen that supposedly started with either bats or pangolins (the only mammal in the world known to have scales) in a small localized region of China. Of course, it's not only the health effects that are wide-reaching; the social effects are also just as prevalent. One of the ways in which the world is rapidly changing in regards to social effects is through panic buying of goods at places such as supermarkets and hypermarkets such as Walmart. However, the good news is that food in general is not going to run out; there may be shortages of certain particular items, nevertheless, as certain nations have curtailed exports. What is bound to change, possibly permanently, however, is the economy, with prices of food, particularly agricultural products, wildly fluctuating as the pandemic has worsened.
The way in which society is being effected that is most immediately noticeable to us, of course, is the aspect of social distancing. In order to slow the spread of the virus, which is incredibly contagious, much of the world has gone into "lockdown" mode, which is being taken more seriously (I'm looking at you, spring breakers) as the scary potential effects of COVID-19 are being seen by the general public. As a matter of fact, it is being seen that even young people are dying of a disease thought to really only pose a serious risk to the elderly or to those with preexisting immune system problems. The mixture of fear and anxiety that all of this information is causing in the general public has serious societal consequences regarding mental health,. Thus, it is important that we sometimes remember to take a step back and care for ourselves. This obviously does not mean try to ignore social distancing practices, such as what is apparently happening with the population of Wyoming, who ranked 51st (last) out of the 50 states plus Washington D.C. in a study of lowered mobility nationwide to combat the virus. Instead, we should all take solace in the fact that, no matter how and when, this crisis will end. Additionally, the silver lining is that this pandemic, much like what 9/11 did with national and international security, will likely permanently change how we respond to health problems on large and small scales in the future.
Sources:
The way in which society is being effected that is most immediately noticeable to us, of course, is the aspect of social distancing. In order to slow the spread of the virus, which is incredibly contagious, much of the world has gone into "lockdown" mode, which is being taken more seriously (I'm looking at you, spring breakers) as the scary potential effects of COVID-19 are being seen by the general public. As a matter of fact, it is being seen that even young people are dying of a disease thought to really only pose a serious risk to the elderly or to those with preexisting immune system problems. The mixture of fear and anxiety that all of this information is causing in the general public has serious societal consequences regarding mental health,. Thus, it is important that we sometimes remember to take a step back and care for ourselves. This obviously does not mean try to ignore social distancing practices, such as what is apparently happening with the population of Wyoming, who ranked 51st (last) out of the 50 states plus Washington D.C. in a study of lowered mobility nationwide to combat the virus. Instead, we should all take solace in the fact that, no matter how and when, this crisis will end. Additionally, the silver lining is that this pandemic, much like what 9/11 did with national and international security, will likely permanently change how we respond to health problems on large and small scales in the future.
Sources:
Trompiz, Guz. “Explainer: How the Coronavirus Crisis Is Affecting Food Supply.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 26 Mar. 2020, www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-food-explainer-idUSKBN21D36G.
Yancey-Bragg, N'dea, and Dalvin Brown. “How Well Are We Social Distancing? Smartphone Location Data Can Rank the States.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 26 Mar. 2020, www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/03/25/coronavirus-social-distancing-smartphone-data/5078106002/.
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