We can discuss and write about the ongoing health epidemic, so please feel free to write about your experience and concerns. This is obviously part of the social context of this writing, and you may include reflection writings on this ongoing situation in your portfolios.
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I woke up Friday morning to the New York Times headlines: “N.Y Has Over 40 Percent of U.S. Coronavirus”, I’m not sure if I was surprised necessarily but the percentage was definitely something I wasn’t expecting. I don’t believe we are taking this “social distancing” as seriously as we should since for the past few days Florida’s beaches have been swarmed with people. I, as a young individual, may not get the symptoms as harshly as someone older than me but I still find it important to take the precautions to protect the older individuals that are around me that may have weaker immune systems. The past few days have been very eye-opening. I don’t think we really take anything seriously unless it has a direct impact on us. As I read further into this article it stated: “New York City now has about 4,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 26 people have died from the virus”. Just last weekend New York had its first confirmed death and now by week’s end, we are at 26 deaths. Will it get worse before it gets better? I’m sure the answer is yes. With all the education institutions mostly closed for classes, maybe that has allowed the numbers to not be as high as they could have been. But are people truly taking the precautions to protect others, not just themselves? I mean, yes people have their face mask on and their gloves and pretty much no one is taking the train now but people aren’t really refraining from going to such large social gatherings. What upsets me is the fact that thousands of people are going to beaches, like in Florida. And authorities sit quietly. With less large social interactions we could prevent an extremely fast spread but some young people don’t think they could get it simply because they are young. That is very untrue. A few college students have tested positive across New York State. A five-year-old girl and boy tested positive in both Howard County and New Jersey so no one is really “immune”.
Another issue that I found is the racial stereotyping that is occurring due to the outbreak of the virus. Recently on twitter, #RacismIsAVirus was trending after Donald Trump’s statement “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are partially affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!” Why did Trump call it a “Chinese Virus”? I think we all know why. This created a serious discussion on twitter by people who are harassed and disrespected during these times simply due to how they look. If the president can make a racial statement like that, then this gives citizens within this country the power to do so as well. This isn’t right because this is a highly diverse country and people shouldn’t be racially profiled over something they have nothing to do with and no control over. I saw it almost every day on my way to campus. If someone coughs who happens to be Asian no one will sit next to them or they would even get off the train entirely. This is sad because even when there was an outbreak of the swine flu in 2009, no one harassed Americans or called it the “American Virus” but yet the president of our country thinks its right to do so.
I actually don’t pay attention to news on my own. I mostly watch the news when I visit my grandmother since she has a show she watches that plays after the news. The only thing to note is that I actually don’t understand the news we’re watching, but my father and the neighbor we have over kindly translate it for me. The gist at least. My grandmother isn’t fluent in English, so she mostly watches Spanish shows. I know a little bit of Spanish, but I’m in no way fluent in it. I can get bits and pieces, but bits and pieces don’t really help me figure out the big picture. Anyhow, my grandmother was freaking out with the coronavirus news. She started preparing and buying a bunch of supplies for the virus and started calling us frequently to make sure we didn’t go outside.
Everyone panicking and buying supplies, especially toilet paper. I went to Target with my father to prepare for the virus and there were empty aisles of toilet paper. First of all, why? I would expect people to raid the food section, but the food section still had a lot of goods. The whole pasta section was empty, but there was plenty of other food around. We worked with what was left. Although I will say it’s weird and comforting all at the same time that people were staying a good distance away from each other. That everyone was trying their best to prevent the spread by going through aisles of three people or less and trying to maintain distance. A lot of people were wearing masks as well. At first, seeing people with masks was jarring.
I personally felt strange putting on my mask for the first time. It’s not something I’m accustomed to, but I want to protect myself and my family. Sad to say that in the beginning of the week there were plenty of people who didn’t wear a mask. There was also a family that had a barbeque and set off fireworks, which made me angry and concerned. People are dying from this pandemic and here people are, kids, adults, and elders having a party. I’m not saying partying is bad, but there’s a time and a place. None of them were wearing masks, and they were all gathered around closely. It just pains me to see that a lot of people weren’t taking it seriously and were getting close to those who were taking it seriously.
Although, I will say this week people have gotten better. More and more people are wearing masks and keeping a good distance from each other. Grocery stores have also implemented updated policies where people can only enter and purchase goods with a mask. Everyone is working together to try and keep each other safe, which I appreciate. Hopefully the pandemic will be over soon, but even if it is over soon… A lot of people are going to experience hardships as a result of the virus.