Coronavirus with a Side of Lime, Please

The Coronavirus is in full swing around the world, wreaking havoc on everything from peoples’ health to the stock market, and turning everything into a clusterf*** of concern. Is this something we should be so concerned about? Is the world as we know it coming to an end?

At first, I wasn’t concerned about the virus since the cases that were coming up were in other countries and it seemed like the only way it could spread would be if you traveled to any of those countries where people are infected. However, after several cases have come up on the West Coast without any of the risk factors being apparent, I get a little nervous. I think that the media may be blowing this up to be a little bit more than it is and others think it’s nothing to be worried about, but I think it’s worth thinking about and having some vigilance. Personally, I would not want to travel at this point. It would be like playing a game of chicken with my health if it happens that the virus spreads to other parts of the world.

I don’t think that we are prepared to deal with this pandemic from a governmental perspective. There are plenty of things that can be done to prevent the virus from spreading, including washing your hands, staying home if you are sick, getting the appropriate treatment and getting tested if you are feeling any symptoms, etc., that do not involve the government. However, I do think that in times of crisis, the government should at least make us feel relieved since they are the ones with more information (well, some of the agencies have more information than others). Downplaying the virus to say that it will go away in a couple of months is irresponsible. The way to get rid of it or contain it is to come up with a plan for a pandemic, not create false promises that everything is completely fine and appointing someone to deal with this that actually has medical training.

Maybe I sound like I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth here, but I don’t like how this has been politicized. Some on the left want this pandemic to happen so that the stock market will crash, put us into a recession and ultimately get President Trump out of office (let an election loss happen because he just sucks, not through a global recession that would hurt billions of people). Some on the right think that the Coronavirus is a hoax and just a ploy whipped up by the Democrats to take down the president. Again, this is a virus that needs to be contained or it could potentially get worse. It’s a shame that not even a possible pandemic could bring people together. Put your politics aside, work together and figure out how we can contain this before it gets any worse.

(Picture Courtesy of University of Maryland School of Medicine)

Originally published at http://mypanoramicperspective.com on March 1, 2020.