News Flash: The Pandemic Is Not Over
The Corsair
My Uncle Tali was one of the best people you could meet. The minute he entered a room, the atmosphere lifted and you just knew that you’d have a great laugh because of his infamous sense of humor. He was easy to spot at every family reunion, you could never miss the worn-out sombrero and infectious laugh. Among many of the things that he was, Uncle Tali was also careful.
When COVID-19 had its first outbreak in the states, he reminded his family to stay safe. When quarantine was first invoked in Los Angeles, he stayed inside as much as possible and abided by all the precautionary guidelines when he had to leave his house. However, Coronavirus is cunning, and as my family learned, even the most careful still fall victim to it.
Despite all the measures he took to prevent from contracting the virus, my Uncle Tali tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 29. After a few days battling merciless symptoms, he was rushed to the ER. His physical state weakened, and soon after he was put on a ventilator. Every worst-case scenario manifested, and within a week, my family was struck with the news of his passing on Oct. 3.
His death hit us heavily. It was rather hard to process the fact that someone so lively was no longer alive. When you experience the death of a close one, naturally, you want to find someone or something to blame. In my uncle’s case, we could put the blame on anything really; on tired doctors, on overflowed hospitals, on the virus itself, but in retrospect, the blame was only on ourselves.
My uncle’s passing came at an interesting time in this pandemic. Starting July, the Trump Administration had pulled back on an already flimsy attempt to control the spread of the virus. Life was slowly adapting to a new normal. Restaurants and other public spaces had begun reopening, people started to socialize outside of their quarantine bubble, and masks even seemed to slowly disappear in certain areas.
Though it was obvious we were all ready to go back to the way things were before the pandemic, rising COVID-19 cases pointed in the opposite direction. The United States quickly became the epicenter for recorded cases, accumulating a total of 11 million diagnosed as of November. In California, cases have surpassed the one million mark, ranking second only to Texas. My Uncle Tali became one of the 246,000 recorded deaths in the U.S.
The trouble with this virus does not come from lack of research or even a bad immune system; it stems from our collective decision to feign ignorance. We go out to eat, we enjoy the simplicities of strolling down avenues, all in the middle of a raging pandemic. We don’t want to believe it, but things have not gotten better. COVID-19 cases are jumping through the roof, hospitalizations surge, and people are dying. We are only as close to the end of this as we were in the beginning; except now a large portion of the country’s population no longer respect the dangers of this virus.
The coronavirus is predicted to reach a second peak in the winter, and with it will also come a peak in deaths. Our current administration refuses to effectively tackle this issue, so it's up to us to take charge. Above all things, this virus is preventable. Go to public spaces only if you need to, wear a mask at all times, and stay home. My uncle Tali could’ve been anyone; your brother, your father, a friend, or your neighbor. And in this reality, he still can be. If we’re not careful, many deaths that could have been prevented will continue to occur, and there will be no-one to blame but us.
