Anna Dittman, 10th grade, Marshall County High School
According to the CDC the United States has suffered from roughly 39,083 deaths caused by the coronavirus. That number is only going to increase if the government continues to remain lenient with the actions taken to reduce the rate of infection. It is a necessity that the federal government is granted the power it needs to enforce restrictions upon our citizen’s mobility. Hope of our nation overcoming this illness is only possible if the government takes a stricter approach on enforcing social distancing; making suggestions to stay home is not enough to prevent people from leaving and further spreading the disease.
In order to keep people from going out in public and making nonessential visits, a stricter set of rules should be implemented or nobody is going to listen. Young people continue to treat their everyday lives as if nothing has changed because they do not care whether they get sick or not. They do not take into consideration the amount of elderly and sick people that could potentially become infected and die due to their selfish actions. Without strict curfews and punishments for those caught taking nonessential trips, people will continue doing as they please, worsening the issue at hand.
Furthermore, the coronavirus is spread through droplets generated when an infected person sneezes, coughs, or talks. In a study done by students from the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology it has been proven that droplets from a sneeze can travel twenty-six feet, meaning that a person could be standing a telephone pole’s length away from someone and still catch the virus. The best way to stop the spread is to reduce the amount of times we leave the house. If everyone continues to go to stores, restaurants, and social gatherings nothing will ever get better. Also, a person can be a carrier of the illness without showing any symptoms, so regardless of how others feel it is fundamental that we stay home.
Regardless of how important staying at home is at this time, we can all agree that being quarantined is rather boring. Everyone misses their friends and family that they do not live with, and it is understandable that people want to go out in public and visit each other. However, there are so many different resources we can use to keep in contact with them that it is unnecessary to put our own and others’ health at risk to hang out in person. For example, Skype and FaceTime is the perfect way to have a conversation with someone while also being able to see them face to face. Instead of looking at all the negative aspects of being forced to stay at home, we should be trying to find the positives. Now is the perfect time to pick up new hobbies, learn new activities, and connect with the family members and pets in our homes.
The coronavirus is not a joke and should not be taken lightly, which is why it is important that the government takes a stricter approach. Suggesting that people stay home is not enough to instill the importance of social distancing and ending the spread of COVID-19. Staying informed and doing our part to flatten the curve is an urgent part of stopping this disease and ending quarantine once and for all.