By Michael Santiago—
On February 29th, a man had died in Washington State after he had unknowingly contracted the Coronavirus making him the first confirmed death of the Coronavirus in the United States. He is the first patient who contracted the virus from overseas to unfortunately succumb to this illness. Due to how extremely uncertain it is to pinpoint exactly who among the population has contracted the disease, this first confirmed death from the virus has caused mass hysteria and paranoia here in the States. People have begun to panic and have taken extreme precautions in order to avoid as much exposure to any possible source of the virus as to not contract it. Although we have heard that it is the high risk population that is vulnerable, it still does not put people’s minds at ease. According to CNN, China, the early epicenter of the outbreak, has still had more confirmed cases than any other country – more than 80,000 – a number of other countries have surged in recent days, including Italy with more than 24,000 cases, Iran with almost 14,000 and Spain with more than 7,000. The virus has also been confirmed in other countries including Korea, Spain, and Australia.
“The quarantines have been decently successful at preventing the spreading of the virus so that strategy has been implemented well.” - Angel Martinez
It was a given that the President were to give the nation a few words regarding the subject and whether or not there was a plan put in place to combat the pandemic that was slowly arising. Currently, the United States has issued more travel restrictions in an attempt to lower the chance of the virus arriving from overseas. There is also talk about the future possibility of creating a vaccine to fight the virus, however, that could be months or more away. In the meantime, citizens are still unsure whether to feel safe in their own homes or communities. So far, it is currently a virus free zone here at PCCC and its students had a bit to say about the upcoming pandemic at hand. One such student is an Angel Martinez, aged 20, and is a Graphic Design major. He had quite a bit to say about the virus and its affect on the world. Martinez believed that the fact that other countries have been confirmed to contain the virus has slightly affected his decision to visit those countries such as Japan. “Japanese culture and Japan itself are things I hold special interest in visiting,” Martinez expressed. “But now with the outbreak, it does make me reluctant to go once I would pull together the funds for it.” Martinez must now reconsider whether he would ever take his trip to Japan and risk becoming infected. He also stated that the Coronavirus poses another serious issue for other reasons besides its lethality. Martinez claimed that since China had essentially shut down that it is having a serious impact on the economy. Martinez relayed that “China shutting down means that one of the world’s largest hubs for production has also shut down. Countries and companies nationally rely on China and their production power to supply them with goods.” These changes, he said, caused the price to produce to increase dramatically. In an effort to better our situation, Martinez believed that if people were to simply practice safe hygiene such as regular hand washing, showering, and disinfecting surfaces and other items, it can prevent the virus from spreading and infecting further. “The quarantines have been decently successful at preventing the spreading of the virus so that strategy has been implemented well.” Lastly, Martinez also believed that the overuse of face masks is completely irrational and is not really the best way to protect yourself. While Martinez stated that he would not travel overseas due to the Coronavirus, another student on campus, Luis Silverio, a Graphic Design major, said that these recent outbreaks had not affected his desire to travel to other countries. “If I were to visit these countries, I would take many precautions to make sure I am not infected while still being able to travel and enjoy the trip.” Silverio found it very infuriating that the world is not taking the Coronavirus serious and felt as though that nobody is doing anything to try and stop it. He stated that to avoid making the situation worse that they should “stop all travel and people should start going to the doctors more often to be checked up.” It is very clear that the Coronavirus had become one of the scariest diseases of the new decade. Whether or not we will find a cure soon is uncertain. But in the meantime, it is best to practice your safest hygiene possible and play the waiting game.