You are a force to be reckoned with. You matter. It does not matter if you are alone in thought, word or deed.
You make all the difference in the world. One person started COVID-19 in Washington, and one person started COVID-19 in New York. We can all be the one person in our own corner of the world to start the COVID-19 healing process.
The New England Journal of Medicine reports:
“On December 31, 2019, China reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in people associated with the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, Hubei Province. On January 7, 2020, Chinese health authorities confirmed that this cluster was associated with a novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV. Although cases were originally reported to be associated with exposure to the seafood market in Wuhan, current epidemiologic data indicate that person-to-person transmission of 2019-nCoV is occurring. As of January 30, 2020, a total of 9,976 cases had been reported in at least 21 countries, including the first confirmed case of 2019-nCoV infection in the United States, reported on January 20, 2020. Investigations are under way worldwide to better understand transmission dynamics and the spectrum of clinical illness. This report describes the epidemiologic and clinical features of the first case of 2019-nCoV infection confirmed in the United States.
“On January 19, 2020, a 35-year-old man presented to an urgent care clinic in Snohomish County, Washington, with a 4-day history of cough and subjective fever. On checking into the clinic, the patient put on a mask in the waiting room. After waiting approximately 20 minutes, he was taken into an examination room and underwent evaluation by a provider. He disclosed that he had returned to Washington State on January 15 after traveling to visit family in Wuhan, China. The patient stated that he had seen a health alert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the novel coronavirus outbreak in China and, because of his symptoms and recent travel, decided to see a health care provider.”
Last week New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke to the fact that one person started COVID-19 in New Rochelle, New York, which led to 352,845 total cases in New York, 22,843 deaths; including 1,474 new cases there and 114 new deaths today. While these numbers are far fewer than the previous horrific number of confirmed cases and deaths, it is important to note that 1,474 new cases does not mean that COVID-19 is gone in New York, nor any other place in the world where this killer virus still lingers.
One person matters.
You matter.
Being the one person to call this COVID-19 worldwide pandemic a hoax has sparked the reality of 4,490,022 worldwide cases, with 315,822 deaths, according to The Guardian, using statistics from Johns Hopkins research. And yes, 1,419,972 people did recover from COVID-19. But this latter figure is not the one to concentrate on because that is not the figure that will help us not get it in the first place.
Being the one person to call this COVID-19 worldwide pandemic a hoax has sparked the reality of 1,528,488 cases in the United States of America, which is up 20,260 confirmed cases since yesterday, and 91,933 deaths, which is up 1,574 deaths since yesterday.
Obviously this is not over. These figures show that we have not even flattened the curve, as long as new cases are on the rise each day. As of May 20, 2020, the USA shows an increase of 20,260 new coronavirus cases across this country, and Massachusetts shows an increase of 1,915 new confirmed cases. Check out your state on this map to find your state’s numbers. Click on “switch view” at the bottom of each state to see new case numbers:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/may/15/coronavirus-map-us-latest-cases-state-by-state
For example, in Massachusetts, there are 87,925 known confirmed cases. Since we are testing only about 1 percent of the population, this number is far greater than reported. Today we have an increase of 1,915 new cases, and our death toll of 5,938 has risen to by 141, in this state alone. These figures do not make the curve flat.
How each one of us, being the one person who can make a difference whether we continue to spread this killer virus, or we decide to go along with social distancing measures while wearing face masks and gloves, will determine our future.
SNOPES, a non-opinionated fact finder in current news says that the United States and South Korea COVID-19 cases were reported on the same day, January 20, 2019. One person made all the difference in the healing process in South Korea.
A special report from Reuters noted that South Korean health officials gathered in late January 2020 and decided that the need for testing was urgent. South Korea’s CDC approved its first diagnostic test the following week, and by the end of February, drive-thru testing facilities that screened thousands of people a day were in operation.
The Atlantic Daily on May 6 wrote that South Korea reported zero new domestic coronavirus infections for the third day in a row. What made this possible was their approach to:
- TEST
- TRACE
- ISOLATE
Hand sanitizer was everywhere in South Korea. They sprayed down their sidewalks and surfaces in the cities while in full protective suits, face shields and gloves.
The idea was to limit the spread, even from people sneezing and coughing which could land on sidewalks and railings. They took off their shoes before going into their homes so as not to get COVID-19 on the floors of their houses.
Let each of us be the one person to stop the spread of new COVID-19 infections in our home, neighborhood and area. The dark of night can be lit by just one candle. Let us all be that spark of intelligent light, when we choose to go out, to remain vigilant, remain 6 feet away from others, continue to wear face masks, wear gloves when opening doors or touching surfaces, taking shoes off when we go into our homes, and washing our hands and surfaces faithfully. One person matters.
You and I can be the one person to stop a second wave of COVID-19 from resurging, even while the rest of the country is still scrambling to get a first firm hold on this coronavirus.
You and I can be the one person to take charge of our personal space, to end this pandemic with the light of intelligent know how. The brief five-month history of COVID-19 around the world shows us all that this is no hoax.
You are a force to be reckoned with. You matter.
Because You Deserve To Feel Better