Stay Cautious of COVID-19
Despite popular belief, COVID-19 is still an issue in our society.
After two years of successfully evading COVID-19, I lost the battle and got sick over thanksgiving break.
Despite the dangerous nature of it, I had a very difficult time getting off work because they didn’t want me to take more than three days off to quarantine.
This is in direct contrast to CDC’s and WHO’s recommendations, which specify the importance of self-isolating to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
One common mistake that many people in 2022 make is believing that COVID-19 is “no longer an issue.” This is simply not true.
According to The New York Times, “Going into Thanksgiving weekend, conditions are fairly stable. Cases have risen modestly in the past two weeks, to around 42,000 per day nationwide.”
While this is a stark decrease from this time last year (119,892 new cases on November 24, 2021), it’s definitely still an issue. As of now, when it comes to COVID-19, the CDC still recommends quarantine to prevent infecting others.
The CDC’s Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19 states, “If you test positive for COVID-19, stay home for at least 5 days and isolate from others in your home.”
Despite the CDC’s warning, many feel that these rules are harmful and feel stigmatizing to the one who’s sick.
According to Stat News, “So far, public health recommendations… [put the blame] on the individual. Threats of… quarantine often come next, which looks a lot like blaming the victim: punishing people for getting sick or treating people like criminals, not patients.”
Whether you agree with this ideology or not, the benefits of self-isolating are clear.
According to the world health organization, “The risks of getting COVID-19 are higher in crowded [spaces]… Avoid the 3Cs: spaces that are closed, crowded or involve close contact.”
This information makes it clear that COVID-19 is not over. What we as a society need to do is enforce the dangerous nature of this virus and remember that it is still an issue. If we can all do this, we will have more empathy for others and more awareness of our own body systems.
