Effective Handling of COVID-19

Dear Editor,

Coronavirus cases in the US have grown completely out of hand, with infected numbers being significantly higher than previously reported, as the New York Times says. Despite claims of improvement, infected but asymptomatic civilians continue to spread the disease across the population. The US needs to step up its game through expanding testing capacity and enforcing stay at home orders.

In a short few months, the US has quickly risen to contain the largest number of coronavirus cases in the world because of our negligence and lack of response. Furthermore, for other viruses, herd immunity will typically help the population protect those with the largest factor of risk: older adults, younger children, disabled citizens, and those with previous medical conditions, as stated by the CDC. However, for coronavirus, we are nowhere close to achieving that immunity. Without it, the most vulnerable of the population will be highly susceptible to COVID, in addition to as many as 70,000 new reported cases daily (reported from World Health Organization).

Therefore, the US must begin to expand testing capabilities and capacities throughout hard hit areas of the US, such as New York City, in order to get a more accurate reading of the situation. With these numbers, the government can then appropriately respond to each individual area based on the intensity of the cases. Then, we must heavily self- enforce stay at home orders and attempt to decrease human contact as much as possible through ordering delivery or shopping online instead. Without full assurance of the near-eradication of the virus, it is safe to say that the US should not be reopening and returning to normal activities.

Best,

April Feng

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/health/coronavirus-infections-us.html