One million and still counting?

By Alex P. Vidal

“I’m tired of being behind this virus. We’ve been behind this virus from day one. We underestimated this virus. It’s more powerful, it’s more dangerous than we expected.” —Gov. Andrew Cuomo

UNBELIEVABLE but in the country where I currently live, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has shockingly breached the one million mark.

I’m referring to the mighty United States of America, the land of milk and honey and the most powerful country in the world militarily and economically.

There were now 1,000,100 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 56,521 deaths in the United States. Worldwide we have 3,000,004 confirmed cases and 211,000 deaths as of April 28.

According to the John Hopkins University, 29,590 of the deaths in the U.S. were from the state of New York (12,287 in New York City and 17,303 in the New York upstate).

Like the Philippines, our lockdown here has also been extended until May 15 although some state governors, especially in areas with not-so-alarming number of cases and death, have been planning to “reopen” before schedule.

I was stunned when I saw the statistics of the growing number of cases and deaths because, like most Americans today, we are also itching to go back to the “real world” after nearly two months of being out of work and strictly observing the stay-at-home guidelines.

 

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But there seems to be some consolation despite the sudden rise of the statistics on confirmed cases and death nearly two months since the United States started to panic and imposed a lockdown nationwide.

The number of new cases in the state of New York reportedly seemed to have reached a plateau.

“I believe the worst is over if we continue to be smart,” said Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.

With many of its thoroughfares quiet and subdued, the Big Apple now continue to look nothing like its former loud bustling self.

Ridership in poorer neighborhoods, where many must continue commuting to work (especially the “essential” workers), has not changed as dramatically while subway use has plunged.

According to the New York Times, the city’s low-income neighborhoods have been hit the hardest by the pandemic and many of the areas with the highest percentage of confirmed virus cases have the lowest median income, based on data from the first month of the outbreak.

Preliminary data on New York City’s fatalities, meanwhile, shows that the outbreak has killed black and Latino people at twice the rate that it killed white people.

 

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Meanwhile, experts’ understanding of how the virus spreads is still limited, but there are reportedly four factors that most likely play a role: how close we get; how long we are near the person; whether that person projects viral droplets on us; and how much we touch your faces.

If our community is affected, we can help reduce our risk and do our part to protect others by following some basic steps:

—Wash our hands. Scrub with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and then dry them with a clean towel or let them air dry.

—Keep distance from sick people. Try to stay six feet away from anybody showing flu- or cold-like symptoms, and don’t go to work if we’re sick.

—Prepare our family, and communicate our plan about evacuations, resources and supplies. Experts suggest stocking at least a 30-day supply of any needed prescriptions. Consider doing the same for food staples, laundry detergent and diapers, if we have small children.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)