COVID: Exaggerated?
COVID-19 stormed the United States just over a year ago, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention it has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people throughout the United States. However, there are some people that claim COVID, the number of cases and casualties are being exaggerated. Former President Donald Trump seems to think so. He recently made a statement saying that the number of deaths as a result of COVID are "exaggerated.”
Quick to comment on Trump's claim was the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci. According to the New York Post,
Dr. Fauci said, "The deaths are real deaths. All you need to do is go out into the trenches go to the hospitals, see what the healthcare workers are dealing with.”
After the presidential election this past November which saw Donald Trump being defeated by Joe Biden our country is divided more than ever before between Democrats and Republicans. There are politicians who agree with Trump that the Coronavirus is being exaggerated.
In a report from Fox News, 54% of Republicans said that they were getting their information in regards to the Coronavirus from Trump and The White House while he was in office. Only 9% of Democrats said the same thing believing that The White House gives out the most accurate information.
States like Oklahoma are not under any type of order. The same cannot be said for the state of California. We have been under a strict stay at home order that was given by Gov. Gavin Newsom forcing small businesses to shut their doors for a second time.
Newsom has on multiple occasions said that amusement parks like Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm will remain closed until the number of Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths decline. But what about restaurants and other small business owners?
Some of these smaller local restaurants, small businesses and gyms have taken matters into their own hands. Now that winter is upon us, a few local restaurants have allowed inside dining despite orders from the State of California that state that permit outside dining take-out and delivery.
My thoughts on this are that I agree with these smaller businesses and restaurants for taking matters into their own hands. They depend heavily on how well the business does in order to survive.
KTLA 5 reported in December of 2020 that multiple restaurants in Orange County are staying open for in-person dining in defiance of Gov. Gavin Newsom's order that was meant to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.
I was born with an underlying condition which means that if I contract just about anything that I will get it a lot worse than the average person. Being born with an underlying condition; my immune system is weaker than a person that does not have a weak immune system. Therefore, I am more susceptible to contracting illnesses. It also means that if I were to contract the Coronavirus that I may or may not recover.
Thankfully, that has not happened. I tested positive for COVID during the holidays, and my symptoms were not serious, meaning that I am asymptomatic. This is a sensitive and controversial topic for many people. A lot of people know someone that has either gotten sick and/or have died as a result of COVID-19. What happened to the flu though? People can die from the flu, and people do not talk about that.
I am using myself as an example, because I tested positive for COVID and thankfully nothing severe happened to me. The only symptoms that I experienced was the loss of taste in my mouth and a mild fever—I felt like I had the flu.
I am very grateful to be alive after everything that I have been through throughout my life. My ordeal with COVID-19 could have been a lot worse than what it was. This is a sensitive and controversial topic for many people. Many people have loved ones that they have lost as a result of the Coronavirus. It has mostly affected the elderly community.
I will admit that COVID-19 is out there. I am just convinced that COVID-19 is not as serious as people like the media are portraying it to be. COVID-19 is real thing. But, I feel the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are being exaggerated. Our government wants us scared of COVID, therefore I feel they are fabricating these outrageous numbers to do just that, and try to get us to get a vaccine that is not 100% effective.