The sad reality of COVID-19

In Canada we are now entering the third phase of quarantine where we are just now allowing all stores to open up again. There are still a lot of rules and regulations concerning the opening of businesses but for the most part they can open up again. We still have to be pretty diligent in preventing the illness from spreading to one another.

The thing is that our infection numbers are down and we do expect a second wave so we are still cautious of that event. A lot of us are grateful that we're in this situation but a conversation had been brought up to me from a friend. He told me that he thought that American's were dumb because they were still infecting one another with the illness. He didn't believe that they were taking proper precautions to protect themselves of the illness.

The stats were in his favor. The number of infections in America, Brazil and India are the highest ever and they're climbing. It's a terrible situation in these areas and the way the news in Canada reports these stories it makes it sound as though these areas are refusing to quarantine and refusing to wear masks to protect one another.

I have a counterpoint in the thought of how the illness is being spread that isn't being covered in the news. A lot of the people that are getting this illness aren't being reported about directly. In these big areas that are being affected the most there are huge socioeconomic discrepancies. We don't hear about how people that aren't as well off have to go to work to make ends meet. They don't have the money so they have to take public transportation with lots of other people. Some of them have to work in conditions where they are bunched up with a whole slew of other people as well.

When you're in such situations it doesn't matter if you're wearing a mask or not you're not able to socially distance from one another as you'd want. It's not as if these people want to go to work or take the risks. They don't have a choice. They need to eat and feed their families. Risks have to be taken in order to make enough money to keep a roof over their heads and feed mouths.

Still we sensationalize the fact that people refuse to wear masks and politicians that are refusing to have lock-down provisions. We have to look at the people and not the politics when it comes to people that are getting infected.

A lot of the people that were affected in Canada were the elderly because they were stuck in elderly homes and weren't mobile enough to move to isolated spaces. They had no means to avoid the situation that they were about to be put into. That's the same thing that's happening to a lot of people around the world and we miss this factor all the time.

The media, politicians and those with power need to help out the people that are truly affected by this horrible illness. The downtrodden and poor are the ones that need the most help and we have to figure out a way to help them. Not only for their sake but for our sake as well. This illness will not go away individually. We all have to work together in order to get rid of it.

It is a community effort because the illness can be spread to each and every one of us. This is a time when we should be not only look at ourselves but at our fellow brothers and sisters out there that are in need. People that are out there that need help have to be helped or else they'll be spreading that disease to someone else and it will only a matter of time before the illness gets to you.

Illness is not like a burglar. We can't just say not me and let another person get it. We're all in this together and saving others will ultimately save ourselves in the end. I truly think if we work together as one we can help contain this illness before we get the vaccine.