Can You Hear Me?
Quarantining under Capitalism
These past twelve months have been a topsy-turvy ride for a lot of the country. We've had to change the way we live our lives from the way we shop down to the way we get gas at the gas station. We've adopted new ways to stay apart but stay connected. Zoom, Discord, Whatsapp, Facebook live are now regular ways for the young, the old and the disabled to communicate. Gaming, concerts, art shows, family get-togethers are now performed virtually. These new changes are visible in the less crowded parking lots, the lines to get into smaller stores, the marked distance lines on store floors and pavement.
I see America trying, so why are we still getting sick?
As the year has progressed the numbers have increased steadily. Near March we were at roughly 12,000 active cases, as of now we are at 19.2 million current cases. Up until mid-November, I kept thinking to myself,
Why aren't people being safe?
Are people not wearing their masks properly?
How many party and get-togethers do people have to have before they understand how dangerous it is?
I thought that these methods were the main way covid was spreading but after these last two months, I'm beginning to understand what the real culprit is; capitalism.
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Let me lay the scenario.
My fiance had to fly out from the DMV area to Nevada for family reasons. It was something that the two of us had initially planned to do together but due to my declining health, we decided he would go alone. We packed all we thought he would need during this new flying experience hand sanitizer, extra masks and toiletries. We made sure to put more hand sanitizer in his pocket that he could use once before the flight and throw away just in case. This was our first flight in a covid world, we had no idea what to expect.
What we didn’t expect was for United Airline to fill my fiance's connecting flight with people, to have seat after seat filled with possibly infected individuals. No temperature checks were taken just questionnaires. People traveling all around the country all in an enclosed space and assured that their masks and the air system of the plane would keep them safe. Yet, even now one can go online and find, "The man filled out a preflight checklist stating he was not diagnosed with COVID-19 and had no symptoms. Airline officials later found out he had been feeling sick for days (Lim, 2020) ", which leaves me wondering how confident one should really be in their fellow flyer. Also, why should a fellow flyer be responsible for my fiance's life?
As my fiance said there was more security at the casinos in Vegas than there was at the airport. Thermal checks, masks asked to be secured, guests at the hotel checked for symptoms every few hours, this was the security an airport should have, yet it seemed they were more concerned with recouping their lost profit than saving lives. The personal event my fiance had to attend went off smoothly, his party favors came with more hand sanitizer, all the photos had relatives standing at a distance. Seeing the world the way it is now, I wonder if we'll ever stand close in crowds again.
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When returning the same lax procedure for flying back was performed. Seat after seat was filled, no temperature checks, we trust our fellow passengers on United Airlines. As he made the return trip back, I realized my partner couldn't quarantine in my home. Central air systems in households without special filters have been known to pass covid to entire families, and with the airport fiasco, we simply couldn't risk it (Craig, 2020). This was when things became desperate. We had to find my fiance a place to stay. It was November 22nd, Thanksgiving weekend. Hotels for a two-week stay were about $1,000 easy. We couldn't afford that. With the way he had been exposed to so many people my fiance didn't want to expose others, so he stayed in his car at first, while I desperately asked around on social media for donations. In the end, a good friend was moving out of her apartment and loaned him the spot she was moving out of. Without her help my fiance would have been homeless. I know what you're thinking at this point.
I did, we both did. We called a number with Fairfax county that guaranteed resources to people suspected of having covid living under particular conditions. In no small amount of words, the document stated, "Fairfax County has established a temporary shelter for individuals who can support their own self-care, but cannot be successful safely isolating or quarantining at home due to severe overcrowding or the presence of a household member at high risk of serious complications of disease". My fiance and I at first were relieved. We thought that the county would provide shelter. It was written as plain as day in their checklist. Yet that's not what happened when we called the number.
First, they asked us how many people were in the household. I answered honestly and said seven. Then they asked if there were immunocompromised people in the household, again I answered honestly, saying there were three individuals with compromised immune systems. They asked next if there were healthy people in the household that could care for the sick individual and stay socially distanced. Again, with honesty, I said no that no such person existed and that we lived too close together to quarantine in that way.
That's when the excuses came out and the tone of the woman changed. The woman over the phone told me that the risks were minimal if someone had covid and we all wore masks around them. She said a simple partition should ensure safety and proper social distancing. I mentioned the central air issue to her. She said that droplets carrying infection weren't known to rise and that if my fiance were kept in the basement it shouldn't affect the rest of the house, despite the fact that there are several articles showing quite differently. I told her my fiance had nowhere else to go, that he couldn't afford to go elsewhere and that we could not risk my compromised family members. She laughed and then hung up. My fiance and I called two more times, getting more of the same treatment. On the final call they said that the only way he would qualify for shelter is if first he stayed at a homeless shelter for X amount of days and tested positive for covid. Once he tested positive they could help him. Without my friend's aid, my fiance would be living out of his car.
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Staying at my friend's place my fiance and I both knew the important thing was for him to get tested. We couldn't afford the 200$ tests at the drugstore so we looked up appointment times for the free testing. It was simple, one showed up in their vehicle, they received a nasal swab and then the person drove on their merry way. The results would then be delivered within 5 to 10 business days or so they said. What actually happened was my fiance waited in a three-hour-long line and was turned away for testing, saying they were at max capacity. When my fiance finally took the test on November 24th it was essentially for no reason. We still have not received word from them if he has covid or not (this article was drafted on Dec 20th). Within that time we received enough in donations that we were able to have the test done at CVS. When he went to the pharmacy, my fiance found out he was covid free in 45 minutes. He came home that same morning.
My fiance was blessed or at least that's how I look at it. If not for good friends and caring strangers someone I cared about could have been at risk and risking the health of others. For a long time, I thought carelessness was the main reason the covid numbers were so high but now I understand money stalls everything. The poor are subject to long lines and question marks. They could be walking around with covid infecting people and being turned down when they seek aid because they can't afford the covid test or haven't heard back from the free covid testing center. Not everyone has a friend moving out of their home, so imagine covid infected on the street or going into public places for resources because they can't quarantine. Imagine being told you have to contract covid before being qualified for aid.
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On the thirteenth day of his quarantine, my friend had officially moved out and needed the keys back. My fiance put all the perishables he had in his trunk, got all his appliances that he'd picked up from our driveway exchanges and drove back to our house. He parked and slept on the driveway that day and got tested that morning. When he needed to eat that day if it wasn't meals I was laying out on the porch he had to pick it up from a public place. These are scenarios where people's choices are eliminated and they're forced to expose themselves.
Now I know what needs to happen. The government needs to claim more responsibility. They need to protect their citizens and provide resources that actually work. As I look at the countless Gofundmes, as I share people's Cashapp and Paypals I understand that the common person is lifting up the common person. Our government is letting us flounder when it should be assisting us in fighting and protecting ourselves against this virus. They are trying to make us think that it's our fault the numbers are so high when in a way they are the ones creating the scenarios for this to happen.
Why should the poor wait weeks for answers when the rich wait minutes?
Why should the homeless be infected with covid before they get aid and not before?
Ask your senator, your congressman and raise up this question at the next council meeting. We have a vaccine now sure but the only way it will be successful is if we also slow the spread. We can only slow the spread if we start making our leaders accountable. Below are links to send donations as well as contact information for your representatives.
Where to find places to donate.
Where to contact your elected officials.
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References
Can an HVAC Duct Spread COVID-19 in Offices, Stores and Schools? (2020, July 13). Hartford Healthcare. Retrieved December 29, 2020, from https://hartfordhealthcare.org/about-us/news-press/news-detail?articleid=27158&publicId=395
Craig, J. (2020, August 15). Can Air Conditioners Spread COVID-19? Retrieved December 29, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/08/15/897147164/can-air-conditioners-spread-covid-19
F. (2020). FAQs--Temporary Shelter During COVID-19 Pandemic (United States). Retrieved December 27, 2020, from https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/covid19/sites/covid19/files/assets/documents/faqs--temporary%20shelter--6-18-20.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2l63LzEW7pw62yEio2XGxvZ8SgtBPNK_-Yh3BeVE3QUzAar85OVxMG1bU
Lim, C. (2020, December 19). A Man With COVID-19 Symptoms Died In The Middle Of A United Airlines Flight. Retrieved December 28, 2020, from https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/clarissajanlim/a-man-with-covid-symptoms-died-on-a-plane-and-the-cdc-is
About the Creator
L Sophystra
Writer, singer, painter, dancer and spoken word artist. Come into the world of the Lady. Diversify what you know, living with lupus since age 12, this unique artist offers perspective that will change your heart and mind.
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