The world has had prolonged crises in the past, but none has the kind of adverse effect the Coronavirus has in just over a year. A year for China, but for the United States, eight months now. If a pandemic hit hard on every single sector and every single way of life, then it is not a joke. Since there was no ready treatment and vaccine for COVID-19, which emerged almost unannounced, its immediate response was human behavior.
One – hand washing, which was recommended to be done as many times as possible. In some places, people complained they didn’t have drinkable water, let alone the one with which to wash their hands. True to an extent, but what about those who have water. And the one with which to wash hands, but deliberately refuse to do so?
Two – mask-wearing! As simple as it is, mask-wearing is a way to cover facial openings such as the nose and mouth through which the virus can penetrate. Not only have some people disrespected this measure, scores of others perpetually and openly displayed non-mask wearing in public places. The Summer protests with people marching bare face are still fresh on our minds.
Hardly had those protests faded out than a candidate for an election gave his supporters the green light to come to massively attended rallies without masks. And even when he contracted the virus and beat it, his rallies still had many people not wearing masks.
The third point sounds mysterious – social distancing. Science has established that close contact, especially with people having the virus, would create room for infection. So, social distancing becomes a way of reducing or preventing its spread. Even after guidelines and strict measures, some people have continued to organize social events that promote close interaction – birthday parties, baby showers, graduation ceremonies, dance parties, and you name it.
How else can human behavior be controlled? We have heard a loud cry by Doctors, Nurses, and other healthcare personnel virtually begging people to stay at home so that the spread of the virus could be reduced. This is because they, frontline workers, face tortuous moments taking care of sick people, especially at this time when cases have tripled and hospitals running short of space and staff.
Experts have said with the vaccine at the corner, there is some hope, but things can only get back in good shape if people display good behavior vis-à-vis the spread of the virus. They say if people change their attitudes and the vaccine checks in, we could be out of this by the fall of next year. Some soothing news, isn’t it? But are we ready to mine our behavior? Are we ready to keep wearing the mask and social distancing? Well, we better be and overcome this pandemic or remain stubborn and keep falling prey to it. The first option is the better one; there is no doubt about that.
This is the Apex 1 Radio News Magazine!
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