The COVID-19 Pandemic

Novel (“new”) coronavirus appeared in late 2019 and causes the deadly respiratory disease, COVID-19. We now know the novel coronavirus spreads quite easily from person to person, even when an infected person has no symptoms. The highly contagious virus spreads when infected people cough, sneeze, or even simply talk near uninfected people.

 

Unfortunately, COVID-19 spread undetected in the United States for several weeks, catching communities in all 50 states off guard with overflowing Emergency Rooms and ICUs, before any steps were taken to slow the spread.

 

Hospitals all over the country are now above capacity and their resources are spread extremely thin. Even severely ill COVID-19 patients are having trouble accessing testing kits, ventilators and the care that they need. Sadly, this means skyrocketing mortality rates among many people who could have been saved.

 

With no cure and no vaccine in immediate sight, the necessary steps to prevent COVID-19 from completely spreading across our country and the globe are extremely limited, but incredibly important to take for all of us. It’s up to each and every one of us to take immediate action.