The state of Arizona has been unable to contain the CoronaVirus and I have an idea of why.
Opinion Post On Claim that CoronaVirus is a Hoax
The majority of new cases are young people which does indicate that there has been a shift in the mindset of the younger population because it means that more young people are getting tested.
My theory on why the virus is in an out of control community spread is that our leadership has said such urban myths and his actions mirror his statements of disbelief. Because Trump portrays himself as Anti-Government and Anti-Corruption, many people – even those who are not political tend to believe his statements. The Office of the President is the highest authority. As a society we inherently believe that the President would have the best, most accurate, timely and comprehensive intelligence. However, the actions of our leadership proves this level of respect is a falsity.
Since the onset of this pandemic, President Trump has exhibited behavior including the issuance or lack of executive orders that would help to mitigate the rampant spread of the potentially life threatening disease. Young people, infact people of all ages follow his lead and believe that this virus either doesn’t exist at all or that it is being blown out of proportion for political reasons so they don’t adhere to the very minimal guidelines meant to mitigate the negative effects on public health and our economy.
This false belief does not seem to be changed by the recent reversal in the communications that discouraged the use of masks and the practice of social distancing. This is significantly impacting the homeless population. Even if they did ascribe to these very simple guidelines they have limited access to masks and reduced capacity to practice simple hygiene or social distancing to do so.
The virus is spreading and “man-down” is becoming a common theme in certain circles. Here in the valley, homeless people tend to congregate in certain areas and they also travel between these tight circles. Then they go to the grocery store or the local convenience store or more often they gather at bus stops which have limited space. People are crowded on to one or two benches.
Even though the busses are requiring a mask and they are limiting the number of riders so they offer social distancing practices, many people at the bus stops do not get on the bus right away. They socialize with their fellow commrades, and try to engage with the public for a sense of normalacy. Because they are not planning on getting on the bus they are not wearing masks.
The homeless population has little access to current news and hears updates through social circles. They in turn base their beliefs on this unverified and un-accountable information. Since Trump tends to dominate the news cycles every day and changes his stance almost as much, those with infrequent access hold beliefs that are usually invalid. Those with more access and interest tend to believe the experts and global public health experts but these are not the people that usually congregate in close quarters.
What is my solution?
- Provide current and verified information on public health guidelines.
- Provide access to handwashing facilities.
- Provide free and easy access to personal protective equipment.
- And finally,
- all leaders should be unified in their statements,
- lead by example and
- exhibit behaviors that express a higher level of concern for the vulnerable and less fortunate.
I believe current leadership should be held accountable and liable for spreading disinformation and still not responding to the needs of this nation with a comprehensive path to controlling the spread and devestation of this virus. Obviously, leadership is afraid of being sued for exposing people to the virus or they would not have rally attendees sign a waiver prohibiting them from suing and releasing the President and his adminstration from that liability.
Leaderships actions speak louder than words and are effecting the behavior of a significant portion of our population. This is putting an even larger population at an ehanced risk of suffering from the disease. This type of behavior extends the time of neccessary widespread lockdowns which is continuing to damage the local and national economy.
I believe the protests have also been a source of the spread of the disease through close contact while yelling chants and expressing more droplets of infected vapors. The majority of protesters were also young and they came into contact with a lot of people. The expanded and extended exposure to the disease has been proven to increase the virus load among the infected and that can cause much more dibilating symtoms across all populations.
Yes our death rate is lowering even though we have more people contracting the disease, but this is not a sign of gaining control of the virus. The state of Arizona needs to install more restrictions because the public has proven that they won’t voluntarily comply. I am calling on our leadership to clearly state that they were wrong in their previous deniablity. I think this might have a positive effect on this rebelous society.
This is the personal opinion
and written by of Kymberley Page