OPINION:
Hope In The Era of COVID-19
COVID-19 virus is the worst pandemic the majority of humanity has ever seen.
By Anna Hessel
Disaster In Progress
The COVID-19 virus is the worst pandemic the majority of humanity has ever seen. Public panic is on a level with the Yellow Fever epidemic which broke out in Philadelphia, PA, in 1793. Over that spring and summer more than 4,000 people died. Paranoia of the “black vomit of death” had people covering their mouths and noses with vinegar-soaked cloths. The death toll included the first husband of then-future First Lady Dolley Madison and their baby boy. Some are saying this pandemic is similar to a resurgence of tuberculosis or polio. We are a nation living in fear, not faith, because of the gravity of the COVID-19 crisis. Feeling helpless, anxious and abandoned, we yearn for a return to normalcy.
Those Most At Risk
Even well-known celebrities and the wealthy are coming down with coronavirus. The most vulnerable in our society are being the hardest hit. The elderly, disabled, immunocompromised, and lower-income people are more likely to contract the virus than the wealthy. Blacks and Latinos are suffering the most deaths. The most vulnerable are less likely to recover, due to lack of health care benefits. They are suffering in other ways during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well.
The Most Fragile
Hunger is a new reality for many more Americans.
These fragile people are the ones most in need of government help. Crowded Human Service offices are being shut down. Food pantries typically have small waiting areas and limited shelf stock. Many food banks can now only offer a couple of bags of food in a drive-through environment. Folks without access to a vehicle who rely on public transportation or their own two feet and need food assistance may not receive the needed help. These life-line organizations are running low on provisions and in fact are likely to run out of food. Recent cuts to food stamps are an extra threat to food security. Furthermore, those dependent on apartment laundry rooms or commercial laundromats, face an increased risk of exposure to COVID-19, because of the communal areas.
