By Luis Berg

November 9, 2020

Coronavirus daily infections have reached 90,000 cases in the United States alone. While many scientists predicted a second wave during the fall season, hospitals are overwhelmed, running low on beds and medical supplies they are also extremely under staffed. With Halloween weekend seeing a lot of people going out and enjoying the holiday. We can only wait for the cases to spike, putting more pressure on big city hospitals that are already struggling.The University of Utah Health System, one of the largest hospitals in the state, reported its ICU is 95 percent filled, and health systems in other parts of the country have been forced to relocate patients because of bed and staffing shortages.

      All around Europe countries such as Spain, France, Austria, Italy and czech have put in place a second lockdown with strict social distancing rules and curfews and all shops closed. In other countries like Germany and Ireland, they are just having partial lockdowns. Spain declared a state of emergency yet they are having less than twenty thousand cases a day. Although they have a much smaller population than the U.S. we are still experiencing cases at the same rate and we are taking little to no precaution compared to Spain.

     The United States also expects to find out who the new president is going to be for the next four years and stores and buildings were boarding up their windows fearing of riots after the election which would cause an even bigger surge in COVID-19 cases. This surge could potentially cause another lockdown and a big question is: will Americans adhere to the next lockdown? Many people are already fighting against wearing masks in public and not being allowed to have large gatherings, so it is  difficult to imagine how the U.S. would respond well to a second lockdown. With 18 million Americans out of work to close more stores and factories might not be economically viable. People need to bring money home to provide for their families. 

     While most schools are closed  kids are learning from home, not getting school lunches and keeping parents who can find a job from being able to go because there’s no one to watch their kids. People do not know how to make ends’ meat and Congress is not able to come to an agreement on a relief plan. This fall surge could bring the U.S. economy to a breaking point, only time will tell. Hopefully, we can improve testing and find a way to live with COVID-19 as a cure doesn’t seem to be in the near future, at least not a cure that is tested and available for everyone.