At this stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, with restaurants, bars, and even theme parks reopening, it is easy to forget just how risky it is to leave the house and do what we used to consider to be normal, everyday activities. These days, the fact that we have been living in this crisis for basically half a year, on top of the fact that most governments around the world are encouraging their citizens to return to “normal,” is lulling many of us into a false sense of calm, wrongly believing that the worst part of the pandemic is over and that it is now safe to go out again and live like before.
However, as great as it would be if the pandemic were really on its way out, the evidence points to the contrary. On July 11th, Florida reported 15,299 new Covid-19 cases in a day, a record-breaking number for a single state. Mexico reported 35,006 deaths this week, surpassing Italy, a former epicenter. Brazil is nearing 2 million cases of the virus, and Hong Kong is going through its third wave of infections, which the authorities are calling their worst yet.
Scientists blame this rise in new cases and deaths on insufficient social distancing and ending lockdowns too early. As individuals there is little we can do to convince our governments to enforce lockdowns again, and, of course, we know that some people will always need to leave their homes to go to work and perform essential services. As a result, it is up to each and everyone of us to be as careful as possible, not just for our own sake, but for everyone’s.
With that in mind, the Texas Medical Association released a ranking of everyday activities and their potential risk of contagion. It includes everything from going to the supermarket to hugging and working out at the gym.
It’s not that hard to plan ahead and be safe by staying home as much as possible. Do the right thing and we can all save lives.
