I read an article this morning titled, “Italians over 80 ‘will be left to die’ as country overwhelmed by coronavirus”. There is a fear that at some point during this pandemic, they will not have enough resources to help everyone. So victims in Italy ill be denied access to intensive care if they are aged 80 or more or in poor health should pressure on beds increase, a document prepared by a crisis management unit in Turin proposes. This means that some patients that require intensive help could effectively be left to die. Luigi Icardi, a councilor for health in Piedmont, said:
“I never wanted to see such a moment. It [the document] will be binding. It will establish in the event of saturation of the wards a precedence code for access to intensive care, based on certain parameters such as potential survival.”
Th truly saddens me that Italy is in such a state that they have had to make a plan deciding who will get health care. With that being said, this is why I think we, as citizens in America, need to take social distancing more seriously. I have noticed that people have been operating in two extremes. The first being that the COVID-19 will kill us all and that this is apocalyptic times. The other extreme that I have noticed that people seem to have the opinion that this is not a big deal and it should be life as usual. What I think is there is this gray area or middle area that we should be operating in where we acknowledge that the virus is here, it is unlikely that it could kill us, but we need to protect or citizens that could become very ill. I would hate to see America get to a place that they also have to decide who will get treatment and who will not. If we don’t take the precautions now, we could end up in a scenario very similar to Italy’s.
I also don’t think that social distancings look like panic, and it doesn’t look like hoarding. I am blown away by what I see in stores. The empty shelves it only feeds the fear. I saw on Facebook yesterday someone selling toilet paper for $85 a roll or $1000 for the case. WHAT THE WHAT!
I watched this skit from The Armstrong and Miller Show. The pilots want to get extra food for a picnic even though their rations won’t allow them to have excess food. There is a line said by the store clerk that I think applies to our current situation,
” If one person is selfish, then someone else has to suffer.”
We have an opportunity to come together and be good global citizens to take care of eachother. I have seen this in my community, from people who offer lunches, childcare, and to help with homeschooling needs. We need more helpers, and we need more love and compassion during what is a stressful time.
The COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere anytime soon; it is going to be stressful. I think it would be better to look back on this time in our history and see how humanity shined instead of people profiteering on everyday necessities.
The Ginger Girl 