COVID combined with social media and government confusion seems to have dulled the senses of many Americans. News organizations are always polling people’s opinions on various topics and now they are asking if the number of deaths from this disease are satisfactory.
As of August 24, 2020: 172,200 people have died from COVID in the US.
A recent poll by CBC You Gov points to political positions as the lens through which people see deaths from COVID as acceptable or not. It’s a stark chart.
Compare those stats with this:
Number of Deaths from Cars, Drugs, and Guns = 145,533 per year
AND YET… we have national councils, state and local policies, and nonprofits all working to prevent or reduce these numbers.
The National Safety Council reports 38,800 people died in car crashes in 2019, an decline of 2 percent from 2018. If you want to look closers to home, the Highway Safety Organization shows deaths by state.
These sobering statistics bring us back to the August 24, 2020 COVID Map showing that the virus is having a field day in the US.
It’s not an overstatement; this map is purely a reflection of the numbers of new infections and uncontrolled spread (Hint: being burgundy is bad).
When we consider other countries like New Zealand, Germany and South Korea who have been exemplars in managing the pandemic through national pandemic strategies, we can’t help but pause to reflect on just who thinks our own situation is “acceptable.”
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