COVID-19
As over 700,000 people have now died due to COVID-19, it is more important than ever to remember those lives lost and fight to help stop this spread.
“We are in this together - and we will get through this together.”
— UN Secretary General António Guterres
COVID-19 is a disease caused by a novel strain of coronavirus. This virus was discovered in Wuhan, China. According to the CDC, community transmission was first detected in the United States in February 2020. Also, according to the CDC, by mid-march, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, New York City, and four U.S. territories had reported cases of COVID-19.
In the United States, there are currently about 43.6 confirmed cases and over 700,000 deaths. These numbers continue to rise.
COVID-19 and Schools
COVID-19 caused schools to shut down all across the country. Students had to do online learning, which affected the Gen-Z population greatly. As a new school year is approaching, there are debates about whether students should be going back to school. Some believe that students need to return to their normal lives, whereas others believe that it is not safe yet for students to return to schools.
COVID-19 and Testing
The United States has been testing about 2.24 tests per thousand people. Some people believe that this is too much testing, whereas others believe that testing is necessary to see how many people in the country have the virus. This has created another divide in the country.
Mandating Wearing A Mask
Governors and mayors of different states and regions have mandated wearing masks in public as a way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to keep everybody safe. The states, as of August 10, are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
If you would like to learn more about masks, as well as whether masks should be a political issue, please click here:
COVID-19 has caused huge divides in the country when it comes to going to school, performing tests, and especially wearing a mask.
I was able to talk to Gen-Z about their thoughts on COVID-19, these divides, and how it has affected their lives. The questions I was able to ask were:
How severe do you believe COVID-19 is? Do you believe that the media is over or under covering this topic?
What are your thoughts about wearing a mask?
What are your thoughts about the amount of testing the US has done? Do you believe this testing is necessary? Why or why not?
Do you believe that students should be going back to school? Why or why not?
If a vaccine came out for COVID-19, would you get the vaccine? Why or why not?
How has your life changed since COVID-19 has occurred? School? Activities? Stay-at-home order?
How do you think we can break the divide in the country when it comes to this topic?
What can Gen-Z do to be the change in the community?
How Can Society and Our Generation Be The Change?
Breaking the Divide:
When having conversations with people in Gen Z, one of the biggest takeaways was that in order to break the divide, we need to remember that we all want the same thing: we want to beat this pandemic. This divide comes from the fact that people have different views on how to beat the virus. Once we begin to focus more on our similarities as opposed to our differences, real change can begin to take place.
Solution:
There is no black and white solution to this issue. However, there are little things that people can do to help break this divide and promote compromise and real change in society. These include educating yourself on the matter in-depth with nonpartisan sources and talking to others with all different views to further understand the issue from all sides.
Gen-Z Change:
Gen-Z is the generation that can make real change in our society. Once we begin to come together to fight this pandemic, we can create true change!