As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread and we all quarantine ourselves for what seems like an indefinite amount of time, it is infuriating to see others not taking it seriously. I recently watched a CBS News video where they interviewed several college students that were at Miami Beach despite the whole world being told to practice social distancing. They all defended their actions by claiming that this pandemic is being blown out of proportion and that they were not going to allow it to ruin their spring break plans. Every single person in the video was treating coronavirus as if it were the common cold, with one of the students even saying,
"If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I'm not going to let it stop me from partying."
When I saw this video, I could not believe how reckless, selfish, and stupid all of these people were.
I do not care that this virus is getting in the way of your spring break plans.
How can you not understand that your actions are putting so many people at risk of contracting coronavirus and dying?
The CDC did not tell the country to practice social distancing because they wanted to be annoying and prevent you from having fun. This virus is going to kill many people and by refusing to do your part to keep us all safe, you are allowing it to spread even faster and kill even more people.
Ever since it was announced that young people are at lower risk of getting severely sick and dying from coronavirus, I have seen hundreds of people around my age posting on social media that they are in crowded places like beaches, bars, and restaurants. Just because you may get minor symptoms or no symptoms at all if you catch coronavirus does not mean that you get to continue living your life as normal and putting vulnerable people at risk. The elderly, immunocompromised, and disabled people in our world deserve to be protected by this virus. Your mentality should not be that since the coronavirus is the most dangerous for them that you should not be taking it seriously.
We all live on this planet together and nobody's life is expendable. It's time for my fellow college students to stop caring only about their own health and to do their part in keeping our communities safe. I promise that you'll live if you don't go to the beach and get drunk.
