Since the beginning of November, cases of Covid-19 have been rising worldwide, specifically in the United States, as people are beginning to become more careless and not worry about the virus as much as they did earlier this year. The number of new cases has been increasing in every state in the United States, with some states even breaking records that they have never hit before. The situation has gotten so dire in some countries in Europe, such as Germany, Spain, and France, that they have gone into a second lockdown. 

The holiday season is approaching fast, and more and more people are going to be spending time with their friends and families. The weather also gets colder around this time of year, so people will likely move their celebrations indoors. Indoor gatherings are allowed to be held (with the number of people allowed to be inside a building decreasing by the day), but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that “Indoor spaces are more risky than outdoor spaces because…  it can be harder to keep people at least 6 feet apart and the ventilation is not as good as it is outdoors.” It is urgent that people socially distance and wear masks when they are not eating in an indoor environment in order to lower the amount of Covid-19 cases and keep themselves and others safe.

Some states in the United States have not been doing well with this “second wave” of the Coronavirus. In the Northeast, cases have been rising, but, since they already have experienced the worst of it when the pandemic started, they are much more prepared for what is or has been coming, as the medical professionals are better trained and there are also more resources in the hospitals like ventilators. However, states in the Midwest have been hit very hard by the number of new cases as they were not prepared for this. 

According to the Washington Post, “In North Dakota, where cases have increased 60 percent in the past month… the state’s hospitals are at capacity and are so strained that the state will allow its health care workers to continue working after they test positive…” 

Hospital workers that are sick risk numerous things. Those infected workers might not do a great job of working as they might experience symptoms, and they also have a chance of getting non-infected patients sick as well. 

European countries that have entered a second lockdown have been doing better since they began, but it is still unfortunate that they had to close everything again. Some countries have implemented different and more strict safety measures.

The British Broadcasting Channel (BBC) has said, “France is under a second national lockdown… People can only leave home to go to work, buy essential goods, seek medical help, or exercise for one hour a day. Anyone going outside must carry a written statement justifying their journey” 

France is surely taking their second lockdown seriously, hoping to avoid a third. The fact that people are required to carry a written reason with them as to why they are going out proves how much they are hoping to eradicate the spread and help the situation.

The current state of the world is quite sad to think about, and how many people’s lives have been affected by this virus. Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon, but if enough people start wearing masks indoors and outdoors, practice social distancing more often, and stay home more often, there is a better chance that the number of cases will go down. People will not have to worry about going into lockdowns, or not being able to do things they used to.