Op/Ed

Op-ed- Quarantine Should Continue Beyond the Deadline of June 10th

It is simply too dangerous to end quarantine before June 10th.

Reporter Cameron Ashley

Quarantine has been going on for nearly two months, and it seems as though our lives have turned upside down. Students are now learning from home, and social gatherings are not allowed to exceed ten people. These actions may seem extreme, but they are highly necessary to keep our country safer, and less prone to the very feared Coronavirus. However, Governor Ralph Northam has recently announced that social distancing must continue until at least June 10th, which is a lot sooner than it may seem; less than two months away. With as many cases of the Coronavirus as there are, is it safe for the world to return to normal in less than two months? Quarantine should continue beyond June 10th to keep the citizens that are more prone to the virus safer, to keep public areas less crowded so that the virus won’t continue to spread, and we shouldn’t rush back out into the world as soon as Corona is cleared; we should give it time to make sure that it really is safe to go out.

Society desperately wants to return to normal. However, it is quite selfish to do this without having any regard for the citizens that are more likely to get the Coronavirus (the elderly, those with underlying health problems, etc…). They may have to leave their houses for necessities, and it simply isn’t fair to make it easier for them to contract the virus simply for enjoyment. There’s a difference between leaving your house for necessities, and leaving your house because of boredom.

Public places should not open as soon as social distancing is over. The places will be extremely crowded immediately after they open, and it would be a lot safer if that happened a while after Corona was cleared. Of course, grocery stores and shops that are necessary for daily life should stay open, but places that are simply for enjoyment should wait a little while before reopening.

Lastly, it is not smart to go back out into the world as soon as quarantine is over. We don’t know if Corona will come back in a second, much stronger wave. The only way that it can be prevented is to stop the spread, and then wait a while to make sure that the virus is truly cleared. We are all in the same boat during these times, and we all want our lives to go back to normal, but isn’t it better to be safe than sorry? We have no idea what could happen if quarantine ends so early, and while it may be boring, it is absolutely important to stay inside and secluded during this pandemic.

The Coronavirus will hopefully only last a little while longer, and once it’s gone, we can all agree in saying that we hope it never returns. However, the only way to prevent this virus from ever happening again is to stop it now.