Reopening Should Not be Synonymous with Reemergence 

(Posted by Rishab Nandan – 05.31.20)

As the reopening of various areas around the nation draws closer and we begin to let our boredom and frustration get the better of us, we may begin to become impatient to get back out there and make up for lost time. However, though it has been said too many times to count, COVID is not to be taken lightly; after certain areas reopen COVID will not simply move on and leave us alone. While it is a necessary step that we begin to resume some normal economic activity, we must make sure to continue to exercise caution because this reopening should have one function and one function only: to help those who are economically impacted by the virus. COVID is dangerous because it causes a form of Pneumonia that is nearly impossible to self-detect until later stages. According to Dr. Richard Levitan, this Pneumonia doesn’t cause observable shortness of breath or coughing when it first strikes, even though it causes dangerously low oxygen levels, rather, patients will subconsciously compensate by breathing faster or deeper, allowing the condition to worsen unhampered by medical care until it is too late. Normally, people will be struggling to take a single breath, in shock, or in great physical discomfort when needed to be put on ventilators, while those with COVID pneumonia will be relaxed and acting normally despite their oxygen levels being on the brink of deadly. This deadly characteristic stems from the cells that COVID attacks. These cells make a substance that prevents the air sacs in the lungs from closing between breaths. In an absence of this substance, the air sacs collapse, which decreases oxygen levels, but the lungs do not necessarily become stiff or heavy due to liquid, so they appear to be functioning normally. The subconscious deeper and faster breathing makes the collapse more widespread, creating a self-perpetuating, dangerous cycle. Though this may be seen as another horror story to keep people indoors, the most promising vaccines are not yet in Stage 3, so to keep a large portion of our population safe from this silent killer, we must continue to exercise caution.