PALM BEACH COUNTY
There have been 540,000 COVID-19 deaths worldwide in 190 days. (The report of the first COVID-19 cluster was December 31st, 2019.) I know it feels like so long ago, but in 190 days, that many have died and the new case rate per day is only rising, particularly in this country.
(The US leads cases (#1) worldwide. And Florida is one of the top hot spots of the country. And Palm Beach County is one of the top hotspots of the state. So you COULD say we specifically are recorded as one of the most infected areas IN THE WORLD.) And remember, 190 for the world, but COVID-19 wasn't here in Florida until 129 days ago, and here we are.
Now, let's talk U.S. facts:
COVID-19, in less than half a year, has already killed more Americans than: diabetes, the flu, pneumonia, suicide, dementia, murder, and many other leading causes of death in our country. It's nearly equal to strokes. It's killed more, in 3 months, than in A YEAR for these other tragic causes of death. COVID-19 is only 30,000 people away from killing more Americans than all "accidents" combined. (Not just traffic)
It is a fifth of the way there to CANCER OF ALL KINDS. And we're less than 4 months into this contagion being on our shores in substantial numbers.
With the upward trend, COVID-19 will far surpass all other contagious diseases in the US.
I know this is long, but if people have time to go out in numbers, my closest friends and beloved family members included, we should find time to take a good look at these statistics and weigh what excursions are worth it.
Some of us don't have much of a choice when it comes to being exposed. Some risk eviction if they don't work. Some risk going hungry. So if these are not risks for you, like they aren't for me, please take it upon yourself to look out for our neighbors that have no real choice. To wear your mask properly. To limit your public interactions. To respect everyone's personal space and the choices they make to arm themselves against this potentially deadly virus. To prevent them from spreading a virus to loved ones or strangers who are at higher risk.
Can we really know whether the people we hang out with don’t interact with someone on oxygen for lung cancer? That go home to someone with asthma? That go home to someone that's just unlucky? It is a huge mental burden to live this way. I know, it sucks! But the numbers are in, and it IS OUR BURDEN TO BEAR.
Obviously, you have to do what you need to do to stay mentally healthy, posting memes and making light of this insane dumpster fire of a year. But these numbers beg us to think twice before ACTUALLY letting our guards down. Many of these viral graphics we see posted are inaccurate to today’s dangerous situation and spread harmful attitudes about how serious this currently is.
Love you. Miss y’all. I know we all just want to be safe, to see our loved ones safe, to see the strangers we share space with stay alive.
(If you help yourself sleep at night by saying "WE'RE JUST REPORTING MORE for >reasons<" I completely understand that instinct, but the numbers remain high regardless.)
The pandemic is still unbridled and barely possessed footing in the world population for most of the 190 days it's been spreading, unlike with most diseases which have been in existence for centuries to gain infection rates but also have researched treatments. COVID has neither of those things and is rampant.
PS. Please feel free correct anything you don't like on my graph, and I'll be glad to make it more precise. I'm an author/illustrator, not a statistician or an epidemiologist, so I'm no expert. But I did vet all of these numbers from multiple sources e.g. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The National Institute on Aging, The Kaiser Family Foundation, The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, The Florida Department of Health, and many more. If you don't believe these numbers, I'd be glad to send you my sources.
Disclaimer: the first COVID-19 CASE can be traced back to November 17th, 2019. I used my numbers for as long as COVID-19 has been in the public eye.
Fight the war on misinformation and fake news! Even if that means we disagree!💕
#covid19 #coronavirus #quarantine #socialdistancing #wereinthistogether #staysafestayhome #stayhome #maskson #fakenews #staysafe