Tonight my parents became hysterical worrying about whether my sister had contracted virus that can cause death in humans, is originated somewhat through bats. And it wasn't coronavirus! It was rabies, a much less threatening virus nowadays than the coronavirus, but every year it kills more than 10,000 people worldwide, but mostly in Africa and Asia, and a large portion of patients are younger than 15 years old, getting it from being bitten by wild dogs or other wild animals. My sister was running around outside and got scratched by a dog that was taking a walk with its owner, not bitten. The scratch didn't draw blood and just caused some surface scratches on the skin, like the ones caused by brushing by some sharp tree branches. Doesn't seem like much to worry about to me, but I don't blame people for being extra cautious and super protective nowadays, a heightened sense of alarm and prevention during the Covid-19 outbreak. Even I, who normally doesn't take personal hygiene and cleanliness in too high of regard, am washing my hands for 30 seconds every time I come home from the outside and doing it the nurse/ very thorough way MJ showed me. Fun facts straight from wikipedia: rabies comes from the Latin word rabies meaning "madness," and luckily, unlike coronavirus, there is a known vaccine for rabies that causes it to be neutralized as a threat as long as you get vaccinated in time (it seems quite expensive though, luckily health insurance covers it). Just as an aside: why do Asian people call it "crazy dog" disease? Apparently it can be passed through various animals like foxes, skunks, cows, raccoons, cats... it's not exclusive to dogs. (I looked this up.....apparently rabies can spread through other animals to dogs, but the way humans get it is usually through dogs who have the tendency to bite).
I am worried, however, that due to all the attention the coronavirus is getting, people are not paying as much attention as they should on other matters. Depression, suicide, financial hardship, health concerns. domestic abuse, racism, and gun violence are just some of the things I'm worried about beyond the obvious effects of Covid-19 (the death toll and the economic impact of the quarantines).
1.) Depression- this is a very trying time for most people in the world, not just to be stuck in their home but not having a sense of purpose or having social interaction. I have enough money saved to weather this time and even worked remotely from home this week, yet even I was a little downcast this week at the situation we are faced with, and many people don't have the luxuries I have. (Closely related: drug use, alcohol abuse).
2.) Suicide- A very serious matter, and I imagine the home setting allows people to more easily contemplate suicide, especially if they are alone. Duke University already reported a couple suicides. Suicides aren't unusual unfortunately, so it's difficult to assess whether they were caused directly by the coronavirus, but the quarantine certainly isn't helping,
3.) Financial Hardship- lots of heartbreaking stories out there about both couples in a household losing their jobs, 6 million new unemployment claims last week, and all the service industry workers that aren't working at all who rely on tips and hourly wages, as well as lacking any savings or emergency funds to even pay rent or pay for food. Just today I got a haircut from my dad instead of go to a barbershop... those haircut workers are all out of luck; I've also read stories about workers at nail salons, restaurants, movie set workers, amusement parks, courthouses, etc. etc.
4.) health concerns- America was an unhealthy nation as it is, I wonder what being forced to be at home all day will do to obesity rates and obesity-related diseases like heart disease or diabetes. Some people do make it outside every day to do legally-sanctioned jogging and exercise, and you can do yoga or walk stairs or something inside the house too, but gyms and parks being closed would discourage some from doing their normal routine. MJ gets NO exercise at all but that's not necessarily due to being quarantined....
5.) Domestic abuse - I wish this doesn't happen but the sad reality is that families stuck together at home can start to get sick of each other and lead to arguments and conflict. Need to gauge each other's triggers and be mindful of not driving each other crazy!
6.) Racism- Same as during SARS, Asian (especially Chinese) people are being blamed for the disease, even though many (like me) are Asian American and haven't gone to China in years, if ever.
7.) Guns- The new trend after the toilet paper buying spree has now been guns. Not sure how effective guns are against the coronavirus, but it's more of a reflection of paranoia and distrust settling in, of fantastic delusions of the end of the world and doomsday scenarios, and logical fallacies. Just like the heightened fear that my parents had about my sister getting rabies, everybody has heightened fear that causes them to do illogical things. Which may be the greatest side effect of all during the pandemic (just that word sounds scary and inspires fear, doesn't it?): the increase in fear.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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