COVID-19 Chronicles: Jack

As I begin yet another day of sitting in my house, I will do more of the same. I will wake up late, eat breakfast, and waste countless hours on my phone. As an introvert, I initially welcomed the idea of being stuck in my house for an extended period of time, but after just a few days, I am already bored out of my mind. Obviously this quarantine is brutal, but it is sobering in a way. Hopefully when life returns to normal we remember just how much we need one another to live comfortably.
What is most frustrating for me is the timing of the pandemic. As a spring athlete, I was highly anticipating my senior baseball season, but now, I am stuck with the possibility of not having one at all. Equally catastrophic is the thought of not having a traditional graduation. I and countless other high schoolers throughout the country have worked for years to finally hear their name called to walk across the stage and receive their diploma, but that seems to be gone as well.
Even in times of despair, I can usually find refuge in professional sports. But ever since Utah Jazz forward, Rudy Gobert, tested positive for the coronavirus, all professional sports have been put on hold, too. And for me personally, this is my favorite time of the year for sports. The Spring Saga always begins with the March Madness tournament, followed by the Masters golf tournament, and concludes with Opening Day for the MLB season. There is truly no better time to be a sports fan. But one man’s impulse to eat bat soup ruined it for all of us.
While I certainly understand the magnitude of the situation, I believe the impact of this virus may be overblown. According to the CDC, approximately eight percent of Americans contract the flu each year. That rounds out to over 26,000,000 people. Currently, 70,000 Americans have tested positive for the coronavirus. While that number is definitely high, it is nowhere near the number of people who get the flu. I do not mean to be insensitive to those who have loved ones suffering from the virus, but I believe we may be overreacting a little bit by closing down nearly everything in the world. Health officials have reported that a vaccine for the virus will not be available for about a year, so does that mean we have to stop our way of life that long, too? Also, there will be a ton of death and poverty if lower/middle-class workers are unable to collect their paychecks for an extended period of time. Obviously, neither option is desirable, and I have no idea what to make of this unprecedented event. I just want to live my usual life again.