By Pierre Guerrero

We have three types of people during this pandemic: Those who do not think COVID-19 is real, those who want to open everything up immediately, and then those who want everything to stay closed until there are less cases. Though every single one of these “wants” have flaws. The problem is not so much the way that leaders are handling the shutdown, but mainly who is handling it. This has become a matter of Democrats Vs. Republicans.

It brings great sadness to my team when we see people judging leaders’ responses, rather than praising them for what they do. For example; Many conservatives do not agree with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s ideas, more specifically his COVID-19 response. Though, through his guidance we have less cases than many other East Coast states. The problem is that his “guidance” is viewed as more of a hindrance to some people because they think that this has gone on for too long. This is a tough issue to address because if we open up immediately we would not see the effects for a few weeks.

In New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, COVID-19 has unleashed its worst. This is something that we have yet to experience, which is both good and bad. This is good because not many of us have gotten sick or have seen others get sick. This is also bad at the same time because we do not have much to fear, as we have not experienced many detrimental effects of it. We are almost “stupid” in our knowledge of COVID-19 compared to those in the East Coast.

The majority of our population has come to the realization of this not being a hoax, but many still want their “freedom” or “rights” back. Health officials understand that YOU might be responsible and safe, but what about the thousands who riot and still believe that it is fake. Thousands of patients who have this virus will tell you “This is no joke”.

Keeping everyone home is safe but impractical. Parents need to have a place for their children to go while they take care of family members, or while they go to work. Senator Chang in Southern California said, “Everyone says this is the ‘new normal’, but I sure hope not”. While this is entirely true, it is very unhealthy to think that it is going to go away anytime soon. We urge you to write a letter to your local Senator, Governor, or Mayor, thanking them for providing news conferences to inform you. We know that it can be hard not to mention the negative things, but this is a time of uncertainty, and we need positivity!