Disclaimer: The views expressed in the following editorial are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Patriot Post staff, adviser, the LCHS faculty or administration, or GISD.

As the Coronavirus grows, the rate of death rises and the economy plummets, there is growing discord among the people of America and politicians on the plan of attack for the virus. The US has fallen behind nearly every country and uncertainty across the nation is profound. Here is a developed, evidence-based multifaceted plan of attack on the virus that is more coherent than a mask mandate. 

Restriction

Looking ahead into the future, it is clear that the reopening of public spaces, even if cases drop, would be detrimental to negating the virus altogether. It’s highly likely that the virus would arrive  in various waves throughout the entire year; thus, the virus would never become extinct. There should be more aggressive implementation of physical distancing, not only on a federal level, but a state level, which would surely reduce cases nationwide. A fine example of poor restriction is Florida, that recently reopened its beaches. Due to this reopening, cases in Florida grew dramatically  and it will take months to climb back to even just the average rates for  America.

Scholastic Measures

Education will take a massive hit, as many students learn better in an in-person environment. However, the risk of returning to campus is tremendous. The risk-reward is negative, so the following course of action may need a portion of editing, better suited to the people in the field of education. Students should stay online until cases drop rapidly or until a vaccine is produced. To eliminate the issue of lackluster performance among students, each and every student should be allowed to work at their own rate and create a schedule that they see fit. Every student is different and allowing them to work at a time their brains are the most stimulated and at the speed at which they choose would be highly advantageous. The one major crux of this plan, however, is the teachers’ input. A probable solution may be allowing teachers to create the work themselves, or differing assignments for students having trouble as some students may fall behind. Factoring in internet issues with other impending factors creates stress. 

Healthcare

The most logical facet of facing the virus is putting most of our money into healthcare. The most logical solution would be allowing patients confirmed with COVID-19 to be treated first over other patients with non-imminent threats. However, this solution isn’t  so simple. Hospitals have been overcrowded with an uphill build-up of cases, causing them to be overwhelmed with patients. A reasonable solution, but not without flaw, would be allocating military funds and other non-immediate needs to the hospitals, allowing for faster care. Obviously, this problem ties in with the aforementioned issues, so taking pieces from all solutions equate to beneficial growth in a cure. The CDC and all health organizations must normalize safe and sanitary behavior because as it stands now people don’t seem very hesitant on going out in public and washing their hands. The most viable solution to defeat the virus is simply social distancing, washing your hands, and wearing a mask. The pandemic is dependent on the public.