California, United States. Less than one percent of the American population has been tested positive for a virus that has been labeled by some as the deadliest disease we’ve ever seen. And apparently, it doesn’t go to the beach. In San Diego, people are still swarming to the coastline during a time where everything else is closed. I might have been the only weirdo wearing a mask.
Oddly enough, masks are still required inside the surf shops just across the boardwalk. No, I did not wear the mask when I went surfing, but I did wear it while I spoke with the other beach goers, including one who admitted to having and just recently recovering from COVID-19.
I can’t decide how I feel. As a scientist, it doesn’t seem to me that the pandemic really deserves the title. According to Claire Gillespie at Health, the flu kills tens of thousands every season in the US alone. It’s still early, however, and new cases of the virus are popping up everywhere. It’s difficult to tell people to let something like this run its course. But when you stifle a wildfire too long, the result is increased devastation when the spark catches.
For now, there are thousands of happy, healthy people at the beach, and maybe only one in every hundred has the virus. In a world where freedom is considered a right, it’s hard to tell people to stop having fun. I’m not going to either. Until the virus becomes a problem on a scale tenfold it’s current state, I really don’t believe people will take it seriously. Until then, have fun and take care of each other.
It’s a very fine line being ridden. Tide is in, so I need to catch a wave.
Politically Romantic 