The importance of social distancing

Hazmat man holding a reminder (Jernej Furman/flickr)

Saddleback College campus closed due to the Coronavirus and they rely on online based classes to get through the remainder of the semester since March 23.

Saddleback campus offers an array of different resources to its students. Starting from free meals in the LRC everyday, to donated food drives twice every month, free childcare for certain students, health center, mental health guidance, the list goes on and on. Saddleback even something as simple as a quiet workspace to do homework that many people don’t get while working and learning from home. I know that I am going through that struggle on the daily, but with all going on in the world, I’ll take that as a win.

With campus being closed, how do students who rely on these resources get them? Well, simply put, they don’t. There is no way to go onto campus to collect a daily meal or to have a place to print papers or free health visits. With the pandemic taking a turn for the worse, students may be out of these viable resources for a long time. Officials said this week ought to be one of the worst, with the most cases and most death reported.

The coronavirus caused an uproar in society, affecting people in little ways that one may not initially think of. The economy crashed and more Americans than ever are unemployed, which means these resources are needed more now than ever. Someone who may have not relied on free school lunches at Saddleback in the past, may have lost their job in most recent weeks and now does not have a source of income to put food on their table.

A nationwide suggestion from the CDC has been made to maintain social distancing, also known as physical distancing which limits how close you get to people and how many people you are around. The symptoms sometimes are not noticeable for days, weeks or sometimes ever. This means people can expose people to the virus without even knowing. The purpose of social distancing, slows the curve of the COVID-19 outbreak. The idea of slowing the curv helps society and our hospitals because they are not equipped for everyone to get sick at once.

The importance of social distancing may be more important than some realize. It had been reported in the month of March of young adults, specifically college aged students, on spring break, blatantly ignoring the CDC recommendation of social distancing and limiting groups.

The Coronavirus specifically puts elderly and people with underlying conditions as a greater risk which creates the “it won’t affect me” mentality among a lot of people, of all ages. What one may not realize, people’s actions may be affecting those around them. It might not be affecting people specifically but it could affect those you care about whether friends or loved ones.

Not only could these people potentially expose others around them from the virus, but the longer people don’t abide by the CDC guidelines, the longer we are stuck in this situation. This means, the longer people are out of work and school and the longer Saddleback College students are out of necessary resources.

While yes, a lot of factors go into this virus and what will ultimately get us out of this pandemic, it doesn’t hurt to do your part. Not only are you helping yourself get out of quarantine, you could be helping fellow classmates and peers get back on campus and get back to the necessary resources they need to succeed, whether it be a quiet workspace or a free meal to stay focused.

Stay home. Do your part. You are helping more than you know.

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