The growing concerns about the coronavirus have many people worried about their health and safety. In order to close the book on this looming threat, we may have to close our borders temporarily.
In this piece, I provide a dissenting opinion from our previous reporting on the topic, based on information that has come to light as the situation has developed. To read that article, see the Feb. 6 issue of The Pacer and the article entitled “Coronavirus paranoia unfounded, based on speculation” or click on the link, http://www.thepacer.net/coronavirus-paranoia-unfounded-based-on-speculation/ , to read the article online.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been heavily monitoring this coronavirus, which they have abbreviated to COVID-19, since it was first observed in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China on Dec. 31. Since then, the disease has spread rapidly across China, into dozens of countries.
COVID-19 proved to be more threatening than at first glance. It was declared a “public health emergency of international concern” by the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Jan. 30. This is the same day that the first confirmed person-to-person spread of the disease was reported inside the United States.
The CDC has also stated that the spread of COVID-19 inside of the United States has stemmed from travelers coming to the States from Wuhan. Travelers have been visiting a city where COVID-19 has racked up a death toll of over 2,000, according to China’s National Health Commission. These people are taking the risk of becoming a carrier and bringing this disease back home with them.
There is still much to be learned about the virus, and the CDC acknowledges that; however, it is not wise to play fast and loose with what could become a life-threatening health risk in our nation.
The WHO has released a set of guidelines detailing the considerations to take with travelers returning from locations where the virus outbreak has been prominent. The paper suggests taking precautions such as mapping where these people sit on the airplane, staffing the flights full of medical personnel ready to treat anybody and temperature screening as passengers exit the plane. The paper also details the proper way to quarantine any suspicious persons who may have symptoms of or have been in the exposure of COVID-19.
Nevertheless, the WHO admits that it may not work all the time. They note that the temperature screening may miss those who are incubating the disease or are concealing it and passing it off as a fever. If these severe and strategic steps will not work all the time, the smart move may be to temporarily close our borders to civilian travel altogether, including between the US and countries other than China.
It is a bold step, but one that may need to be taken. If we cannot contain the disease long enough to evaluate and treat it, then it will certainly get out of hand fast as people travel all across the globe carrying a virus they are not even aware they have, including those who live in other countries affected by the disease, or foreign nationals who have traveled in China and have since returned to their own countries.
President Donald Trump has already taken action towards preventing any more spread to others here in the United States. On Jan. 31 he signed a presidential proclamation that suspends the entry of possible carriers of COVID-19.
The order states, “The entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of all aliens who were physically present within the People’s Republic of China, excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States is hereby suspended.”
Coronavirus may not seem life-threatening to some; however, that does not discredit its contagiousness and proven deadliness to others, especially the very young and elderly. Closing the borders temporarily seems to be the most reasonable and safest solution until this dreadful disease can be handled properly.
Photo Credit / Associated Press
