I do not believe I am the only person in quarantine to have thought about all the ways our country should have been more conscious of public health, safety, and cleanliness before coronavirus was even birthed.

When I moved to a big city, I noticed people there were forced to be more aware of germs as a result of living in an area with a high population density. For example, in places like NYC and Philly, locals may have “train shoes,” (shoes specifically for the train, as it is notoriously disgusting on the germs front). Having a strict “no shoes” rule in living spaces is much more common. Maybe I only notice this because of my background, but it’s much more normal in big cities for strangers to give each other plenty of space for a personal bubble.

Even with these noticeable differences in regard to public health, public spaces are still infested with germs. I got sick twice in 6 months after moving to Philly (not coronavirus), and usually I only fall sick maybe once a year! It’s hard to contain all of the germs all kinds of people bring everywhere they go, but we certainly could’ve been doing a better job thus far.

Many Americans would likely be quicker to assume other, lesser countries of having poor public health approaches, but we are certainly not a leader on that front. Take Japan, for example. BBC explains that “For 12 years of school life, from elementary school to high school, cleaning time is part of students’ daily schedule” (Powell). This is one early way the Japanese are taught cleanliness as a group effort, complete with social pressure to adhere to such.

This is why I am extremely hopeful that coronavirus causes our society to have a much higher standard of cleanliness. Even considering America’s expected incompetence, I would still be shocked if we truly changed nothing.

Some major cleanup operations took place in response to the pandemic. “MTA workers armed with disinfectant, wipes and high-pressure nozzles worked overnight to scrub down the 472 subway stations in New York City, along with nearly 2,000 subway cars and nearly 2,000 buses…” (Siemaszko). If you think about it, isn’t it alarming that MTA had to make an unprecedented effort to clean up the subways and buses once coronavirus concerns began, as if they hadn’t been disinfecting them regularly? Many germs existed before any of this. Why did it take a deadly pandemic for us to start Lysol-ing the subway?

The real question is: are we going to be smart and continue efforts towards cleanliness? It is horrifyingly eminent that America seems to subscribe to a “one-and-done” philosophy in our approach to issues (lockdowns, stimulus checks, slavery…). We don’t know the future, so it can’t be said if post-coronavirus, post-vaccine America will care about germs anymore.

At least while we are still in this crisis, there is no way there won’t be some measures taken that are not what our world was like 2 months ago.

“As we move beyond physical and social distancing and toward reopening the country, you should expect to be asked to incorporate new public health practices into your life to protect yourself and others… These new mitigation measures could include wearing face masks outside the home to places such as work, shopping, or the gym, possible health checks (e.g., getting your temperature taken) at your place of employment, and limiting the occupancy of reopened places where people gather” (Helwig).

The big hope is that we can control the virus in these ways without having to completely crash the economy and be isolated from our loved ones, work, school, etc.

There is some signs of this happening around the world, even though it is scary to make moves while still in pre-vaccine times. South Korea is planning to relax in May, and are seeking a middle ground for people’s daily lives. “Notably, South Korea has generally avoided the wide-scale shutdowns that China and the US have pursued… It has shut down schools and imposed a curfew in some cities, but the government has sought primarily, in a highly targeted fashion, to isolate groups of people who are suspected to have been exposed” (Aleem). To me, this seems logical, but for America to get to this place, we must step up testing, tracking, and organization.

The elite who control the businesses and government policies should be too scared not to implement public health measures indefinitely after this ends. If they were so hurt by this economic collapse, they should stop acting untouchable and start operating in a way that is conscious of the safety of the people. Disease always poses a threat. That is just biology. Every couple of years, particularly bad flu seasons hurt the vulnerable and poor the most, and we never made efforts towards public cleanliness because it wasn’t hurting the people with power. Now, there was nowhere they could run, and shit hit the fan. (Though it seems that they are ultimately willing to sacrifice more vulnerable people for money by opening up too soon, so that’s a hard pill to swallow).

America as a whole should take this as a wake-up call to be more empathetic and community-driven, instead of consumed by consumerism and self-centered worldviews. If you are against a lockdown during summer when nothing is happening anyway, why is that? What is so important that you need every store open and available to you? Shift your energy to advocating for a period of universal basic income, rent freezes, and temporary alternative business practices to stimulate the economy and help the people. The takeaway from all of this is that society as a whole needs to look out for others as a collective, systemic effort. Without people who can contribute to culture, life, and society, we have nothing.

-Avery Walker

Works Cited

  1. Powell, Steve John, and Angeles Marin Cabello. “Travel – What Japan Can Teach Us about Cleanliness.” BBC, BBC, 7 Oct. 2019, http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20191006-what-japan-can-teach-us-about-cleanliness.

2. Siemaszko, Corky. “Coronavirus Forces New York City Subways, Trains to Clean up Their Act.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 4 Mar. 2020, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-forces-new-york-city-subways-trains-clean-their-act-n1148231.

3. Helwig, Brayden, et al. “Coronavirus and Public Health: 5 Glimpses of the Near Future.” The Daily Signal, The Heritage Foundation, 22 Apr. 2020, http://www.dailysignal.com/2020/04/22/coronavirus-and-public-health-6-glimpses-of-what-the-near-future-looks-like/.

4. Aleem, Zeeshan. “South Korea Has Brought Its Reported Spread of Coronavirus Infections to Single Digits per Day.” Vox, Vox Media, 19 Apr. 2020, http://www.vox.com/covid-19-coronavirus-world-international-response/2020/4/19/21226931/coronavirus-south-korea-new-infections-single-digits-relax-social-distancing.

(death to capitalism)