To get a sense of how many people COVID-19 has killed in this country, take the number of Americans who were killed in the terrorist attacks in September of 2001: 2,973.
Start counting up from there. 2974, 2975, 2976, 2977, 2978, 2979, 2980…2990…3000…3100…3200…3300…3400…3500…3600…3700…3800…3900…4000…5000…6000…7000…8000…9000…10000…20000…30000…40000…50000…60000…70000…80000…90000…100000…110000…120000…130000…140000…150000…160000…170000…180000…190000…200000…210000…220000…230000…240000…250000…260000…270000…271000…272000…273000…274000…274100…274200…274300…274400…274500…274600…274700…274710…274720…274730…274740…274741, 274742, 274743, 274744, 274745.
If you take the number of Americans killed in the terrorist attacks, then add 271,772 deaths to that number, you will arrive at the current total of Americans killed by COVID-19. The bodies are piling up at an astonishing rate, and the number of COVID-19 deaths will increase in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.
What is unfortunate is that the deceased victims of COVID-19, like the victims of fatal gun violence, are not able to speak for themselves. Their lives have been taken from them, and their voices have been silenced. Oftentimes, then, what gets heard are the voices of conspiracy theorists who lie and who deny the seriousness of the virus and pandemic.
However, Americans in general are intelligent, reasonable, responsible, kind, empathetic people. Most Americans know that COVID-19 is real and that it is deathly serious. Most Americans know that ignoring a problem will not make the problem go away.
This country’s leaders tried to pretend that what happens elsewhere in the world has no bearing on the United States. Then the problem grew into a monster that arrived on America’s doorstep, and what ravage it has wreaked.
This country’s leaders then told us that COVID-19 was a hoax, that it was not real. A parallel universe, born of delusion, was constructed in which to couch this viewpoint.
However, the words of the leaders did nothing to erase the images of mass human death, being broadcast from reality.
It can be tempting to think of the sum total of COVID-19 deaths as only a number, but each one of those 274,745 people was someone’s son or daughter, wife or husband, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew, grandmother or grandfather, cousin or friend.
Each one of those 274745 people had blood flowing through their veins; each one of them had a heart and a brain; each one laughed and cried. They were real human beings like we are.
If that does not hit home, try this approach. When you go home today, take a look at your spouse or significant other or child. Then, ask yourself how you would feel if that spouse or child was killed or hospitalized by COVID-19 tomorrow.
That is what has happened to families in this country over the past months. Someone they loved was fine one day, and the next day he or she was not.
2445 Americans died of COVID-19 on December 5, 2020. Every minute an American dies of the virus. 102,148 Americans are currently hospitalized because of COVID-19. Officially, over 150,000 Americans are being infected with the virus every day, and the actual number is probably much higher.
Hospitals are overrun, and doctors and nurses are overworked and exhausted.
Whether we like it or not, we live in the pandemic age. The non-COVID-19 world is gone, and it is not coming back. The game has changed.
We as a country can either accept this and adjust accordingly and make progress, or we can ignore and deny and keep failing.
Either way, though, the fact remains: 274,745 Americans have died of COVID-19, and these people were not simply pictures on a computer screen. They were humans with blood in their veins.
If COVID-19 has not yet affected you or someone you love, it will.
Let us accept facts and listen to scientists and medical professionals. These people know what they are talking about.
Let us wear a face covering and physically distance. We are going to be in this struggle for the long haul, and so we need to behave accordingly.
Standard reporter Luke Cameron can be reached at 473-2191 or lcameron0510@mscc.edu.
