Photo Credit: The Slate
With every day becoming a copy of the one before, it’s hard to think of life after the coronavirus has made its mark. Yet the world will go round and there will be a time when we won’t have to pull on a pair of gloves, a mask, and spray ourselves with disinfectant every time we step outside. For now, however, the most we can do is sit tight and enjoy a pause from our busy lives. While the coronavirus cases are slowly dwindling in some countries, governments around the world are speculating about opening up their economy. Countries like Spain and Germany’s cases are waning so quarantine is slowly being lifted in some areas with minimal cases. People are allowed to visit malls, stadiums, salons, and more with few restrictions in place. However, after loosening up on some of the regulations, India is seeing the biggest one day hike in cases in their coronavirus history. While people are eager to get out and enjoy the sun on their faces again, several health experts caution against a full end to quarantine.
According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top immunology expert in the US, “I'll guarantee you, once you start pulling back there will be infections. It’s how you deal with the infections that’s going to count.” While health experts battle our invisible foe, politicians take on the crumbling economy and the thousands filing for unemployment. With the 2020 elections up ahead, President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden clash on what the best way is to deal with the pandemic. The President is eager to open the country and let business owners back into business as COVID numbers in some states are already over the projected peak. On the other hand, Biden advocates for stricter management of the workforce before they are allowed back to work. In this time of need, Biden and Trump discussed options as to how America should proceed in this time of uncertainty. In the phone call, Biden “laid out four or five specific points that [he] thought were necessary. [Biden] indicated that it is about taking responsibility, and being the commander-in-chief, taking on the responsibility.”
While the American political heads battled the pandemic, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fought a different conflict. Over the past few weeks, the North Korean leader had been rumored to be sitting on the pedestal between life and death. With very limited information on how the leader has been doing, it was a surprise to most of the world when a video was posted of the 38-year old dictator sitting in an electric cart. People quickly began to question what the mysterious mark on his right wrist meant and a US medical professional hypothesized that it might point to a cardiovascular procedure. However with no further information out at this time, much of this is speculation.
As the world faces down the pandemic, Canada received another obstacle in their path to peace. Two weeks ago, 51-year old Gabriel Wortman shot and killed 22 people in a rampage in Nova Scotia. After a violent fight with his girlfriend, he used his collection of illegally bought semi-automatic guns to kill several people. After his girlfriend notified the police, the Canadian police created a list of possible suspects consisting of friends and family members. However, by the time the police alert reached those on the list, it was sometimes too late. One of Wortman’s victims was RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson who died during a head-on collision while following the shooter. In the end Wortman was killed in a police shootout, but the damage had already been done.
The families of the victims have “every right to ask these questions and they have every right to be angry."
-Nova Scotia Superintendent Darren Campbell
Canada would not soon forget its deadliest mass shooting since 1989. Following this attack, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quickly put in to effect the ban on military style assault weapons. This ban had been on the table, but the coronavirus moved the point of focus away from it.
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