The coronavirus infection has millions of cases worldwide with a death toll that is increasing day by day. Regardless of the previously imposed preventive measures, the virus seems to spread even further and infect an even higher number of people in all countries that have been affected.
In order to control coronavirus spread, many governments had opted for the option of nationwide lockdowns. During the past three months, nearly all countries around the world closed schools, workplaces, and businesses.
The US and other countries were able to ease such restrictions only at the end of May. At that time, the number of new cases of the coronavirus infection had gone down. Overall, the transmission was not as quick as it was before.
The majority of people had followed instructions given by updates from health agencies including the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. This is why many states in the US were able to reopen.
However, as soon as the lockdown was over, many states and even other countries saw an increase in coronavirus cases again. In the US state of Arizona, several new coronavirus infection cases were reported in a time span of only three weeks after easing restrictions.
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On the other hand, other Chinese provinces including Jilin saw another coronavirus outbreak. The second wave of coronavirus in China has also reportedly spread to the city of Beijing.
The US fears a similar second wave of coronavirus to start in different states. Therefore, each CDC update has covered many risk factors for coronavirus infection.
The sets of instructions uploaded by the CDC have guidelines for churches, offices, traveling, home care, and many more. The latest CDC update now urges people to choose to drive alone rather than carpool or take public transport.
Although there are separate instructions on using public transport safely, driving alone is still a preference. Public transport is among other coronavirus hotspots. This is because of the big number of people who use it frequently for the daily commute.
Additionally, public transport tends to be unsafer because it is almost impossible to practice social distancing on it. There are very few states which have introduced restrictions that place limits on the number of people traveling on any kind of transport at a time.
Lack of social distancing and big crowds either on the stations or inside the transport can significantly increase the risk of coronavirus spread. Therefore, it makes sense for the CDC to recommend using a personal vehicle instead of public transport.
However, this CDC update has been controversial since it encourages what had been greatly discouraged prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The use of cars can contribute to environmental damage to a great extent.
There have been many initiatives that have concentrated on improving public transport so that most people rely on it instead of private cars. Secondly, many of the people in the US do not even own a car they can use to go to work or get groceries.
The current situation, however, is very different than before. Social distancing is a requirement for lowering the risk of coronavirus infection. Cars are now a form of personal protective equipment similar to masks and gloves though it is much expensive and unaffordable in comparison.