While there are plenty of definitions for a pandemic, the general meaning is a new disease that infects people in multiple countries or continents often with worldwide implications and concerns. COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic and has much of the world rattled in terms of caring for those who are sick and implementing prevention measures to prevent more people from getting sick.
As characterized by the hundreds of movies, books, and entertainment that is centered around a pandemic situation filled with people in suits that make them look like an astronaut, the word itself carries a lot of power. On one hand, it strikes fear and panic leading people to do possibly irrational actions and/or act in a way that is counter proactive (eg. overstocking their house with necessities leaving others empty handed). During the last significant disease outbreak, swine flu was label as a pandemic with much criticism because the disease ended up being mild and controlled easily. However, because it was "improperly" labeled, countries and organizations had taken significant unnecessary action that ended up being costly. The pros of labeling a disease a pandemic is that it incites the necessary attention for countries and leaders to make important decisions to mitigating it's effects and helping the people at risk.
As you can see, labeling and calling something a pandemic is no joke so that fact that COVID-19 has been labeled one and is a worldwide emergency speaks volume to how we should be acting. While AJS cannot lift or move your home away from the effects of COVID-19, we do encourage you to practice social distancing and stay in your home. Over the next several weeks we will be releasing blog articles to keep you entertained. Stay safe everyone.
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