The novel coronavirus is still affecting the daily lives of so many people not only in the United States, but all over the world. Here in the United States though, numbers are continuing to rise and recently have done so at rapid rates. More people are raising the question of, how much longer, or when will we get back to our daily lives? With an end nowhere in sight, those questions can’t be answered just yet. Everyone wants those answers. Nobody wants to live like this. Not one person wants to stay home all day and see the same people every single day. In order to get those answers, everyone needs to put in their maximum effort to keep each other safe. Nobody can sit around and not act. 

Unfortunately, the number of cases are continuing to rise throughout the United States. The total number of confirmed cases reported in the United States, stands at 746,625. That is almost double than it was about a week ago. On April 9th, the number of cases was at about 427,00. What is even more troublesome is that the number of deaths has seen an even bigger increase than the number of cases. As of April 20th, there are 39,083 confirmed deaths. On April 9th, there were 14,696 deaths. That is a gigantic leap between those 11 days. Those numbers are what is scaring everyone and drawing concerns about when this virus might start to slow down. Continue to follow these numbers at CDC to stay up to date. 

The amount of cases and deaths in Maryland have unfortunately also seen a larger leap in the past week than in previous weeks. As of April 20th, there are 13,864 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. Counties like Prince George’s and Montgomery have surpassed the 2,500 mark. In Frederick County, there are 616 confirmed cases which is more than double of what it was a week ago. When comparing that to the numbers on April 9th, that is almost double the number of cases than it was on that day. Just like everywhere else in the United States, Maryland has also seen a huge rise in the number of deaths. Those numbers are 516 deaths currently, which is about triple the number it was back on April 9th. In Fredrick county, there are now 25 confirmed coronavirus related deaths which is much higher than the reported 9 on April 9th. In order to follow the number of cases and deaths in the state and your respective county, go to Maryland.gov for daily updates. 

A few days ago, Governor Hogan extended the closures of schools in Maryland through May 15th. As this may not be unexpected to most people, it is still something that parents and some students didn’t want to hear. That is because it means that everyone still has to stay home all day everyday, and that students will have to continue to do all their schoolwork online. Unfortunately, with the continued surge in the number of cases and deaths in Maryland, the closures don’t seem long enough. If the numbers don’t start to hit a peak/decrease in the coming weeks, the school year will become lost. Sadly, that means all seniors won’t get a prom or graduation everyone assumed at the start of the year. This shows that this virus is affecting more than just those who are contracting it. 

Safety and precautions can never be stressed too much. The more people that follow these precautions in order to stay safe, the faster this virus will go away. There are too many people who aren’t taking these precautions as seriously as they need to be taken. That is a small cause to why the numbers have gone up so much in the past week. No matter how small the cause though, one change can still save so many lives. It can save so much suffering that others would have to go through if they were to contract COVID-19. If you don’t know or want to know more ways to stay safe, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html for more details. With that being said, everyone needs to stay home and do your part in getting these large jumps everyday to decrease.