Reopening Washington is good news and bad news

Reopening the State of Washington is complicated at best.

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(U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez)

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Rotator Graphic for af.mil. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario “Charo” Gutierrez)

Abigail Orse, Reporter

It would be beneficial to reopen Washington because it would help with mental health and the economy. It is important for humans to have face to face interactions and to not be locked in their houses. By reopening a large variety of businesses people will be able to interact with others more. Many people believe mental health is just as important as physical health and by being forced to stay at home people are isolated from society and this is not good for one’s mental health.

Since Washington has been in lockdown for two months, the economy has completely had a downward spiral. Extending the stay at home order will only make this worse. According to the Washington Post, 22 million people have filed for unemployment in the United States since Mid March. This has a huge impact on the economy because people are losing money therefore do not spend money and this leads to more failures or businesses and shops.

“ I believe it is important to reopen the state slowly but at a consistent pace” said businessman Eric Orse, “ This has had a huge impact on the US economy and each state’s and it will take lots of time for us to recover especially if we stay in lockdown for even longer”.

Many people feel as if a plan needs to be enforced in order for Washington state to be successful. Many people think we should reopen on June 1st so small businesses especially can go back to work and stay in business. On the other hand some people say the state needs to stay in lockdown for longer as a safety to our health.

According to King 5 news, 14 counties in WA are eligible for phase 2 but many, like King County are not. Each day there are more cases being diagnosed in King County than there should be according to the Center of disease control and this could force them to extend their phase 1.

To many people health is the most important thing. They put the safety of others above the economy or other things. The Coronavirus is very scary and unpredictable and the fact that it is so contagious brings lots of fear among society. Reopening the state and moving to phase two will only cause the virus to spread and this is why many people do not feel as if we are ready.
In one of the most unpredictable times America has ever faced, the country has been shut down for nearly 2 months, and many people in the state of Washington feel as if things should reopen, yet others feel that Washington needs more time.

Both mental health and physical health are important. People have to ask themselves if the economy is really important enough to reopen the state and risk the virus spreading. But others have to realize that the virus has only infected 19,265 people of a population of nearly 7 million. Each person has their own morals and opinions regarding the Coronavirus and there are many pros and cons to reopening the state.