The COVID cases spike again but staying safe by using technology is still the best solution

The coronavirus is still going strong. No matter what politicians say until doctors find a solution and we stop seeing an increasing number of cases, it is still here.

It is real. It seems that we just chose to ignore it since the COVID ban started to lift in many countries. Business reopening, movie theaters ready for your entertainment. But is it worth it? Is the economy going to recover thanks to it?

Head over heels

Since the middle of June, numerous new cases in the U.S. have begun to go upward, therefore not going in the right direction of flattening the curve. What we don’t pay attention to is the fact that the terrain of COVID-19 is changing. In April, when everyone realized how severe the virus was, the number decreased immensely, as everyone was scared. Just because we succeeded in flattening the curve for a while, wasn’t a sign of reopening anything, even though the economy was, and still is suffering. We are just going to prolong this and make it easier for the world to recover if we continue being selfish and not informed. In a week, the number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased daily only between June 15 and June 24. New cases hotspots in the U.S. are south and west, and four states saw their daily case numbers jump sharply in the last week — Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas. These states are home to about 3 in every 10 Americans. They now account for nearly as many new COVID-19 cases as the rest of the country does.

Testing, testing

Four large states have driven the spike in new daily cases. Cases only show up in data when people decide to go and test themselves, so the case count here cannot give us the full scope of the virus’s spread. But they do not merely reflect a more comprehensive examination. While testing has increased for the U.S. as a whole, the percentage of tests coming back positive is also rising. The virus is spreading faster than we are searching for it.

If we remove these four states from the mix, the national picture looks much better. But there is still a recent upturn. Many of the newer cases are among younger people, who tend to be less likely to suffer the worst outcomes from the virus. Treatment and understanding of the disease have improved since the first wave of COVID-19 swept the U.S. in the spring. If the newly infected skewed to a more resilient population — people catching the virus now at bars and parties rather than in nursing homes — may survive.

Looking only at the cases in those states shows a curve successfully flattened. Only about 1% of New Yorkers are testing positive. The question is whether those places will be able to stay ahead of the virus. Areas, where cases are spiking, will have to find their way back to the other side of new peaks. As New Yorkers — and Italians, and Chinese, and a growing number of people around the world can attest — the journey can be grim. Orders in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut for visitors arriving from hot spot states to quarantine are one sign of the challenge ahead: People move, and viruses move with them.

The silver lining for the economy

People focus more and more on learning how to earn passive income and how to save and spend more consciously. We can see many videos on Youtube where young people talk about financial planning, how to invest, where to save up, and keep the cash coming. They mention writing down, having an app, or having a monthly overview if you own a credit card. Then you can pinpoint where you are unnecessarily overspending, and what you can change about your money habits. It is also highly recommended to have only one credit card or bank account, so you don’t lose yourself in the receipts you don’t even know about. Research your bank, check what you’re paying, and search for other options as well. If you are looking for a way to have a passive income, investing in stocks nowadays (if you are not an internet celebrity or influencer) is a viable option. Make sure to have everything in one place so you don’t lose track of your spendings.

Going into the wild

For many New Yorkers, their city feels like a ghost town, since lots of people moved back with their parents for a while. Some went and rented Airbnb to be in the wild, and some decided to relocate entirely and go back to their hometown. This might be safer for them and their families, but it also causes the problem mentioned above.