Covid-19, Do Lock Downs Mean Losing Our Right be Free

William Shakespeare's famous quote from Hamlet asked, "To be or not to be, that is the question." When paraphrasing for the coronavirus, one could ask, "To stop or not to stop, that is the question." After several months of unsuccessfully deterring the progress of the coronavirus, one needs to question, "Have we accomplished anything by staying home ?"

For nearly four months, the spread of the coronavirus has gained momentum, with no apparent relief in sight. Global lockdowns have created "cabin fever" on steroids. With each passing day of enforced solitude, one has the time to contemplate how this all came to be. They also need to ask, how do we get back to normal?

The Yahoo news reported the first known symptoms of the coronavirus most likely began in China. The initial plan was to contain the virus in Wuhan, but it became apparent that the window of opportunity had already passed.

With the incubation period lasting up to two weeks, as reported by Healthline, the virus had enough time to develop unnoticed. And with people traveling freely in and out of China, the coronavirus was able to spread both locally and globally, virtually undetected. By the time the Chinese Government realized the full impact of the situation, it was already too late, with the damage done.

And Businessinsider claims that with the virus spreading, shortages of test kits became an immediate concern, for China would be running blind without them. With insufficient test kits, China waited for people having virus-like symptoms to come in on their own. People who tested positive identified other people who were close to them.

To this day, insufficient test kits remains a significant obstacle for most nations around the world. Test kits are vital to determining the effectiveness of lockdowns and social distancing, as well as identifying coronavirus hot spots. Even though this shortage is a severe obstacle, there might be light at the end of the tunnel.

Those nations able to do sufficient testing, have shown a significant reduction in mortality rates. Two such countries are South Korea and Germany. South Korea attributes their lower mortality rates to having an adequate supply of test kits at their disposal, as reported by Sciencemag.

Germany makes the same claims, says, Bloomberg having distributed over 4 million test kits over the past several weeks to keep ahead of the virus.

And while Germany and South Korea's combined mortality rate is near 1.3%, Spain and Italy's rates are closer to 10%. The difference in these mortality rates seems to correlate to test kit availability.

China first reported the coronavirus to the world on December 31st, 2019. Three weeks later, on January 21st, America had its first known coronavirus case.

From that point on, it took less than two and a half months for the world to turn upside down. Dailymail has reported, over one-third of the world's population is currently under some degree of lockdown.

So as social and economic instability remain globally rampant these past few months, the world's people patiently wait for a plan that will begin the healing process of getting back to normal. So what are the next steps to normality?

It seems the world is in a pickle. Extend the lockdown too long, and the current infrastructure will never be the same, lift the restrictions too early, and mortality rates could skyrocket. It's the classic "point of no return."

If the world is truly at an impasse, and by going in either direction creates its own set of unique challenges, then which course is the better path to take?

In March 1775, as the British tried to lock down the Americans, Patrick Henry famously said, "I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!". Henry chose freedom over suppression. He was willing to risk death to live. If the world feels the same way, then it's time to start living again.

"To be or not to be, that is the question."