UNITED STATES—I know we are ALL tired hearing about the words, ‘coronavirus,’ ‘COVID-19,’ ‘pandemic,’ ‘social distancing’ and ‘quarantine.’ These are all the terms of 2020 that have been part of the lexicon all over the place. With that said, there are some states that have partial shutdowns, some going to near full shutdowns and others, where things are still open and operating, but with safety precautions in place.

I’m not going to say I’m confused because I understand why such closures are taking place, but at the same time I get confused as to why some businesses are allowed to continue operations as usual and others cannot. Los Angeles has a stay-at-home order in effect for the next 3 weeks, just as we inch closer to Christmas. The state of Michigan was recently in the midst of a 3-week pause, where certain businesses, particularly restaurants were prohibited from allowing in door dining. Similar shutdowns or restrictions are in place throughout the country including Los Angeles, and I will be honest it is indeed frustrating for a vast majority of Americans.

There are some of us who are essential workers, where we have jobs we HAVE TO go to. We don’t have that option of choosing if we want to go to work or not. It is simply put: if you don’t go to work, you will NOT have a job. That is the reality of the situation. The number of coronavirus cases across the country is on the rise and it’s scary. As someone who has had SEVERAL family members diagnosed with the deadly virus and survive and others not so lucky, this is serious business.

With that said, I’m trying to understand why certain businesses that are not actually essential are allowed to remain open, while others, that I would deem essential are forced to shutter their doors? No one can give a definitive answer to that question for me. I have heard countless times that indoor dining is risky because people have their mask removed. I totally get that, but I think if restaurants put up Plexiglass in between tables and ensure social distancing in the process it could help. In addition, limiting the number of people allowed to dine indoors would be a major help.

On the flipside you have gyms, which too me are the dirtiest place because you have people sweating all over devices, but they can keep their doors open? Yes, they might be sanitizing the equipment in between uses, but that’s my two cents. The biggest headscratcher for me is retailers. When I say retailers I’m not referring to grocery stores because those are essential businesses, but I’m talking about shopping malls.

Look I like the mall just as much as the next person, but there are a lot of people congregating at the mall in the midst of a pandemic and the holidays fast-approaching. I mean this is no laughing matter America. I have seen people waiting in lines to get inside certain stores and guess what people are not social distancing. People are eating in every possible region they can, benches, tables and such and eating without a mask. Worst of all some people are bringing their entire family to the mall, many being small children who are NOT wearing a mask, and many of them coughing all over the place. Is that safe? Of course it’s not.

This selective process by some governors, mayors and health directors of picking and choosing what should be open, what should be closed is frustrating. It would be nice to have some concrete evidence that THIS place or this particularly industry is causing a spike in Coronavirus cases and because of it we need to shut down or take stricter precautions to limit the outbreaks. I can make the same argument about a restaurant being forced to close for indoor dining, but a movie can be shot just a mere distance away? Come on America, what is fair about that? Nothing. There is nothing fair about that at all people.

Some hospitals if you believe what is reported by the news are at capacity, others, not so much. Nurses and doctors, grocery store clerks and essential business that HAVE TO BE OPEN, are at more risk of being exposed to the virus than many of these industries that are not necessarily essential industries. I think the large frustration I see is that we just don’t have a mandate or something: 1 week everything is shut down, everything if you’re not essential to try to get a handle on things, but in doing so, you run the risk of businesses going out of business, people’s livelihood at stake so you can’t win even if you try America.

I will make the argument that if government officials are stressing these strict guidelines they need to adhere to them. You cannot say outdoor dining is banned yet you are caught in pictures dining out, while you’re telling everyone else NOT to do it. It is absolute hypocrisy at its best and they should be held to the fire for such antics. We need more guidelines in place regarding these shutdowns because I have to be honest; I am frustrated with the constant evolution of what this virus is doing to our country. Things are changing on a daily basis, but I cannot help, but think about all those people out of work or without income in the middle of the holidays. This is always a stressful time, but it is worst now more than ever.

Written By Jason Jones