Essay Example on Newspaper Article Review: Virus Surge Continues in Georgia

The newspaper article Virus surge continues in Georgia, dated 16 July 2020, by Tom Corwin, staff writer at The Augusta Chronicle: gives a detailed preview with statistical analysis of the effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had in Georgia, U.S.. A report by The Augusta Chronicle reported that cases in Georgia reached 4,000 and were steadily rising with a 9.5% increase in positive tests. A couple more counties had an increase in positive cases such as Richmond -1922 cases, Columbia -44, Jefferson -46, McDuffie county-232: only Glascock and Taliaferro County remained the same at 15. An investigation conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed statistical evidence that wearing masks proved effective in containing the spread of the disease. Two asymptomatic hairstylists infected with COVID-19 admitted to wearing masks while attending to their customers but removing them in the absence of the customers. Of the 139 customers, 67 who agreed to a medical exam tested negative for COVID-19. The customers said they followed the city directive for allowing a limited number of clients in the waiting area and wore masks always.

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The hairstylist’s incident raises questions on why the two individuals chose to disregard the health directive of wearing masks all through. The careless behavior may have jeopardized the health of their families as well. So why did the hairstylists only wear masks in public? Why did all the clients wear masks? What would be the best solution to ensure other people follow the safety measures to curb the spread and infection? In chapter 11, Hockenbury et al., (2012), social psychology explains the effect surrounding societal behaviors have on an individual’s actions and tendency to obey authority. People incline to copy mannerisms of people around them to fit in and at times disregarding their safety in the process. Social psychology explains how conformity, leadership, group behavior, and social perceptions shape attitudes and character, especially in group settings.

The book details a series of social experiments aimed at identifying reasons for a change in attitudes and behaviors of individuals amongst crowds. Solomon Asch conducted a study on conformity tasking participants to pick cards with a standard line and compare their answers. The majority of the participants chose the correct answer and differed with the crowd with minorities copying the crowd: giving the wrong answer yet they knew the correct answer. In another experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram on 40 participants to test blind obedience to authority, participants were to administer electric shocks to their subjects after a series of wrong answers. Twenty-six, out of the 40 participants, went up to 450 volts despite it being dangerous for the test subject. Reason being, assurance the test subject was fine and disassociation from the test subject. However, some participants defied authority when they saw others do so and did not administer the full voltage. The conclusion was that “people were more likely to muster up the courage to defy authority when they saw others do so,” (Hockenbury et al., 2012).

A comparison of this experiment to Tom Corwin’s COVID-19 report explains why the hairstylists’ copied each other’s mannerisms by not wearing masks when together but wearing them out in public. The stylists wore masks in public a bid to display their compliance to the authority of the city’s ordinance and reassure clients of their safety. We can deduce that probably one hairstylist removed her mask because her counterpart did not wear theirs in her presence. The hairstylists' did not think that people within the same workplace could also easily infect one another. We can presume the clients followed the city directive because they were in a group of people displaying similar behavior. The clients’ probably followed through because the local authority stated so and they had no other option but to abide by the rules or face consequences since they were in public. The hairstylists also mirrored this behavior but undermined authority when shifted into their private space.

The examination of infection rates in Georgia shows that the public applies health directives outdoors amongst strangers but not within in-groups with familiar people like colleagues in workplaces. The newspaper article displays exactly how risky social behaviors negatively affect public health effectiveness. The figurative report helps readers grasp the seriousness of the high-risk infection rate of COVID-19. I was stunned the hairstylists did not stop to think the disastrous effect their actions would have if customers had not followed the city decree to the letter.

More programs that are educational are required to sensitize the public on the importance of following through with all safety measures. It would also instill in them a sense of responsibility in that no supervision would be required for them to comply with safety regulations. Impromptu visits by health department officials to the workplaces to sensitize and assess compliance to the city directives could help ensure a reduction in such cases of incompetence and avert a health crisis. The health measures sensitized by the health ministry can only be successful if people abide by rules even in the absence of authority.

References

Hockenbury, D., & Hockenbury, S. (2012). Discovering Psychology Sixth Edition Edition.