We Need Solutions

With the US Open less than two weeks away, plans have jumped off of the page and into action. Testing for COVID-19 has begun for the few that will be granted access into the host arena as of less than a week ago, with tests divided into tiers based on individual status. Tier 1 was the first to be tested, consisting of non-players needed on-site.

Despite the hopes of the United Tennis Association, one test out of 1,400 came back positive. This case revealed the most dangerous part of the virus that is constantly overlooked: asymptomatic cases. 

Since before this pandemic arrived, people have always associated illness with visible sickness: paleness, coughing, runny noses, et cetera. Even now, during said pandemic, some are still not aware that essentially anyone could be some form of a carrier despite their normal-looking exterior. 

With this new type of danger afoot, would this not poke a giant hole in some of the precautions being taken? How much will a temperature check matter? How much will a test result matter once a player leaves the arena, similar to the Palermo tournament lies? 

These questions are now becoming just as big for schools and colleges across the country. Some colleges, such as the University of North Carolina, have already had to send back their students due to the virus. As much as schools can prepare with testing, it seems that the virus is already showing its dominance over large economic parts of American society.

Hopefully, with sports working on smaller scales and having the ability to keep audiences at home, silver linings will poke through this enormous cloud of dread. If sports can make it happen and find impressionable solutions, perhaps this can help the rest of society recover from economic atrophy.