With the presidential election approaching rapidly, incumbent Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have vastly different views on the next step to stop the Coronavirus outbreak.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is the Democratic candidate for the upcoming election. He feels very passionate about preventing the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak and has plans if he were to be elected as the new president. “Well, masks make a big difference. [Trump’s] own head of the CDC said if we just wore masks between now, if everybody wore a mask and social distanced between now and January, we’d probably save up to 100,000 lives. It matters. It matters,” he said.

Biden speaks loud and clear at his socially-distant rallies about his future plans for the United States if elected President. He said, “These are the conversations I’m going to be having today in this whistle-stop tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania, talking to folks about how I’ll get the virus under control, layout the plan, bringing Congress together to provide relief and resources to schools and business so we can reopen our economy safely and strongly with a real plan and real leadership.”

Ryan Pubentz, a Social Studies teacher at Mayfield High School, is very supportive regarding the safety precautions that are put in place for the pandemic through our local and national government. “Based on the information provided by scientists, the safety protocols are the best way to save lives and avoid massive outbreaks,” he said.

Danny Birnbaum, a Highland Heights resident who plans to vote in this upcoming presidential election, feels very strongly about the control of the Coronavirus, and believes that U.S. and Ohio citizens following all guidelines correctly would greatly help to control the spread of the virus. He said, “I think Biden has strong feelings about preventing the virus in regards to being vigilant about wearing a mask on a regular basis and regular hand washing. I think if we all follow those two things which are his views, we can at least slow it down, or even completely prevent it.”

Trump notifies his supporters that he has plans for continuing to deal with the pandemic, including a potential vaccine. He said, “Through Operation Warp Speed, we will develop and distribute a vaccine in record time, it’s going to be very, very soon… On November 3, Minnesota will decide whether we end this pandemic, defeat the virus, and return to record prosperity.”

Trump advocates for himself that he took the appropriate precautions and that life in the United States will return to normal soon. “We did all these incredible things with the economy, with everything, and then we got hit with this virus from China… We saved millions of lives,” he said.

Pubentz, who is focused on the safety of his family, admits that he was nervous at first that the necessary precautions were not being taken for the pandemic. He said, “Having never lived through a pandemic before, the initial barrage of information was the most unsettling. Fear of the unknown, especially when thinking about my own family.”

Birnbaum concludes that although politics have gotten involved, science is the best way to go in continuing the worldwide fight against COVID-19. He said, “We have a lot of brilliant people researching the virus every day and coming out with a vaccine. Politics should have zero impact on it… if you just follow the science, it doesn’t lie.”