“Our scarcest resource is human.” Ricardo Nuila in his article to the New Yorker came to the realization that the greatest limitation his hospital was facing while helping Patients who were fighting COVID-19 was manpower, not the equipment. “In order for an I.C.U. to prone large numbers of patients each day, it must be fully staffed,” according to Nuila. He goes on to say how hospital staff in Houston are becoming overwhelmed with the number of patients they have to take care of, and getting more doctors is much more difficult than obtaining more equipment because of the intensive training doctors have to go through to gain their titles. Texans have been blind to the strain on hospitals and were still observed gathering “in large groups with relaxed safety measures,” and this ignorance has forced increased productivity on Houston’s 84 hospitals, but Nuila tells us not to worry. Texas is increasing their medical workforce and maintaining their efficiency, and Nuila emphasizes that if ordinary Texans follow COVID-19 safety guidelines, hospitals will continue to keep up.

Citizens’ individual choices, although seemingly insignificant, have a great impact on their respective communities. If someone is unknowingly sick but wears a mask, they might prevent many other people from getting sick also. However, compelling people to follow lockdown orders, close down their businesses, and wear masks stirs controversy over whether or not our freedoms are being encroached on. Some small business owners are struggling to survive financially with the regulations in place––their values defend the economy and the quality of life of the majority of citizens over some thousands of deaths. Since everyone has different values, it is difficult to lead an entire community in one direction, and it is difficult to know who to follow. But this does not mean unified communities don’t exist.

Some communities have defied division and have come together in fascinating ways. The Dan Jerusalem hotel was not only full of Corona-bearers, but also an explosive mix of cultures. Things started off tense in the hotel according to the “Hotel Corona” podcast––clashes between different Arab groups and Jewish and Palestinian peoples pursued, and there was much segregation among the ethnic groups. All it took to bring them together was something they had in common––they all had COVID-19. When they shared their stories of how they got the virus, they were able to look past their cultural differences and socially advance, even to the point of telling jokes about each other’s cultures without anyone getting offended. Even during important cultural events like Passover where differences in culture were highlighted were celebrated in unity at the Hotel, and other groups were able to learn about each other. Hotel Corona provides other communities with an important lesson that to come together and do things as a whole, people have to see each other through a similar lens and be humble towards each other while putting aside or even learning about each other’s differences.