As COVID-19 cases spike in California, health care workers have taken to social media to respond to the public not taking the stay-at-home order seriously. 

In an interview with ABC 7, Heidi Flores, a Southern California nurse, said it is only a matter of time before many nurses test positive for COVID-19.

“I’ll continue as long as I can because it’s not just me,” Flores said. “There’s other nurses doing the same thing and I think they give me strength.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, there were 16,413 confirmed cases and 395 recorded deaths due to coronavirus in California as of April 7. To say that the virus is spreading quickly would be a severe understatement.

Hospital staff working on the front lines of this pandemic cannot head home for fear of possibly spreading the virus to their family members.

While health care workers work tirelessly worldwide to manage the growing number of cases, many civilians still ignore the orders to practice social distancing and stay at home.

Healthcare workers are doing everything they can to take on this workload. With a shortage in supplies and staff, it is critical that the public partake in their roles and help out by staying home.

As of April 6, nine states have yet to impose strict recommendations to stay at home and actively practice social distancing. 

If we are to return to our normal daily routines we must all do our part, stay home and only go out if it is absolutely necessary. It is also important that citizens stay up to date with the California Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 updates.

Our homes may begin to feel confining and the regulations to stay indoors may feel intolerable, but it is for the best.

The threat of the coronavirus is very real and people need to stop allowing ignorance to be the reason for not doing their part.

The sooner we start participating, the sooner we can get back to our regular lives and nurses and other medical professionals can go home to their families.