作者：巫莎（雅思写作）

People should look after their health as a duty to the society where they live rather than their own benefits. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The pursuit of health is a mission that humans should by no means give up. The very idea that that remaining healthy should be regarded as a social commitment instead of pursued for individual benefits, from my perspective, is downright mistaken.

Some people claim that social security is intimately bound up with personal health, especially when there is an outbreak of infectious illness, such as influenza or the current corona virus disease. The logic behind this is that if people do not have any self-discipline—refusing to keep social distancing, the epidemic would escalate. However, it is one thing to say that people should bear social responsibilities in the crisis, it is quite another to conclude that they should stay healthy with the sole aim of safeguarding other social members. People crave attention, consolation and even psychological counselling in the time of panic, because it is the feeling of being loved and cared that makes people serious about obeying rules during a pandemic and hopefully eager to see others safe and sound.

There are other advocates believing that public medical resources are limited, or to be more exact, are sadly lacking, and that individuals doing all they can to avoid illness certainly alleviates the burden of medical sectors. If this point makes sense, we can explain it in another way: people frequenting hospitals is not disturbing when there are sufficient medial staff and hospital wards available. Some basic facts are neglected: only when people keep robust physically and mentally can they study and work normally; only when people themselves study and work normally would they have a greater sense of satisfaction and achievement; and this in all likelihood decreases the possibility of contracting an illness, whether an ailment or a life-threatening disease, thus ultimately reducing the pressure on the medical system .

In conclusion, despite the best intention of easing the social unrest during an epidemic and saving medical resources in the case of lack of medical resources, I cannot say that remaining healthy is solely a moral obligation which has nothing to do with personal well-being.