Editorial: Timing the pandemic reopening
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It is no surprise that people are ready for this to be over.
For five weeks, Pennsylvania has been a tiger in a cage, prowling back and forth, frustrated by remembered freedom and eager to get out.
We know that coronavirus put us here. We know all the simple reasons why. covid-19 is a contagious respiratory infection that is easily transmitted in our regular, unisolated lives where we stand close to each other in line at the bank and touch the same ATMs and gas pumps and handrails.
And we know that in Pennsylvania alone, the diagnosed cases hover around 31,000. The death toll tops 830.
But we also know that 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment. We know small businesses are at risk of never opening their doors again. We know that with schools closed and businesses closed and the virus keeping everything in limbo, we may be safer from sickness but we are also prey for stress and fear.
Every day more people talk about opening our cage and getting back to work and shopping and the world we knew way back in February before things started to shut down.
In recent days, protesters in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky and North Carolina swarmed their capitals. More and more people are struggling with not only the logistics of the lockdown, but the financial fallout and, unfortunately, the politics.
These protests are hitting closer to home. A poll showed that Tribune-Review readers are bristling under Gov. Tom Wolf’s mask mandate that goes into effect at 8 p.m. Sunday. On Monday, Pennsylvanians Against Excessive Quarantine will rally in Harrisburg in opposition to extending lockdown restrictions into May. In Downtown Pittsburgh, a “Take Back Control” rally is planned in front of the City-County Building.
It is understandable. It’s important to raise voices even in emergencies. A government seeks to act in the best interests of everyone, for the common good and, in this case, to prevent deaths. When citizens speak up, the government knows what needs to be done.
But in appearances Wednesday and Thursday, President Trump said lockdowns would be lifted as they made sense, when infection rates fall. Wolf said Friday that he has no specific date for getting back to normal, but that testing is an important part of the process.
When our leaders from both parties say we are not there yet, we need to make sure that our raised voices are informing them of our needs but not pushing toward a bad end.
We have endured hardship for weeks in the name of reducing disease and death. Opening too soon could make everything we pushed away rush back and prompt more or longer lockdowns. That would make all the lost wages and shuttered businesses and endless pacing in our cages pointless.
The government shouldn’t act capriciously to lock our doors. They should be just as deliberate about opening them.