Editorial voice from elsewhere
Summer has been a nice respite.
It’s felt freeing to get some sunshine, go for a swim or fish, or take the dogs for a walk.
The state orders were significantly relaxed (locally, on June 5), and we also got to step back into the social lives we’d missed for weeks.
As we went out, we were all asked to mask and to socially distance – both pretty simple things.
It would seem too many failed at those requests, given the recent uptick in the state’s COVID-19 cases.
In response, Gov. Tom Wolf instituted some mitigation efforts last week, limiting indoor dining capacity to 25%. Bars that don’t serve food had to close.
We can’t imagine the strain that puts on the owners of those businesses.
They survived weeks of take-out-only service, got a ray of hope for recovery, and have been shoved backward once again.
With those restrictions has come understandable anger and frustration, particularly for restaurants and bars that have gone above and beyond in cleanliness, and made every effort to follow the rules.
But tell us, please, what other choice did state officials have? Should they have waited until new daily numbers surpassed what we were seeing in the spring to take action?
The president of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association said the state should’ve aimed enforcement at the places that aren’t following the rules.
How would that work? There aren’t enough enforcement officers to blanket the state 24/7. And even if there were, should they fine or yank the licenses of restaurant owners who can’t be in every inch of their facility, every second to stop those inside from defying rules?
And if contact tracing shows a particular business was a hot spot for virus spread, do we punish them on the assumption that they did something wrong?
Never mind that penalties imposed after the fact don’t achieve very much – it’s akin to shutting the barn door after the horses got out.
Look, we know there’s no good solution. But there is one thing that’s for sure: if we do nothing, if our state officials do nothing, this virus will continue to spread, and some will die.
The numbers don’t lie.
In 16 days of July, there were 106 new cases reported in Fayette County. Our first case was reported on March 22 – we didn’t hit our first 106 cases until June 26. That was a 96-day span of time.
Parts of Fayette are bordered by either Washington or Westmoreland counties, and they, too, are experiencing a surge in cases. Allegheny County’s surges are significantly worse.
The state’s secretary of health said we’re starting to repeat the pattern from when the virus first hit our state: rises in cases among people ages 19 to 49. Dr. Rachel Levine said that led to the spread of the virus to those in more at-risk age demographics.
With more knowledge and experience about how this virus spreads, we’ve got to stop that cycle from repeating.
We don’t think state officials take any pleasure in restricting restaurants and bars – places often populated by the younger age demographic – but until there is a vaccine, the sacrifices must continue.