Stay the course against COVID. Opening Tri-Cities too soon will set us back | Editorial
Getting the majority of Tri-Citians to wear masks was always a means to an end. It was never meant to be the final goal.
Yet, judging by recent rumblings in the community, it appears some elected leaders are disappointed that a significant increase in the number of mask-wearing Tri-Citians has not been enough to move our local economy forward.
We understand the impatience, but we aren’t there yet.
Officials with the Benton and Franklin Health Department have said time and again that it could take several weeks before we see COVID-19 cases drop as a result of more people wearing masks. Even so, health officials say that overall the number of new cases in the Tri-Cities area now appears to be holding steady, which is encouraging.
But at the July 21 Richland City Council meeting, Councilman Bob Thompson suggested that if wearing masks really work, we should see a dramatic drop in Tri-City cases in three days.
That’s not realistic.
Without a vaccine or cure, there is no instant fix for reducing the coronavirus infection rate in the community. It took time for our numbers to spike and it will take time to bring them down.
As difficult as it is to continue to limit business, stay apart from others and make masks a part of our wardrobe, it is far better to continue our COVID-19 combat strategy now than risk opening up the community too soon.
The last thing we need is an open-shut-open-shut cycle that other states are now dealing with.
California, Florida and Texas all set one-day state records for fatalities from COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to Reuters. Florida was one of the first states to reopen when it went out of lockdown in May. Now it is in crisis mode.
If people get complacent, the outbreak will surge. That’s why, as mentally exhausting as it is, Tri-Citians must not let up.
Already, we know the community is on the right track.
After Gov. Jay Inslee visited in late June, he allowed the community to move to a modified Phase 1 on the condition that we would increase the number of people wearing masks in public.
To our credit, Tri-Citians have stepped up.
The latest survey, conducted July 17-23 at 15 grocery stores throughout Benton and Franklin counties, found 98% of 6,360 shoppers with masks.
That is up from the first Benton Franklin Health District survey of 15 grocery stores done over a month ago that found 53% compliance.
We were always under the impression that wearing masks was part of the strategy — not the final objective. But others, it appears, had a different perception.
Richland Mayor Ryan Lukson said at the July 21 city council meeting that he had been on a call with the governor, other elected officials and state health officials and that it is frustrating “when an elected official such as the governor comes to the community and says ‘100 percent mask up equals 100 percent open up’ and later it’s like, ‘Well, not really.’ ”
Thompson said he wonders when our community might “ever, ever get out of Phase 1.5,” especially when officials change what the goalposts are, and “what consequence that has to our community.”
He also said he is astonished by how many closed store fronts he sees in the city, and that it is a tragedy somewhat overlooked. “We’ve moved a long way from the science because it doesn’t fit a political narrative,” he said.
We understand how discouraging this fight against COVID-19 has been, but other states that opened their economies too soon are now regretting it. Tri-City leaders must keep that in mind.
Wearing masks and social distancing will help us slow the disease.
However, it won’t happen overnight. That’s why we must not give up our efforts — the consequences of not staying the course will be even more devastating.
This story was originally published August 2, 2020 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Stay the course against COVID. Opening Tri-Cities too soon will set us back | Editorial."