A ‘bored media’ did not start a coronavirus panic. Dying people did | Editorial

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Contrary to a Tri-City official’s Facebook post, the media is not to blame for Gov. Jay Inslee’s decision to shutter schools and close certain businesses to slow the coronavirus.

Inslee is making these tough decisions based on advice from infectious disease experts, and by watching what is happening around the world. Washington state was the country’s front gate, and Inslee is wise to do all he can to stem the speed of infection.

But Benton County Assessor Bill Spencer posted the following on his personal Facebook page: “This is a sad state of affairs. A bored media starts a panic that influences a Governor to take away our civil liberties. My friends remember where fear comes from. Fear does not come from God.”

We couldn’t reach him to talk to him about his post, but Spencer made the comment shortly after Inslee announced restaurants, movie theaters, fitness centers and hair salons would close for at least two weeks in order to help slow the spread of the illness.

We understand Inslee’s orders caught many Tri-Citians off guard, and we are concerned for business owners and employees who will suffer financially because of these drastic precautions. But we believe they are necessary.

Spencer is wrong if he thinks the media is hyping the pandemic for its own twisted benefit, and causing government leaders to overreact.

Reporters don’t make up statistics, and they don’t revel in other people’s distress.

The extreme steps Inslee took to protect the public were encouraged early on by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency warned Americans in February that aggressive, disruptive measures eventually might have to be imposed once the disease gets a foothold in the U.S.

Considering Washington state has the most coronavirus deaths in the country, Inslee is doing what has to be done to save lives. The goal is to keep our health care system from being overrun all at once.

So far, 171 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19. Of those deaths, 68 were in Washington state.

Now, the Tri-Cities has its first death from COVID-19 and its second confirmed coronavirus case.

On Tuesday, the Benton Franklin Health Department announced a Franklin County woman in her 20s with underlying health issues is being treated for COVID-19. Then on Wednesday, the health department announced a Tri-City woman in her 80s died in a local hospital over the weekend.

For a long while, it did feel as if the Tri-Cities was in some kind of protective bubble while news of coronavirus cases swirled in other parts of the state.

But that bubble has popped. The disease is here and we have to take precautions.

On Facebook, Spencer responded to at least one person who thought he should be taking the public health emergency more seriously by saying, “There was a valley in the news cycle, impeachment had grown cold, the primaries were over. I simply ask the media to be responsible on how such things are reported.”

But it is not the media’s fault that the disease is spreading and the death toll is rising. As more coronavirus cases emerged and deaths climbed, media coverage reported the developments accordingly.

We are living in a moment of history unlike any other. Fighting the spread of the novel coronavirus is disrupting lives, and forcing many people to make sacrifices they were not prepared to make.

It hurts. We know this.

But ignoring or downplaying a pandemic of this magnitude does not make the public safer.

People should know what they are up against, and how they can protect themselves. That’s not spreading panic — that’s reporting reality.

This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 12:22 PM.