Note to anti-maskers:
Social distancing is the fastest way to reopen the economy
To look at some of the pictures circulating on social media from Ocean City’s boardwalk over the weekend, you’d think we’d long ago beat coronavirus and put the population back to work. People crowded together sans masks like it was any other sunny Memorial Day weekend, instead of one where we not only marked the in-service deaths of U.S. military personnel, but the approach of an unthinkable milestone: 100,000 COVID-19 deaths in America in just a few months.
Such behavior was hardly unique to Maryland. Dense groups gathered across the nation over the three-day weekend, from Daytona Beach in Florida to Missouri’s Ozark Mountain lakes to the Venice Beach Boardwalk in Los Angeles, California. And while we’ve come to accept that many people are willing to risk the physical well-being of others to avoid the inconvenience of social distancing, we’d like to remind them that their own economic well-being is at stake, as well. We can’t get back to business if we can’t slow the spread of the disease.
In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan’s Roadmap to Recovery has “stop signs” built right into it that will ease the lessening of restrictions — or even require their reversal — should certain warnings appear. Among them is an indication that “Marylanders are disregarding physical distancing guidelines” and “an unexpected increase in hospitalizations.” As if to drive home this point, the Maryland Department of Health reported a 3% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations Tuesday after nearly three weeks of steady, if modest, declines.
It’s very simple: The more people follow social distancing guidelines, the less likely they are to spread disease (remember: as many as half of those who have COVID-19 are asymptomatic, according to one lab study). And the less likely we are to spread disease, the more places we’ll be able to go, which means more businesses can reopen with safety precautions in place. Think back to your teen years — you got more privileges when you followed your house rules and proved you can be trusted. So far, a lot of us have shown we can’t be trusted.
It’s not like it’s exactly difficult, either. Wearing a mask to contain your germs? Keeping 6 feet away from strangers? What is the big deal? This month, the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell predicted an eventual 25% unemployment rate in the country. There are already millions of people out of work in the U.S. because of this disease, tens of thousands of them in Maryland. The more people look out for their own interests, the longer lockdowns remain in place, and the more families will suffer from the economic repercussions of the pandemic.
After the photos surfaced showing large crowds in Ocean City, its mayor, Rick Meehan, downplayed concerns, defensively telling WBAL NewsRadio that the pictures “were a little misleading.” And we’ll grant him this: There were other photos showing responsible behavior. Still, we would prefer that going forward, he take a proactive page from Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, who, together with members of the Annapolis
Community Emergency Response Team, handed out masks to visitors over the weekend and beefed up police presence after people came out in droves a week earlier.
A new poll released this week shows that most Marylanders support commonsense restrictions that were put in place to save lives. And we believe the majority of them are doing their part. It’s the mini masses who can’t be bothered who are ruining it for the rest of us.
We don’t need a poll to tell us we all want to get back to our old lives. But at the rate we’re going, we’re not going to see phase 2 of the state’s reopening anytime soon. Social distancing is the best way to get more restrictions lifted. It’s time for every one of us to take responsibility for our role in moving Maryland forward.