Cooperative spirit

Navigating the ‘new normal’ of the coronavirus

There are no easy ways out of the COVID-19 pandemic even as Gov. Tom Wolf begins a slow, measured reopening of the economy in select areas of the state.

What is encouraging is that despite the stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns since mid-March, the overwhelming majority of residents have done their part to slow the spread of the coronavirus by complying with stateissued restrictions.

Likewise, state officials and law enforcement have taken a somewhat relaxed approach to dealing with noncompliance situations, opting to issue warnings rather than citations in most instances.

It’s this type of joint cooperation that bodes well for the future as everyone attempts to navigate the “new normal” that will be in place for several months.

Patience and empathy have been the key to getting through to this point, and more will be needed, but commonsense has gone a long way, too, in keeping things under control.

For instance, although there were some businesses — other than those deemed “life-sustaining” — that ignored the governor’s order to close, and did not have a waiver for an exemption, state police chose to issue only warnings. As of the end of April, there were fewer than 300 warnings issued, a sound approach by state police rather than citing and fining business owners already stressed by the economic impact of the prolonged closings.

“As expected, we found the overwhelming majority of people and businesses across the commonwealth are voluntarily complying with the order and doing their part to stop the spread of COVID-19,” said Col. Robert Evanchick, the state police commissioner.

Likewise, law enforcement has taken a non-confrontational approach to the newest requirement that workers and customers at businesses that are open must wear masks. The burden, perhaps unfairly, falls on businesses to enforce the mask requirement or face fines. To date, however, no fines or citations have been issued, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

That doesn’t mean there haven’t been concerns or problems. There have been isolated instances of police arresting people for causing disturbances at businesses — usually for refusing to wear a mask — and the Health Department has received more than 1,000 complaints from “concerned citizens, business owners and employees” about a host of issues, from social distancing to business closures.

Still, given the far-reaching impact of closing businesses, schools, churches, etc., Pennsylvania residents have responded in admirable fashion and adhered to measures put in place for public health and safety. We are not out of this crisis yet, but continued cooperation and commonsense will get us there quicker.