Mixed messages
As states stop, restart and pause, people are left confused, anxious
As coronavirus cases surge in many states, the process of easing restrictions and then reinstating them could be America’s new tumultuous reality – one that threatens the psyche of many, experts say.
At least 21 states have paused plans to reopen economies, just weeks after starting to emerge from strict quarantine measures and stay-at-home orders. These stops and starts can trigger feelings of frustration and fatigue and leave people feeling overwhelmed.
“This is very confusing for many people, and rightfully so,” said Dr. Ogbonnaya Omenka, assistant professor of public health at Butler University.
As coronavirus cases continue to surge in many states, the process of easing restrictions and then slamming them back in place could be America’s new tumultuous reality – one that threatens the psyche of many, experts said.
At least 21 states have paused their plans to reopen their economies, just weeks after unveiling those measures as the nation started to emerge from strict quarantine measures and stay-athome orders. These stops and starts can trigger feelings of frustration and fatigue and leave people feeling overwhelmed.
“This is very confusing for many people, and rightfully so,” Dr. Ogbonnaya Omenka, assistant professor of public health at Butler University, told USA TODAY. “Initially, mixed messages defined how states and different jurisdictions were responding to this problem. With public health intervention, clear messaging, even if it’s wrong, is better than mixed messages.
“Because if the message is clear, you are leaving it still up to the individuals to decide whether they want to acquiesce to it or not,” he said. “But when it’s mixed, the confusion is: ‘What should I follow?’ We are reaping the fruits of those mixed messages. One thing it did was lure the public into a sense of an oversimplification of the problem.”
The common misconception was that months of lockdown would eliminate the threat of the virus, Omenka said, even though health care experts across the country stressed that thorough hand washing, use of face coverings and social distancing would still be mandatory, even after the restrictions eased.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Arizona “opened way too early” and that when nightclubs in the state opened their doors, it “sent the signal that we had, again, defeated COVID, and, obviously, that is not the case.”
The resurgence of coronavirus cases in many areas has been exacerbated by preexisting weaknesses in the country’s public health system, such as racial health disparities and certain communities that are underinsured or have no insurance.
“The U.S. has not invested in a lot of the social protections that leave people feeling like they have a safety net,” Dr. Linda Fried, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and a professor of epidemiology, told USA TODAY.
“I think people should feel empowered,” said Dr. Sarah Fortune, chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
“I think people should see community responsibility as a form of community power and that, collectively, we have the ability to ensure we achieve those goals: an open economy and a healthy community,” Fortune said. “We just have to act as a community.”