Please do your part to slow spread of virus

It’s rare for an event to occur where we all have the potential to be heroes. But this is it. Here’s our chance to act selflessly, to act with the best interests of the community at heart, and to save lives in the process.

Ohioans must take COVID-19, the pandemic illness caused by a new coronavirus, seriously.

We understand the frustration of those who are experiencing symptoms similar to those of COVID-19 but cannot get tested. It’s a failure of our health system that America was unable — even with advanced notice that the virus was coming — to rampup testing in time to meet the flood. We call on our leaders at the state and national level to make testing a priority. However, we also humbly and gratefully request that those who have symptoms, even if it’s unconfirmed they are caused by the novel coronavirus, to treat themselves like a possible vector for the disease and self-quarantine for the good of the community.

It’s a selfless and small heroic act to try to prevent others from getting COVID-19, even if it turns out you instead have the flu or a different respiratory illness. Be a hero. Stop the spread.

Coronavirus’ increased isolation can hit hard for Ohio’s vulnerable older population

And if you aren’t sick, do your level-best, to keep it that way: wash your hands, practice social distancing and avoid large gatherings when possible.

“What we’ve done this week is drastic action, but we’re taking these steps to save lives,” said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine after he ordered the closure of bars and restaurants last week.

“Delay means more people will die,” he said.

”Literally every day we delay, the data clearly shows that more people will die.”

Public officials, including DeWine, are making the hard but necessary decisions to take drastic measures in the face of the unavoidable wide-spread outbreak of a new virus in this state that has proven particularly deadly in other countries.

Closing schools, canceling public events, expending considerable resources to test and treat the illness are all important steps we hope will leave Ohioans in much better shape than if these actions were taken after mass spread of the virus.

We applaud these actions. Many are expressing skepticism that this virus is worthy of such a response. While no one is certain what the exact fatality rate of COVID-19 is, many are estimating it is many times more deadly than the flu, and may be around 1%. While we all will be praying that it is much lower than that, we should prepare for the worst.

If we are able to slow the spread in our communities, we have a chance of avoiding saturation of our medical systems, which will also mean fewer fatalities. Reports out of Italy have been tragic and disturbing. Doctors and nurses had to turn away patients seeking urgent medical care and instead focus resources on those with the greatest likelihood of survival. Avoiding that scenario is worth the risk of being accused of over-reacting. We know from the experiences of other nations that things can take a turn for the worst quickly, being prepared is smart.

“On the front end of a pandemic you look a little bit like an alarmist, you look a little bit like a Chicken Little, the sky is falling,” said Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton. “And on the back end of a pandemic, you didn’t do enough.”

With hard, careful work, the virus will spread more slowly in March in Ohio. After that we can only hope it proves to be a seasonal illness much like the flu viruses that go dormant in the summer, or that it will simply disappear after one or three seasons like the mysterious Spanish Flu.