Personal responsibility will help stem the COVID tide

The United States has just seen a record number of new COVID cases.

Arizona has been in the news as the COVID “hotspot,” but as of the last week of June, 35 other states were currently seeing increasing numbers— only 12 states were stable, and only two (Rhode Island and Connecticut) were reporting declines. Michigan, Texas, and Florida were seeing increases that rival Arizona’s, and California was also seeing a significant rise.

COVID-19 is not merely an Arizona problem, and shouldn’t be seen as such.

Alex Azar, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, said in a TV interview on June 28 that hospitalizations and deaths would likely be rising nationally in the weeks ahead. Azar attributed the rise not to ending stay-at-home orders across the country, but to a sense of complacency among the citizens.

“That’s not so much about what the law says on the reopening than what our behaviors are within that. If we act irresponsibly, if we don’t social distance, if we don’t use face coverings... we’re going to see spread of disease.”

The positive news is that the United States is better off than we were at the beginning of the crisis in terms of test capability, the availability of PPE, and contact tracing ability. Some modest gains in therapeutics and treatment have decreased the COVID death rate from nearly 6% to 5%.

But the virus has not gone away and will not be going away. There is still no COVID vaccine, and there isn’t likely to be one for some time to come. The only means of defending ourselves is through wearing a face covering in public, practicing social distancing, and sustaining increased hygiene measures. Personal responsibility and sacrifice are vital to protect yourself, your family, and our country.

Though most of the country is currently struggling with rising COVID-19 infection rates, the situation in Arizona was more challenging than most at the end of June. Arizona set new records for number of COVID patients on ventilators (475) and number of acute care and ICU beds in use— nearly 90% of the state’s current capacity. Locally, Yuma Regional Medical Center set new records for COVID hospitalizations (130) and COVID patients in the ICU (27). Yuma Regional Medical Center has publicly reported that they have 50 ventilators on hand, and in a pinch could convert 20 anesthesia machines into ventilators. Yet all frontline health workers in the country have been expected to work burn-out hours for months, and are oftentimes experiencing the same anxieties and economic stresses at home that most other Americans are feeling in these trying times. Now more than ever, an ounce of COVID prevention is worth so much more than a pound of cure from a stressed healthcare system.

Healthy people have a particularly important role to play during this global pandemic—namely, to make small sacrifices that will give them and their families the best chance of staying healthy. Wearing a face cover when out in public is a simple, but significant contribution everyone can make to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Yuma County, Arizona has established a face covering hotline at (928) 373-1180, available Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. All of the latest information regarding COVID-19 can be found at www.yuma.army. mil/corona.