Don’t let your guard down
The federal government’s social distancing guidelines ended last week. As states lift their shelter-in-place orders and reopen parts of their economies, I am deeply worried that the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic will bring much more suffering and many more preventable deaths.
What should concerned policymakers and residents do? Two things:
1. Prepare for a massive surge.
More than 40 states have announced plans to lift restrictions, even though only a handful have met the minimum criteria for reopening as outlined by the White House coronavirus task force. The consequences of this are all too predictable, because the science around covid-19 has not changed: Without a vaccine or cure, the only thing keeping the disease in check has been keeping people separated from one another.
The danger here is that policymakers and the public will jump to the wrong conclusions if they don’t immediately see the numbers increasing. Instead of breathing a sigh of relief, they should prepare for the surge that will inevitably arrive a month or so from now.
Our only advantage now is that we can easily see it coming a month ahead. The more people return to life as usual, the more hospitals should prepare for an influx. Elected leaders, public health officials and hospital CEOs should be urgently preparing for this expected surge.
2. Stay safe for yourself and for those around you.
Residents in reopening states should follow the same public health guidance as when they were under shelter-in-place orders: Stay six feet away from people. Wash your hands frequently. Wipe down surfaces that others are touching.
If you must return to work, be an advocate for your health: Ask your employer what practices are being put into place to protect workers and customers. Inquire about telecommuting, staggered shifts and other possibilities. Risk is cumulative: The more people you have contact with, the higher your risk of contracting the virus. Do your best to continue to limit your interactions with people outside of work.
And try to reduce the risk for others as well. Wear a mask when in public.
It will be tempting to see reopening as a return to our way of life before the coronavirus, but it will be anything but. As a society, we have made the decision to reopen before the science says we are ready. We are knowingly going back to where we were in mid-March, before the first exponential surge in infections and deaths. That surge will come again, but this time no one can say they didn’t see it coming.