A dangerous rush to reopen

A hasty loosening of restrictions risks further spread and prolonged economic harm

n Richmond last week, about two dozen people gathered at the State Capitol, urging Gov. Ralph Northam to lift the executive orders that closed businesses in order to “Reopen Virginia.”

What a disaster — a deadly, self-inflicted disaster — that would be.

It would be hard to find anyone who’s pleased with this situation, from the governor on down. The spread of this incredibly infectious disease has stopped Virginia is its tracks — shuttering schools and businesses, and forcing people to stay in their homes, away from friends and family.

Those orders were issued out of necessity. Public health officials and infectious disease specialists recommended those measures to slow the spread of the disease and keep hospitals from being overrun by demand for serious, prolonged medical care.

“Flatten the curve,” was the mantra, and what we sought to do by staying home, washing our hands and limiting our trips out for essential supplies.

That has been a tremendous sacrifice for many. Millions have lost jobs or pay as the economy slowed to a halt. They have found little relief from a state unemployment system overwhelmed by the volume of applicants or a federal government whose Treasury secretary believes a $1,200 check can sustain someone for 10 weeks, as he claimed on Thursday.

Worse, testing for the disease — the most important determinant for when we can begin the deliberate loosening of restrictions — has been an unmitigated disaster, and there is no shortage of blame to go around.

The Trump administration’s handling of the testing situation has been spectacularly awful from the start, and the Northam administration’s handling of it here has Virginia ranked among the worst in the nation for its testing rate.

Without a clear view of who has the disease and where they are, and without the type of antibody testing that will show who’s recovered from infection, it’s all but impossible to lift social distancing measures without risking a resurgence.

History should be our guide on this point. When the Spanish Flu killed between 17 million and 50 million people globally in 1918-1920, including between 500,000 to 850,000 in the United States, the second wave of the disease was deadlier than the first. It was caused by the disease’s mutation as well as a premature lifting of restrictions and a rush to get things back to normal.

We need not repeat those mistakes, not when we know so much more about infectious diseases and what we must do in order to contain them.

Those protesting in Richmond and other places in recent days believe they know better. Stirred by conspiracy peddlers and cynical partisan self-interest, they have willingly and deliberately put their lives and the lives of others at risk.

Sure, it’s easy to sympathize with their frustration, but to embrace their solutions would be to commit the commonwealth to more sickness, more death and even more financial hardship stretched over a longer period of time.

The good news is that the protests were sparsely attended. Polling indicates strong opposition to a swift return to businesses and support for continuing social distancing measures. Those numbers may grow as craven politicians — including a president with his eyes on November — and pundits egg them on.

There is ample evidence to believe that Virginia is on the right track in containing the disease and that social distancing is working. But we need vastly more testing in order to confirm it. That’s on Northam and Richmond.

We must do more — so much more — to help those hurting in this crisis. Federal lawmakers’ efforts have been insufficient and haphazard, deepening misery and fueling the unrest. They must do better quickly.

Those efforts should be complemented in Richmond by state lawmakers and agency officials who need to strip away red tape and help those affected individuals and businesses get the money they need to survive.

That will help alleviate the growing anxiety and perhaps discourage our worst impulses from winning out at this critical hour.