It’s time for honesty
To the Times:
My name is Max Cooper. I’m an emergency physician, a commissioner in Nether Providence Township, and the Pennsylvania state lead for the Committee to Protect, an organization which aims to protect and expand our access to health care. Over the past few months I’ve worked clinically in Chester, Philadelphia and many places in between. The COVID-19 virus is real, it’s dangerous, and it’s highly contagious. I write today to clear the air on some misinformation which has invaded our public discourse.
We’ve all suffered and are eager to get back to our routines. I’ve personally taken a pay cut and seen those I’m close to lose jobs. I’ve had friends and family cancel weddings, and my son’s first birthday was celebrated without his friends or grandparents.
Despite all our best efforts, many nurse and physician colleagues have contracted the virus, our community has lost a paramedic, and countless other front line workers such as grocery store employees have become sick and died. Social isolation has been hard on us all, but it must continue a little while longer or these sacrifices will have been in vain.
Despite improving infection rates in recent days, Delaware and Chester counties are still near their peak for new cases per day. Recent calls to “Liberate Pennsylvania” by state Sen. Tom Killion,R-9 of Middletown, state Rep. Steve Barrar, R-160 of Upper Chichester, and state Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-26 of Chester and Montgomery counties, in concert with Republican officials throughout our commonwealth and echoing calls by President Trump, are premature, short sighted, and dangerous.
Just as our brakes are beginning to work, they call for us to accelerate towards the precipice with our most vulnerable and elderly strapped to the hood. Our governor has been accused of being cowardly for failing to lay out clear metrics. Nothing could be farther from the truth. But, don’t believe me - confirm for yourself.
https://www.governor.pa.gov/ process-to-reopen-pennsylvania
A target goal for reopening has been set at having fewer than 50 new confirmed cases per 100,000 population reported to the department in the previous 14 days. Public health officials are exploring alternate metrics but until they reach a decision to change the criteria, this is the threshold we must meet to start reducing restrictions on activities in Delaware County.
This works out to 20 and 19 new cases per day averaged over two weeks for Delaware and Chester County; we are currently at over 100 and 40, respectively. Gov.
Wolf and the Democratic caucus have worked tirelessly to balance the needs of the economy with he needs of our vulnerable and frontline workers. They have tried repeatedly to pass legislation that would fund adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), hazard pay, guaranteed sick leave, and workers’ compensation for frontline workers. It has been repeatedly blocked and voted down by Sen. Killion and his Republican colleagues in Harrisburg.
I hope that when election day arrives in November, our seniors and front-line workers remember who stood with them when it mattered most.