As cases rise, Southern Ohio leaves masks at home

In the Republican strongholds that make up much of southern Ohio, the rise of the delta variant of the coronavirus is cause for alarm, but not because of its contagious nature. A bigger concern among many here is the threat of a return to mask requirements and other restrictions. No worries. The governor is having none of that this time.

Last year, few were more aggressive in battling COVID-19 than Gov. Mike Dewine, a Republican, who became a national media sensation for his aggressive pandemic response. How times change. After weeks of falling case numbers, Ohio recently trended upward and surpassed the threshold Dewine had once set as his benchmark for restrictions. “Despite this trend,” the Columbus Dispatch recently reported, “a spokesperson for the governor said there is no intention of reinstating mask mandates or other orders.

A big reason for the suppressed appetite is the election calendar. The 2022 gubernatorial primary is less than a year away, and Dewine faces challenges from his right. His handling of COVID-19 was not as popular with Republicans as with the general population.

Vaccination rates lag in most of the Ohio counties along the Ohio River bordering Kentucky and West Virginia, resulting in transmission rates mostly in the “substantial” or “high” categories. Thankfully, the mortality rates are not spiking. The seven-day average of people dying per day with COVID statewide in early August was just four, down from six the week before.

Some experts argue there’s too much focus on the number of cases, which will rise and fall and, thanks to vaccines, are increasingly mild. In a recent Post article, Kathleen Neuzil, a vaccine expert from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said, “We really need to shift toward a goal of preventing serious disease and disability and medical consequences, and not worry about every virus detected in somebody’s nose.” What should matter is protecting those who are most vulnerable — and the good news is that about 80% of Americans 65 and older have been fully vaccinated.

Among things made clear since COVID arrived are the stark differences in attitudes among Americans not only about the pandemic but also about life itself. The ideology ranges from “no government restriction is too much if it saves lives” to “when my time comes, it comes.” It seems there are those who would choose isolation for 50 years if it extended their lives by a week, versus those who would rather live a week without restrictions than exist for 50 additional years with them.

I’ve been fully vaccinated since late April. I won’t self-exile. I’ve exhausted my supply of masks and don’t intend to restock. Others, even among the vaccinated, will make different choices, which are to be respected. They’ll stay home as much as they can, wear masks when they go out and await the “all clear” to resume normal life.

As divergent as they are, both lifestyles — along with others that fall in between — are practiced daily by millions of Americans, their one shared experience centered around the insults and accusations partisans unleash on social media, as though demonizing one another will change minds. What’s easy to forget is that while we bicker, the clock keeps ticking for us all, COVID notwithstanding. We need to keep living, whatever that means for each of us.