A dark cloud over the Sun Belt as COVID-19 makes grim return
The Sun Belt seemed immune this spring as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the Northeast. The Republican governors of Texas, Arizona and Florida began to let businesses reopen in early May. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas visited the White House for a thumbs-up from President Donald Trump on May 7. “Texas is opening up, and a lot of places are opening up. And we want to do it, and I am not even sure that we have a choice,” the president said. “You know . . . this country can’t stay closed and locked down for years.”
On Thursday, Abbott paused the reopening, and none too soon. The Sun Belt that opened in May is being convulsed by a surge of infections and hospitalizations. Texas had an average of 1,043 new cases a day when Abbott visited the White House; on Wednesday, Texas posted its worst day so far for new cases, with 5,551. Abbott said the state is facing a “massive outbreak.” David Persse, Houston’s director of emergency medical services, said, “Our infrastructure is overwhelmed.” Florida hit a oneday record of new cases, and Arizona a peak in hospitalizations. “We are in deep trouble,” said Joe Gerald, a public health professor at the University of Arizona. California, which was early to put restrictions in place, posted a record number of confirmed infections and hospitalizations this week. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, warned of complacency. “Many of us, understandably, developed a little cabin fever. Some, I would argue, have developed a little amnesia.”
The coronavirus is transmitted by people - to people. Premature reopenings in the South and West gave the virus a chance to spread, especially in closed spaces with crowds, such as bars and restaurants, where people were loath to take precautions. Nationwide, new infections reached 38,173 on Wednesday and at least 38,478 on Thursday, the highest single-day count yet
This patchwork pandemic was created, in part, by Trump’s epic abdication of responsibility, walking away from an overarching federal response, saying the virus is “going away,” wrongly attributing the spike in cases to more testing, and leaving real action to the states and localities. Leadership matters, and lack of it has badly damaged the United States, which has the world’s highest death toll.
The nation could not stay locked down forever. But public health experts have advised repeatedly that, until a vaccine or effective drug therapy is found, the smart approach to reopening is for people to wear masks, keep a distance and wash their hands, and for governments to carry out mass diagnostic testing, contact tracing and isolation of the ill. Many states are struggling to bring this off, and many individuals are resisting simple countermeasures such as wearing a mask in public.
The pandemic is not under control in the United States. Abbott will need to make unpopular decisions now to fight it in Texas. He and other governors should learn the lessons from May, and act without hesitation. Complacency is not an option.