A too-hasty return to `normal'

While Oklahoma has been experiencing a decline in daily deaths and new infections, our death rate from COVID-19 is still one of the highest in the nation. The scene at a popular restaurant on Cinco de Mayo resembled “business as usual” as I was preparing to take out an order. Dozens of people, some in surgical scrubs, were dining inside and outside in close proximity. I saw a long, dense line of customers waiting to place an order, a minority wore face masks. I left the restaurant promptly, fuming at this callous disregard and lack of common sense of my fellow Oklahomans.

What amplifies the absurdity of this hasty return to “normal” is that it places other people, the elderly and immune-compromised at risk of infection and death. So is this the new “Oklahoma Standard”? As a small-business owner, I fully understand the enormous negative economic impact of COVID-19. To socialize again in such an irresponsible fashion may bring another wave of infections and deaths, threatening to further extend our economic woes. Recently, the Oklahoma State Medical Association expressed concern that it is too soon to reopen the state and urged a more cautious approach from our leaders.

Global examples abound of the negative impact of premature return to normal or poor enforcement of social distancing, by design or default. Just follow Singapore, England or Sweden (the latter two with some of the highest death rates in the world) to see the failure of lack of social distancing. With all due respect to our governor, he is no medical professional. Creating an arbitrary stepwise process to return to “normal” flies in the face of common medical sense and social responsibility.

The pandemic will not be mitigated by wishful thinking and the click of heels, despite the administration's push to reopen the economy and states beginning to relax stay-at-home orders. Since the beginning of the outbreak, medical officials have been warning about the prospect of a second wave, in which the 90% of Americans who are not immune are still susceptible, especially in large metropolitan areas.

The “Oklahoma Standard” based on caring for your fellow citizen must be preserved by wearing masks everywhere; maintaining social distancing whenever possible, and diligently tracking infected individuals. It is your grandparents, your parents, your diabetic neighbor and perhaps you yourself that you are protecting by following logical medical measures.