Ohio
I’m looking out my front window on a beautiful spring day. The grass is green (and well manicured, I might add) and the sun is shining. It’s hard to imagine that I’m looking out at a COVID-19 world, a world of self-isolation, social distancing, and gloves and facemasks.
Here in Ohio, our Governor, Republican Mike DeWine, is doing something that seems unusual. He’s competent. Unlike the flurry of mixed messages we are receiving from the daily White House briefing, Governor DeWine is clear in his goals for Ohio. Let’s get open, WHEN it can safely be done. He knows businesses, particularly small ones operating on the financial margin. The Governor knows many of the unemployed have been unable to navigate the overwhelmed unemployment benefit network.
And, he knows people are scared of the virus, but also of not being able to buy food, or pay the bills, or take care of health problems beyond COVID-19. He knows.
But he also knows that closing our eyes and pretending things are better is not only foolish, but a desperate gamble most likely to end up in more deaths, more quarantine, and more economic ruin. So he’s telling Ohio, “Go slow.” The schools are closed for the remainder of the year. Teachers have shifted to online learning, but many school districts are contemplating ending the year early. While many students are gamely toiling at their computers, there are thirty percent or more who never made the sudden transition. They are “lost” to education this year.
Georgia
If you look far down I-75, you see the Governor of Georgia with both eyes firmly closed. His President is speaking from both sides of his mouth. One side is saying: “follow the plan to reach the ‘first tier’ of re-opening.” The other side is saying: “rebel against government control, open everything now.” Unfortunately for the people of Georgia, Governor Kemp is hearing only the second part. He is opening gyms and tattoo parlors, massage centers, hair-dressers and nail clinics and then demanding that they maintain social distancing. I haven’t quite figured out how to get a tattoo, a massage, or a manicure without being within the six foot distancing limit.
What happens in Atlanta doesn’t stay there. Not only is it a major American city, but also it is a central transportation hub. Fly Delta: there’s almost no way to avoid Hartsfield Airport. If Georgia loses control of COVID-19, Hartsfield won’t be accessible. So Governor Kemp’s decisions aren’t just affecting the people of his state. His calls are going to impact how the Nation resumes business.
Florida
Just a few miles farther south on I-75 is Florida, the 47th oldest state in America (Vermont, Maine and West Virginia have older median ages). Knowing the dangers of COVID-19 to the elderly, one would think that Florida would want to take “re-opening” very slowly. One would be wrong.
DeSantis already gained notoriety by keeping Florida “open” for Spring Break. Now some of the beaches are back open again, and DeSantis is looking to begin tourism again. However, he does have an advantage other Governors don’t seem to have. DeSantis’ closeness to the President has gotten Florida greater access to testing equipment. The President even offered one for the Governor himself; so he could, like the President, test everyone who comes in the office.
Florida is ranked eighth in the United States for COVID, with 26,314 confirmed cases.
Does it Matter
Just because any Governor declares that the state is now “open for business” it really doesn’t matter. Like the proverbial tree falling in the forest, if businesses are open and no one comes, are they really open? The reality of America is that most are well aware of the dangers of viral transmission. Even Fox News admits that the reason the original doomsday forecasts of more than a million COVID deaths didn’t occur, is the swift and broad actions by the American people. We did the right thing, we distanced ourselves, and we stayed at home.
Recent surveys show that Americans aren’t convinced that there is a short-term solution to the COVID pandemic. Folks aren’t going to crowd into a restaurant, or the tattoo parlor, until they believe it’s safe. That includes even the folks in Georgia and Florida.
So in the end, it will be Americans who will determine when America is open, not the Governors, or the Doctors, or even the President of the United States. Like it or not, most Americans are smart enough to know.
