March 20, 2020 at 8:06 p.m.
We need to be prepared, positive
Editorial
This is probably going to get worse before it gets better.
We’re not the first to say that. But it bears repeating.
Why?
Because some of us still aren’t taking this seriously.
That’s hard to believe given the information provided by medical professionals and the moves made by our government leaders, Republican and Democrat alike, in an effort to contain the spread of disease.
But then we read comments like the following from a spring break goer in Florida quoted in a U.S.A Today story.
“If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I’m not going to let it stop me from partying.”
What he, and many others, don’t seem to understand is that it’s not about whether or not he gets sick. It’s about the most at-risk populations, those who are elderly or have compromised immune systems. It’s about keeping the strain off of our healthcare system so that it has the resources to deal both with those suffering from COVID-19 and the everyday problems — car accidents, heart attacks, cancer — that require medical attention.
For some, coronavirus may still not seem like a big deal. After all, there are only 56 positive cases in all of Indiana, and none in Jay County, right?
Well, that’s partially because testing is extremely limited. As of Thursday, only 554 had been tested in all of Indiana. It won’t be until testing is far more widely available that we have something closer to an accurate picture of how widespread the virus is.
So, this is probably going to get worse before it gets better.
By all accounts, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States has been about two weeks behind that of Italy. If that pattern holds, we’re in for a spike in cases, probably about next weekend.
Of course, we hope that our closure of schools, restaurants and bars, cancelation of large gatherings like concerts and sporting events and general social distancing will serve to “flatten the curve.”
But we have to prepare ourselves. We have to be ready to care for a greater number of sick. We have to understand that we may need to take even more emergency steps to attempt to keep coronavirus under control.
All of that said, we need to avoid panic and fear. We need to follow the lead of our governors — Eric Holcomb in Indiana and Mike DeWine in Ohio — who have been calmly leading us day by day. And, perhaps, we need to take heed of the words that have come from some of our youth.
On Thursday, the Indiana FFA leadership, including president Dillon Muhlenkamp of Jay County, released a video on their social media accounts.
Their message?
#ForgeThroughTheFire
They’re pushing FFA members to spark positivity while dealing with a difficult situation.
That’s excellent advice.
Because while things probably will get worse in the short term, they will, eventually, get better. — R.C.
We’re not the first to say that. But it bears repeating.
Why?
Because some of us still aren’t taking this seriously.
That’s hard to believe given the information provided by medical professionals and the moves made by our government leaders, Republican and Democrat alike, in an effort to contain the spread of disease.
But then we read comments like the following from a spring break goer in Florida quoted in a U.S.A Today story.
“If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I’m not going to let it stop me from partying.”
What he, and many others, don’t seem to understand is that it’s not about whether or not he gets sick. It’s about the most at-risk populations, those who are elderly or have compromised immune systems. It’s about keeping the strain off of our healthcare system so that it has the resources to deal both with those suffering from COVID-19 and the everyday problems — car accidents, heart attacks, cancer — that require medical attention.
For some, coronavirus may still not seem like a big deal. After all, there are only 56 positive cases in all of Indiana, and none in Jay County, right?
Well, that’s partially because testing is extremely limited. As of Thursday, only 554 had been tested in all of Indiana. It won’t be until testing is far more widely available that we have something closer to an accurate picture of how widespread the virus is.
So, this is probably going to get worse before it gets better.
By all accounts, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States has been about two weeks behind that of Italy. If that pattern holds, we’re in for a spike in cases, probably about next weekend.
Of course, we hope that our closure of schools, restaurants and bars, cancelation of large gatherings like concerts and sporting events and general social distancing will serve to “flatten the curve.”
But we have to prepare ourselves. We have to be ready to care for a greater number of sick. We have to understand that we may need to take even more emergency steps to attempt to keep coronavirus under control.
All of that said, we need to avoid panic and fear. We need to follow the lead of our governors — Eric Holcomb in Indiana and Mike DeWine in Ohio — who have been calmly leading us day by day. And, perhaps, we need to take heed of the words that have come from some of our youth.
On Thursday, the Indiana FFA leadership, including president Dillon Muhlenkamp of Jay County, released a video on their social media accounts.
Their message?
#ForgeThroughTheFire
They’re pushing FFA members to spark positivity while dealing with a difficult situation.
That’s excellent advice.
Because while things probably will get worse in the short term, they will, eventually, get better. — R.C.
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