Let’s wait on canceling key events

Careful. Methodical. Patient.

That’s how we need to make decisions.

That goes not only for choices about reopening the economy and ending stay-at-home orders at the federal and state levels, but also for regional and local decisions.

Consider this:

Some communities began canceling events as far out as July, including Independence Day activities, last week.

That, to us, seems premature.

July 4, after all, is more than 10 weeks away. That’s too far off for us to be making decisions about cancellations.

Yes, it’s certainly possible that such cancellations will be necessary, though we hope not.

And yes, we can’t wait until the last minute to make these calls. There is a certain amount of preparation necessary to make any event happen.

But we also don’t want to jump the gun.

Everyone’s hope is that stay-at-home orders and social distancing restrictions can be lifted sooner rather than later. When that will happen is unclear.

That’s one of the many challenges of this situation. There is no set end date. We just don’t know.

But what we do know is that when stay-at-home orders and social distancing restrictions are eventually lifted, we’re going to crave normalcy. That includes our traditional events, like Fourth of July celebrations and the Jay County Fair, even if those events might need to be modified in some ways.

We ask local leaders to take their time with such decisions. Consult with Jay County Health Department. Consider alternate arrangements. But hold off on cancellations until absolutely necessary.

(Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s procedure on the state’s stay-at-home order is a good example. He’s been going about two weeks at a time. That allows him and his staff the ability to reevaluate rather than making premature decisions weeks or months earlier than necessary.)

One of the many key factors to getting us through this pandemic is hope.

Hope that the threat of coronavirus will dissipate soon.

Hope that in-person visits with family and friends will once again be part of our everyday lives.

And hope that we will get to enjoy our favorite events.

Some of those events, by necessity, have already fallen by the wayside. 

Let that standard — necessity — be our guide for when we cancel events.

If there’s still a chance we can hold them safely, that should be our goal. — R.C.