Over the course of yesterday and today our state has entered into a new phase of learning to live with the coronavirus. Our "stay-at-home" order has technically been lifted as we have reached a 1:1 rate of spread for the infection. This is down from the original 2-3:1 before safety precautions were instituted. That being said, strong measures have been put in place as businesses and and homes are more open that can (and already have been) be enforced with citations, fines, mandatory closing, or revocation of liquor licenses if people are not following the rules.
I personally feel for our governor who has handled this unprecedented pandemic with both efficiency and grace, allowing our state to be one of the few that has "flattened the curve." This flattening is what is allowing us to now take actionable steps toward reopening the economy. It has been one tough job though to maintain both issuing orders to protect the people of the state, while also balancing the backlash (and therefore potential exacerbated spread) of going "one order too far." When the governor issued an order for mandatory face coverings, there was so much pushback that it incited riots, exposing many, many dissatisfied people to potential infection during hazardous, detrimental protests.
I commend our governor for being so transparent throughout this entire process, both with the data his office is collecting, as well as his reasoning for why certain steps are being put in place. I also commend him for picking his battles and relenting on a face covering mandate (although I personally wish there was one) in the interest of keeping more Ohioans safe while also being on board with the management of the situation. It has been a privilege to watch true leadership in action.
All that being said, as soon as restaurants and bars opened earlier this week, many establishments were able to maintain the necessary safety procedures, but there were also several who were not able to keep the space safe as folks congregated around bars, shared food, and did not stay spread out as required. In his briefing today, Gov. DeWine called on all Ohioans sense of duty to one another to help this wave of reopening work within the safety parameters so that we can continue progress with our economy forward without having to take steps back.
I think that it is safe to say that everyone is ready to "resume normal life" and get back out into "the real world." But here's the thing...I do not really think there is a possibility for us to resume normal life, friends.
I also do not think that is a bad thing either.
Many people are feeling gaslit into needing to believe that things can go back to normal, should go back to normal, but the fact is, most of our country has been on lockdown for over two months now. The economy is struggling, we do not yet have "herd immunity" to all be out in public as we were accustomed to being just a few short months ago. And most of us have had to sit with ourselves and decide how to face feelings of anger, fear, sadness...and most of all, uncertainty. Coming out the other side of this, I am reminded of the quote:
"The strongest steel is forged by the hottest fire."
We have gone through, and continue to go through, our own crucible as we make choices every day that determine who we can be during this pandemic. Expecting people or institutions to be unchanged and just pick up where they left off does not make any sense to me. It is not over...we will be living with the immediate traumatic effects of COVID-19, the ongoing burden on our healthcare system, and an economy treading water for an undetermined period of time.
But.
This is our time to show what we become in the face of those hottest flames. How do we choose to respond under the pressures we never had envisioned? What good can we dig into for ourselves and loved ones to be the best we can be?
Let us use this as a rallying cry to support businesses opening in our local and nationwide areas. Allow us to see the concern for all people, but most especially those people who fall in the vulnerable categories for this illness, and continue to don the mask and cape. Practice social distancing. Use good, kind judgement. And then maybe, just maybe...one day you will have a moment when you see how your choices have shaped you in new and positive ways that you had also never dreamed about before. There is a thought I can get behind.
Prepare, don't panic.
-Allison
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