The last thing we want is to shut down Texas again. So let’s carefully enforce rules
Throughout the coronavirus crisis, the vast majority of Texans have done the right things. They’ve stayed home as much as possible. They’ve distanced from others while out. They’ve closed their nonessential businesses.
But for weeks, there’s been a nagging question: What, if anything, should be done about the few who refuse to comply, often dangerously so?
Enforcement of government orders has been done with a light touch, appropriately so. In difficult situations like this, it’s better to educate and persuade.
As we enter a crucial stage, however — the gradual opening of more businesses and the removal of formal stay-at-home orders — should a firmer hand be in place?
In some ways, yes. With more establishments operating and more people out, the risk of a major spike of COVID-19 cases is real. Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan, which took effect Friday, calls for careful measures to avoid that. If those steps aren’t followed, there won’t be a chance to take another step toward a normal economy.
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Enforcing, for instance, the 25% cap on capacities at restaurants and other businesses will help bolster the message that, even if more businesses are open, it’s still best to stay out of public spaces as much as possible.
Unfortunately, Abbott has offered little guidance about enforcement of his policy. The text of the order doesn’t mention policing occupancy levels or other rules. And the guidebook that his “strike force” offers businesses and customers is full of recommendations but not a word about consequences. You’d think that at a moment that could turn out to be pivotal to his political career and legacy, the governor would have more to say.
It reflects a dangerous level of ambivalence around his order and the need to go forward slowly. Already, a few local politicians who should want to see the governor succeed, such as the Montgomery County judge, have tried to say the order was vague enough that they would allow businesses such as salons and gyms, which Abbott meant to bar, to open. It took Attorney General Ken Paxton backing up the governor for the Houston-area judge to back down.
And many businesses concluded that it was too dangerous or unprofitable to open yet, anyway. Movie theaters in particular seemed uninspired to bring customers back, though that might reflect the lack of inventory of new films, as studios have turned toward streaming services to release their offerings.
And some restaurants, looking for an edge, are apparently considering expanding outdoor seating to parking lots to get around occupancy rules. That’s the kind of violation of the spirit of the rules, if not the written letter, that could ruin it for the rest of us.
The Fort Worth City Council has empowered police to enforce the city’s new order, which by necessity mirrors Abbott’s, with citations that bring fines of up to $500.
Over the weeks of the pandemic, police and code compliance officers have been good about using such power lightly. That should continue; better to warn and persuade than prompt backlash against officers who are on the front lines of a difficult situation. It’s a tough job, and they don’t need to see their authority undermined.
That said, egregious violations cannot stand. If owners of salons or gyms try to open, they should be visited and fined. We can’t risk a big reopening that prompts a new outbreak.
The governor plans to revisit his orders within a couple of weeks. Let’s hope he heeds the data and, if necessary, hits pause on the reopening.
If not, a return to strict stay-at-home orders will be inevitable. And after so many agonizing weeks, those might be impossible to enforce.