Don’t declare victory over coronavirus yet, Texans. But there’s good reason for hope
Doctors and public health officials are holding their breath for the next week or so, waiting to see if Labor Day gatherings and activities spur another wave of coronavirus cases.
Let’s hope not, because in Tarrant County and elsewhere, efforts to slow the spread of the virus and prevent deaths are finally showing promise. Caseloads are remaining steady, and hospitalizations in Texas are dropping.
No one is ready to declare victory. Far too many Americans are still getting sick and dying.
But nearly six months in, our institutions are learning how to adjust. We’re figuring out safer ways to function, when for months it seemed that the only way out was for everyone to stay home indefinitely. Even our national pastime, the NFL, has figured out a way to begin the season, albeit with few fans in the stands.
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MOREHey, who writes these editorials?
Editorials are the positions of the Editorial Board, which serves as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s institutional voice. The members of the board are: Cynthia M. Allen, columnist; Steve Coffman, editor and president; Bud Kennedy, columnist; Ryan J. Rusak, opinion editor; and Nicole Russell, editorial writer and columnist. Most editorials are written by Rusak or Russell. Editorials are unsigned because they represent the board’s consensus positions, not the views of individual writers.
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The Editorial Board meets regularly to discuss issues in the news and what points should be made in editorials. We strive to build a consensus to produce the strongest editorials possible, but when we differ, we put matters to a vote.
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There are real medical improvements to note, too. Hospitals haven’t been overwhelmed. Doctors continue to find effective drug treatments for COVID-19, including cheap and readily available steroids, according to a new analysis. And although it’s potentially harmful for anyone to contract the virus, younger, healthier people are beating it with regularity.
That’s not to say that the danger is nearly over. Far from it. The lack of spikes in cases or deaths doesn’t hide the fact that thousands of Americans are suffering and dying, or that an alarming rise couldn’t begin at any moment if we slip up on mitigation tactics.
That’s why it’s important for public officials to remain vigilant in tracking and battling the virus. They must constantly reinforce the need for social distancing in public and the use of masks. No one should assume that we’re near ready to roll back orders on masks or restrictions on crowds or business capacity.
It doesn’t help that increasingly, Americans trust fewer messengers on the pandemic. A disheartening CBS News poll taken early this month found steep declines in the the share of registered voters who trust their governor, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the president for information about the virus. And sadly, at the bottom of the list was the national news media.
Trust at all levels has been eroded by misinformation, and in the case of the national media, the problem often stems from a lack of context when stories take off. For instance, a widely reported study recently suggested that the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D., might be linked to more than 250,000 virus cases nationwide.
On its face, it seems unlikely, and it is; to reach that total, researchers counted every subsequent virus case in a rider’s home area and linked it to that person, based on cellphone data. It’s a real stretch, unconfirmed by other researchers. But all that nuance didn’t make the headlines and social media.
Similarly, alarming stories about booming case loads on college campuses rarely note that few hospitalizations or deaths have resulted. Again, it’s not that it’s not serious: No one wants students, faculty and university staff exposed to a raging outbreak. But manageable situations are opportunities to learn what went wrong and help all of us do better.
Trusted local voices must shoot straight about where we are in the pandemic: It’s better, but it’s not over. Wearing masks, practicing distancing and avoiding unnecessary gatherings makes us and helps us figure out how to open up more of life.
And that’s something we can all buy into.