by Kerry Dougherty
Here we go. Again.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom shut down much of his state’s economy yesterday. He closed indoor dining, churches, (they’re always the first to go), hair salons, barbershops, wineries, fitness centers, etc.
I’m sure it’s just coincidental that this happened shortly before the Golden State’s numbers began to climb last month:
California shuts down again, again wiping out people's lives, savings, jobs.
Oh and this happened in early June in LApic.twitter.com/6Fq0VJKWZb
— Adam Townsend (@adamscrabble) July 13, 2020
Question is, can Gov. Ralph Northam be far behind?
If history is any predictor, Democratic governors around the country will follow suit as soon as they see any increase in COVID-19 cases, thus putting people who just got back to work, out of work.
Again.
Virginia’s numbers of new COVID cases are rising. Or seem to be. As I pointed out yesterday, the commonwealth has only been testing aggressively for about six weeks so Virginia has no baseline for comparison. Lord knows how many cases of coronavirus we had in March, April and May when sick people couldn’t get tested and simply took NyQuil until they recovered at home, undetected.
In a story headlined Virginia Covid-19 Cases Increase 2,711 Since Friday; Percentage of Positive Tests Remain Low, The Richmond Times-Dispatch includes a reassuring chart that shows only a very slight increase in positive test percentages.
This should not be enough to cause the Governor to reinstitute shutdowns. Especially with the dramatic drop in COVID fatalities. There were just two deaths on Sunday. (Yes, I know, weekend reporting is erratic. Still, those of us who are tracking deaths have seen a welcome reduction in recent weeks.)
But Northam is holding a COVID-19 press conference today at 2:00. Never a good sign.
Before the Governor decides it’s time to end indoor dining, curtail church services or cripple fitness centers with new rules, he needs to provide the public with detailed data about the recent numbers. We’ve had enough of random rules that aren’t rooted in science. (Remember when we weren’t allowed to SIT on the beaches?)
The state has a wealth of demographic information about the new cases: ages, races, and even where the folks testing positive picked up their infections. After all, Northam promised to turn an army of contact tracers loose on the state.
It would also be nice to know how many of the newly diagnosed folks are seriously ill.
If the spike in cases correlates with protests that occurred in Virginia Beach, Richmond and elsewhere, Northam needs to address the problem of large gatherings and leave the rest of us – – who are cautiously trying to support the local economy and ourselves — alone.
