If you look carefully, you can see a break in the darkness of the forest it feels like we’ve been lost in since March. But it is just a sliver shining through and there are still some miles to go before we are fully back in the light of day.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that he plans to begin opening the state again to somewhat normal activities. Gyms, barbershops, in-house dining and churches, among other businesses, can all open again if social distancing standards are followed. This is great news for our economy and for everyone who is simply ready for this to all be over.
It is also troubling news, though, when we think about the possibility of another surge as cases continue to pile up.
That is what has made this unprecedented time in the history of our community, state and nation such a difficult one. We all want our normal lives back. People are out of work and struggling to get by as the economic strain puts businesses and their employees in desperate situations. Local communities are looking to state governments for help and states are looking to the federal governments for help. Our economy must begin to reopen if we are to avoid a crushing recession or depression and stop the hemorrhaging.
But to protect ourselves from an invisible enemy that still has the potential to ravage communities with new outbreaks, we must continue to be mindful of what we can do to prevent that from happening. Which means distancing ourselves and prohibiting large gatherings. As we have all seen, all it takes is one person to trigger instances like the outbreak in Albany.
So the question of whether we reopen everything is not so easy to answer. The number of daily new cases may have tapered off some, but it is still steadily rising, leading critics to blast Kemp for his decision.
We won’t go that far, because businesses have to get back to work before they are gone forever. But we share the underlying fear that moving to reopen too soon may be disastrous.
As we see it, two things must happen for Georgia’s next steps to be successful.
First, as Kemp noted on Monday, testing must increase exponentially so we have a clear picture of how widespread COVID-19 is in our state and so people have the information they need to prevent outbreaks.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, we must all use our common sense and follow the CDC guidelines for distancing and disinfecting for some time to come. It is imperative that we as a community do our part first, so the number listed for Hart County cases on the state Department of Public Health’s status updates don’t balloon.
If we do that, maybe, just maybe, our cautious optimism about reopening the economy will grow into full-fledged hope.
The curve may be flattening now, but we must continue to be smart, use our common sense and do our part to ensure it stays that way.