An empty parking lot at the Lansdale Train Station.
This past week seems to have been a key week on several fronts in this ongoing battle against COVID-19. We are beginning to see infection rates trend downward. As of yesterday, according to county officials, our infection rate at the local testing site was 13%. This represents a 45.8% decrease in our local infection rate. This is extremely good news! It means our social distancing measures are working and that we can control the rate of infection locally.
However, it does not mean that we are ready to reopen the community. Slowing the infection rate is not enough to bring everyone back together. Relaxing social distancing rules will only result in negating all the progress we have made over the last six weeks or so, and spike the infection rate back up prolonging our need to stay at home. Something, I am sure, we all do not want to do.
As the governor and others have indicated, the reopening of our communities and our state needs to be slow process that is reliant on data and analysis. There is only one way to get the data needed to fully understand the scope of this virus, and that is by creating a uniform and ubiquitous testing system across the state and the region. Without a clear understanding of who is carrying the virus, we must continue to act as though everyone has it by avoiding social interaction. Once we have a robust testing apparatus, we can quarantine those who have the virus while allowing people to begin to operate in a more normal fashion. This will not be a fast, or cheap process, but it is one we must pursue.
I completely understand the desire to “reopen” our economy and get back to daily life as we knew it on March 10. The fastest, and most effective way to restart our economy is through testing. It is not through a pointless declaration that has no impact on the reality of a deadly virus passing through our community. People should not have to choose between going to work and being healthy. Right now, no one can be certain that going back to work would be safe, precisely because we lack the testing data to determine if it is safe. Forcing people back to work in that environment is tantamount to a negotiation with gun to their head, and it is wrong.
In addition to a far-reaching testing operation, we must expand access to PPE for first responders and healthcare workers. Access to PPE has been a challenge for municipalities across the country. We are bidding against each other for the same products that are in short supply. This is not the best way to help first responders and healthcare workers gain access to critical materials that allow them to do their job to their fullest. Bidding wars between states and municipalities for PPE benefits no one, least of all the people who need them, and has been an abject failure across the board.
To all the small business owners out there, I share your concerns about a protracted and drawn out “reopening.” The federal help that you were relying on to see this event through has not materialized. The loans from the SBA and CARES Act were given to the banks to distribute. The banks then made choices with that money that benefitted medium and larger clients rather than helping the small Main Street shops we know and love. It is a travesty, and one that should have been predicted. We need you to survive this difficult period and I will be pushing with all my might to help you get real relief you so desperately need.
As I said at the beginning, there is reason to be hopeful. We are slowing the spread of the infection and the choices we have made to stay home and adhere to the CDC guidelines has saved lives. If we can continue this trend and establish a pervasive testing operation, we will be able to pull our community out of this and rebuild our local economy together.
Stay home, stay safe, and stay healthy.
Mayor Herbert
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert.)
See also:
Mayoral Musings: A Healthy Dose Of Optimism
Mayoral Musings: Take Only What You Need
Mayoral Musings: The Challenges Of Social Distancing In Nice Weather
Mayoral Musings: Our Choices Will Define Us
Mayoral Musings: Emergency Declaration And The Road Ahead
