Maryland watched with confusion and embarrassment when a small minority of protesters on Saturday took to the streets of Annapolis, in the safety of their cars, to urge Gov. Hogan to reopen our state despite the clear risk that doing so would increase the spread of COVID-19.
I watched with horror as well because my mom is a nurse in the intensive care unit of Anne Arundel Medical Center, taking care of COVID-19 patients. Reopening Maryland earlier than recommended by public health experts, and putting economic self-interest before the safety and health of Marylanders, would both intensify and elongate the war being waged every day in ICU units in hospitals across our state. And that would put doctors, nurses and others responsible for caring for the sick at greater risk of getting sick themselves and, God forbid, dying.
My mom, along with many other health care professionals around Maryland, is on the front line of keeping people alive. She continually puts at risk her life and the life of my dad when she returns home after work. I pray every day that she doesn’t get sick and that the war against COVID-19 is won as soon as possible.
Reopening our economy now when we have just begun to see progress in slowing the virus’ spread would further jeopardize the lives of both patients and front line caregivers. Marylanders wanting to put an end to this know that Gov. Larry Hogan will continue to do the right thing and maintain the economic closures responsible for the progress we have made thus far until this pandemic recedes and public safety can be ensured.
Evie Harris, one of the organizers of Saturday’s protest, is quoted as “wanting the shutdown to end, to restore our economic abilities for families and individuals and businesses in the state of Maryland.”
I absolutely sympathize with Ms. Harris and those wanting to go back to a life of normalcy. It’s safe to say we all want that. As a father of a 3-year-old stuck inside day after day, and with our family’s income decreased, I sure do.
As a resident of Baltimore, I see firsthand the economic devastation that this shutdown is causing. My city, home to some of the worst poverty in Maryland, is being hit especially hard by closures and the resulting unemployment. We are all diligent about social distancing to slow the spread, and scrambling to make sure that all our neighbors are fed, clothed and housed. As time goes on, meeting those basics is increasingly difficult. Despite that, we support the economic closures and social distancing requirements because without them we know our situation would become much worse.
It’s important to point out that reopening our economy in the midst of a pandemic won’t return it back to its robust former self. Although hard to imagine, doing so will do more long-term economic damage. Reopening restaurants, theaters and malls now would be a failure; few would patronize them out of risk of being exposed to infection. Our overextended health care system would have to take care of those that do. The virus would spread further, deepening our fear and further reducing the likelihood of “restoring the economic abilities” anytime soon. We can’t just lift social distancing restrictions and expect our economy and employment to bounce back. If it were only that simple.
The only way we can expect to return to our former economy is to stop the pandemic. The only way to do that is to act early and decisively, like Governor Hogan has, and to follow public health experts’ directions of social distancing. Protesting the restrictions before adequate testing is available and anti-viral medication or vaccines are developed is selfish, ineffective and shortsighted. Simply lifting restrictions without solving the underlying problem would set us back in our collective goal.
We are all making tremendous sacrifice to slow the spread of this virus, prevent the death of as many people as possible and return our economy to normal. Those that are protesting to persuade Gov. Hogan to prematurely reopen Maryland do so at the peril of those that would otherwise avoid being sick. The protesters’ demands also put at risk the health and safety of heroes like my mom and health care professionals around the state that are on the front lines of this crisis and who go to work every day and expose themselves by taking care of those that have fallen sick in an attempt to save their lives.
Vinnie Bevivino (okrastar@gmail.com) is a waste and renewable energy professional who lives in Baltimore.