Editorial: For want of a cotton swab, will economy be lost?
The one tool that could have the greatest impact in convincing Gov. Jay Inslee and other governors in the United States to relax the most stringent of social-distancing practices to fight the coronavirus pandemic and open up local and state economies is long, thin and topped with cotton or other fibers; in other words, a simple swab.
Public health and elected officials nationally and locally have repeated the message often that what would be most effective in allowing the lifting of social-distancing restrictions would be a coordinated effort of testing, tracing and identification of an infected person’s recent contacts and isolation of those infected or exposed.
Those three steps — in combination with continued vigilance by individuals to reduce the potential for exposure to the virus — would allow most to begin to return to jobs and many of the activities that have been curtailed now for more than a month. Getting anywhere near back to “normal” will require an even higher bar, ample supplies of a vaccine, which is likely still a year to 18 months away.
Yet, several states already have begun loosening those restrictions; the most concerning of which is Georgia, whose governor has allowed restaurants — albeit with precautions — to reopen dining rooms and given the go-ahead for bowling alleys, hair salons and tattoo parlors to again welcome customers.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-for-want-of-a-cotton-swab-will-economy-be-lost/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=96b3f68ff2-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-96b3f68ff2-228635337
