Someone once said, “Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.”
The shutdown and social distancing measures put in place as a result of the pandemic are testing our patience, and that test goes well beyond just being bored sitting at home. The economies of West Virginia and the country have slowed dramatically.
The Justice administration is estimating a 25 percent decrease in wages and a 20 percent drop in consumer spending in West Virginia in April and May. That’s historic and represents an incalculable amount of pain for workers and employers.
Merchants are anxious to reopen their doors and welcome back customers while individuals who have been laid off or had their hours cut want to return to a dependable paycheck and benefits.
But when will that be?
Nationally, that’s up to President Trump. He has said when to restart the economy will be the “biggest decision” he will have to make.
Governors will make their own decisions in the states. The leaders are paying attention to health experts and trying to find a balance between restarting the economy, while also protecting the health and safety of the populace.
West Virginia COVID-19 Czar Dr. Clay Marsh said during Mondays’ briefing, “We would like to see the number of positive cases go down for 14 days consistently.”
West Virginia’s number of positive cases continues to tick upward. We were at 626 as of yesterday morning and averaging about 16 new cases a day. It’s evident now the curve has flattened, but it is less clear whether West Virginia has peaked.
Marsh and other health and government leaders here and across the country talk about a three-step process: increased testing, identifying people who have interacted with a person who tests positive, and imposing targeted restrictions on those who test positive.
“Ultimately, if we do things correctly, we’ll get back out again in the near future and we’ll do it safely,” Marsh said.
That all makes sense, but at what point will it be determined that that phase of the response to the pandemic is operating effectively so that the economy can reopen? Clearly there will not be an “on” switch where everything is back to normal. It’s far more likely there will be a “rolling” reopening as conditions warrant.
Governor Justice has served not only as the decision maker during the crisis, but also as the state’s cheerleader by encouraging West Virginian’s to keep doing what we are doing. “We’re not where we need to be yet, but we’re getting there,” he said.
We would like to believe we can maintain a positive attitude while waiting patiently for the economy to crank back up, but that’s a supreme test as the bills pile up and the customers stay away.