COVID is spreading quickly. Once again. It has its way and will do its thing. We still don't know a lot about it - its origin, timeline from start to present, best way to treat infected patients, long term effects years from now. And we do not have a cure. A vaccine is in testing phase. Several vaccines, each competing to find THE cure.
We are getting close. We know much more about the COVID virus than before. Still many missing pieces to the puzzle. Meanwhile, people are getting sick. People continue to suffer. Many still die. Swaths of the public are vulnerable. Many will survive the disease. Many will not. Who will those poor souls be?
I don't know. You don't either. Scientists know more but still cannot give us the whole story.
On the Illinois news front, the governor has imposed restrictions on public gatherings and bar and restaurant operations. Studies report these are the breeding grounds of COVID spread. These restrictions are imposed in the hope to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the most affected regions of the state.
That is prudent. The governor's job is to protect the public. His advisors in healthcare, public safety and disease control provide the facts upon which he has legal responsibility to act. Governor Pritzker has acted consistently to fulfill his obligations and moral duty.
Claiming otherwise is ridiculous. Constitutional rights are not being usurped. In fact the constitution is being upheld in preserving and protecting the people. That is his oath of office the same as it is for all sworn, elected officials.
Currently an uprising is forming throughout the state to resist the governor's orders. Bar and restaurant owners are claiming their right to do business is being denied them. They say their customers support them in their resistance. They claim moral majority over the government.
Are they right? Or are they wrong?
I think they are wrong. I understand they are upset, scared and deeply afraid of losing their assets and means of earning a living. I'd be frightened as well. But the health and well-being of the public is the greater good being protected here. That is what our elected officials are supposed to do. It is what we expect them to do.
In the face of many unknowns, public servants must be allowed to do their job. Failure to do so will cause much larger harm to us all.
The bar and restaurant industry is part of the larger hospitality industry. Their job is to serve the public with open arms and gracious service to meet the needs of that public. That service is in the best interests of the public, their loyal customers. Health and safety is a basic tenet of that hospitality. Without that, there is no public to serve.
If a dining establishment is found to carry disease or the imminent spread of disease (salmonella, botulism, or the vermin and infestation of disease spreading insects) the establishment is shut down. The spread of COVID is no different.
Present circumstances do not allow us to guess. We must act on what we know to protect and preserve.
That is the right thing to do. Denying that is the wrong thing.
In this political age of ours, even this public health emergency is politicized. Shame on all those who have lost the bigger picture.
We will get through this. We will survive. In the meantime we must trust and cooperate as best we can.
October 23, 2020
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