In Northeastern states like New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, what was once the hardest-hit area of the country by the COVID-19 pandemic is now standing out above the rest and basking in its relative success of containing the pandemic back in April. What did these states do so well, that allowed them to avoid a second rebounding of the coronavirus like that in the Sun Belt now? And what can the now-hardest-hit Sun Belt states learn from the Northeast? Let’s find out more in today’s post.
The New York Times has reported that the farther west you go, the more nonexistent virus restrictions there are. In the Midwest, for example, few people wear masks and in Montana, groups of up to 20 people still gathered. There are still so many smaller, more rural communities throughout America that, because have been left relatively unscathed by the virus, have enacted few or no coronavirus restriction measures.
The Northeast has been in stark contrast with the rest of the country ever since the pandemic began in late March. Early on, New York was easily the hardest-hit state, but as the virus died down in mid-April, the rest of the country looked to be spared the worst of the virus. Unfortunately, after Memorial Day weekend, virus cases sharply rose in practically the entire country—except the Northeast.
Similar to many parts of the world, the Northeast, especially New York, Maryland, Washington D.C., Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Delaware, have suffered a huge, devastating wave of coronavirus cases and deaths in March and April. However, state leaders there reacted quickly and enacted harsh lockdowns, quarantine restrictions, and began an extensive contact-tracing program. Most residents, having seen the severity and brutality of the virus, generally followed rules like mask-wearing and social distancing, at the expense of the economy.
However, despite the ever-increasing unemployment rate and the worsening economic ruin, many people in the Northeast are willing to tolerate it if it means slowing down the spread of the virus. In Massachusetts, for example, 38% of people were willing to endure a lockdown indefinitely.
These lockdowns have worked out in favor of state leaders too. And it wasn’t just in favor of one party either: Massachusetts’s Republican governor, who acted quickly and imposed harsh restrictions, saw his approval ratings skyrocket as aggressive tracing programs were able to trace all contacts and significantly curb the spread of the virus. The same happened with Rhode Island’s Democratic governor: she quickly enacted strict measures, which curbed the spread of the virus, in turn leading to people viewing her favorably.
And despite the Northeast, like New York, engaging in a slow but gradual reopening process, only about one percent of all tests (around 500 cases or less) come back positive. The reopening process has been going on for over two months now, and people in New York City are able to enjoy visiting places like parks, zoos, and make use of services like outdoor dining, hair salons, and personal care services. Although things like indoor dining, malls, movie theaters, museums, gyms, and more are still closed, residents of the area are now able to bask in their glory of having handled the pandemic efficiently the first time.
Governor Cuomo of New York is still on high alert, though. With the virus looking increasingly likely to come back into New York from the South, he has enacted strict quarantines for people entering the state from most of the country outside the Northeast. And there is even the possibility of being able to open schools, even if just for a few days a week, in fall in New York City.
This is what should be learned from the Northeast. Stop pretending the virus isn’t there and enact strict lockdown, quarantine, and prevention measures. Rather suffer a short pain than a drawn-out, on, and extremely painful one. States like California, Florida, Texas, and Georgia should shut down for the next two weeks, contain the virus, they will be able to reopen without many difficulties, like the Northeast.
Refusing to accept the pandemic isn’t helping anyone. America must act swiftly and contain the virus, once and for all.
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