Making the tough decisions

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  • Flatten the Curve
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Nobody wants to be doing what we are doing now. Nobody. We find ourselves in a place where decisions are between livelihoods and lives. Elected officials find themselves making decisions that they never imagined in order to preserve the lives of their neighbors, friends and family. Those decisions are affecting the livelihoods of those same individuals.

So, what is the thought process that goes into these decisions? Well, when making decisions,  we must never lose sight of the “why.”
“Why” are we making these decisions? We are hearing the sound bite, “flatten the curve” so much that it tends to lose its meaning.

Flattening the curve is all about not overwhelming the health care system. Think Italy and Spain. These two countries were not able to get effective mitigation strategies in place before the curve got ahead of them. Now, their health care system is overloaded, and health care workers are getting sick, too. There are not enough ventilators available for the most severe cases, and the world watches the death toll continue to rise.

The failure of a community, state or country to implement effective mitigation strategies early on ensures increased fatalities. That evidence is clear.

With this in mind, decisions are made in order to flatten the curve. This is not the time for political correctness in decision making. The decision process must be “what works,” not what is popular. We are a society of convenience, but this is not a time for the accommodation of convenience. I am proud to serve with elected officials on the council who are willing to make tough calls in order to flatten the curve and save lives.

Decisions that will help flatten the curve will continue until the peak is reached. But, the current state of affairs cannot go on forever. Since I started seeking this office, I have talked about our need to focus on the future, and today, when our focus is understandably on today, we must refocus on the future. What does the future of business look like? What does worship look like?

We are hearing 12 to 18 months for a vaccine. I think we all know that we cannot continue the current strategy for that long without some course corrections. Let’s start thinking in terms of what has to happen to get businesses open. I am hearing that the peak will occur around the third week of April for our state. But we won’t be out of the woods, and we must continue mitigation in some form. When the numbers start coming down, how do we adjust smartly and safely in a way that does not cause an echo effect?

I imagine that each industry group will need to work with health professionals to come up with plans on how their business will be more sanitary and provide for social distancing and other protections for customers and employees alike. I suspect many of the changes we have made hastily will remain, such as sneeze guards at the cash registers.

Many questions remain. What does worship look like going forward? Until there is a vaccine (when presumably, we can get back to the old normal), what does it look like to assemble safely? None of us want to create a situation where our older church members are at risk.

So, let the planning begin. What do you recommend? How do we re-engage and still protect our customers, neighbors, friends, and family? I am very interested in hearing from you. What are your thoughts on the “new normal?” If we work together, going forward, Lawton can lead the state in safe practices for work, leisure, and assembly.