Over the last couple of weeks several states that had started on their path back to reopening and ending the COVID-19 lockdowns in stages/phases have found their confirmed infection counts increasing. In some cases this has been an exponential increase that has put pressure back on our healthcare system and limited or even exhausted ICU bed capacity. An increase of some kind appeared to be likely as people started coming out of quarantine and were around each other more. However between some states moving ahead more quickly than others despite their case counts not being ideal for such measures, the politicizing and fighting that has erupted from states/counties/cities suggesting (and even requiring in some cases) masks be worn along with the wave of angst and anger in our society not only about the response to this virus and it’s social impact but also the issues of equality in our country has made things get really crazy really quick. Some states are slowing their return to normalcy progress while others are actually imposing new restrictions, reversing course from the previous few weeks where they were pushing to reopen regardless of the concerns being voiced by medical experts and some community leaders. We will have to see how things look in another week or two but between the nice weather, the lockdown restrictions being softened and folks eagerness to rush back to their “old” lives has set us up for a near perfect storm it appears for this virus to start making it’s comeback before we really ever reached the end of the “first wave”.
Be safe out there and please do what you can to limit the spread of this virus, if not for your sake, then for the sake of others who are at potential risk around you. Good luck out there! – Tom S.
