Some of our favorite restaurants have closed, some of them so suddenly we didn’t realize it until we showed up to locked doors and darkened interiors.
Some of our favorite stores have closed, deemed “non-essential” businesses under an executive order that was at once both ruthless and prudent.
And so our parking lots are largely empty as commerce slows to a trickle. Who knew that carryout food service would become the bedrock of the economy?
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s sweeping executive order demanding Hoosiers to stay at home, issued Monday, March 23 — though it clearly had been in the works for days — was the latest and perhaps most devastating body blow to our communities as the coronavirus crisis intensifies.
It also, sadly, was necessary.
Because of catastrophic failures in the country’s ability to detect COVID-19’s movement through widespread testing, the experts don’t really know how many people are sick. There will be plenty of time to assess blame for that later, but the bottom line is COVID-19 has been in stealth mode. We didn’t take is seriously until it was, in infantryman’s parlance, inside the wire. (Exhibit A is New York City, which is on the verge of a treatment meltdown.)
So, the prudent thing to do is to continue to stay home. The governor’s order listed a broad number of “essential” businesses and operations, no doubt to put the onus on individual business owners to make prudent decisions about their employees’ health.
We hope they take that responsibility seriously. And we hope employees feel empowered to speak up if they feel unsafe at work. No worker should feel threatened if he or she raises an alarm.
The resulting impact on our economy — piling on top of earlier closures and restrictions — will surely be devastating in the short term and possibly beyond. Some businesses won’t reopen. Some never will be the same.
We urge everyone — to the extent they’re able — to continue patronizing those businesses that remain open. We are always awed by those Hancock County residents whose generosity “pays it forward” for others. We need that sensibility now more than ever.
We also are touched by the increasing number of stories we are hearing about people’s generosity, from grocery lines to factory lines. Even from 6 feet apart, people are reaching out to help, and that will be our sustaining spirit in coming weeks.
Finally — and most importantly — we are praying for those families who already have been impacted and for our medical professionals, who will be the front-line troops in containing the outbreak if it grows worse. These people and their families are our friends and neighbors, and they are rightly frightened. COVID-19 has the ability to devastate human tissue, and our physicians and nurses will be under fire.
This is not overblown. Every step taken so far has been with our health care system in mind. Let’s do everything we can to protect it so it’s not overrun. Stay home. Be safe. And wash your hands.
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