By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
My friends and former neighbors in Amarillo, Texas, might be facing a relapse, a return to the conditions that caused plenty of alarm in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
City and county officials are planning to allow the reopening of bars, restaurants and other public gathering places. Why? Because hospitalization rates are plummeting.
I would like to offer a word of caution: Don’t do it! At least not just yet!
KFDA News Channel 10 reports: The city has been under the 15% hospitalization rate threshold for six days now. If the city remains under that rate for one more day, Amarillo will no longer be considered an area of high hospitalization. City Manager Jared Miller said bars in Potter and Randall counties may reopen at 50% percent capacity if the hospitalization rate remains under 15% as of 4:00 p.m. today.
Here’s my concern: What happens if hospitalization and infections spike again in Amarillo? Does the city close the place down once more?
Amarillo has been getting a good bit of media love in recent days over the vaccination rate it has been providing. The city ranks at or near the top of all American cities in the inoculation rate it is delivering to residents. I applaud the city for its response to the pandemic.
My concern from my perch 350 miles away is that the city might be getting a bit too cavalier as it seeks to reopen its business community.
The pandemic ain’t over! There might be a whole lot more suffering to come. Indeed, scientists and physicians are warning that the worst has yet to arrive.
I want all of our cities to reopen. I just don’t want to rush it.
“We need everyone to continue doing what we’re doing that’s effecting our numbers in such a positive ways,” said Mayor Ginger Nelson. “I want to be very clear this morning that we can’t ease up. We’re not at the finish line yet.”
Be very, very careful.