A sample is obtained from a person who wants to be checked. Washington Post photo©
By Paul Goldfinger, MD
May 1, 2020. Ocean Grove, NJ. Blogfinger.net
For days I have been contemplating a post to answer an important question about the pandemic in America. But I hesitated because I wasn’t sure of the answer.
The issue is that despite the best efforts of most people that I know to mitigate the coronavirus, the disease keeps growing, and the numbers in New Jersey show it. If the virus flood should respond to distancing, hand washing and self isolation, then why isn’t it snuffed out already? What are we missing?
Some would say that mitigation is just not very effective–that it is insufficient to stem the viral tide.
But I believe that if it weren’t for our efforts, the situation would be much worse, however, how is the virus still claiming so many victims?
Experts say that the epidemic just needs some more time to burn itself out, while others say that it will take a year or two unless an effective treatment appears and/or a vaccine. There is no natural immunity in the world’s population because this is a new virus. And we have had inadequate testing sufficient to tell us how pervasive the virus still is.
And the natives are getting inpatient and want to be set free. Israel and some other countries have done well, with the process, but when Germany tried to open their economy, there was a flair. So what are we missing?
The answer appeared in today’s Washington Post in which they say, “More than 20,000 Americans are testing positive for COVID-19 each day despite widespread quarantines. Who are these people and how are they catching the virus?”
There has been no published evaluation of the occupations and living conditions of those who are now testing positive, so we don’t know who is getting sick.
But through further analysis, it appears that the “pandemic is increasingly infecting those who have limited ability to socially distance.”
“That includes grocery store workers, housekeepers, nursing home workers, jail inmates, construction workers, the person who delivered your dinner.” And it also includes police, security people, healthcare workers, food workers and other essential people. And it is impossible to track down all the contacts that such people have every day.”
“Experts and anecdotal reports all confirm that the disease is largely still spreading among people who can’t afford not to work—or whose work the rest of the country can’t afford to do without. And sometimes people who are very careful still wind up with the disease, and they don’t know how it happened.”
“It is community spread, and then taking it home to their families,” said Sonja Bachus, chief executive of Greater Baden Medical Services in Maryland. “It is disheartening.”
So that is where the new cases are arising despite the best efforts of those who can isolate themselves. And, still, despite all the optimism in the last week, we must remain vigilant and we can’t expect this thing to shut down and end abruptly. Israel looks great, but it is a small nation, and we are a complicated huge country.
So, as far as Ocean Grove is concerned, imagine what will happen if our town is flooded with tourists, and among them will be infected individuals. This will place those of us who live or visit in town at great peril of becoming ill
Something must be done to shut down the corona spewing tourist machine to be turned on by the CMA. Don’t be fooled by the CMA which has big plans for programming; and don’t worry, they “are watching the situation hour by hour.” And the boardwalk should be closed along with our neighbors. We need residents only parking and beaching.
This April 30 piece in the Washington Post is by Kyle Swenson and Jenna Portnoy. The references to Ocean Grove and New Jersey are by Blogfinger.net
Can understand your choice of not returning here for summer season. As long as religion and/or politics effects local and state decisions, we will see the “delayed'” effect of perceived mismanagement relative to safety and health concerns, as the collected data is gathered and analyzed. Plus this being an election year….batten down the hatches, for the storm continues.
Editor: Just to be clear, we have delayed our return, but we will be back in May—too long away from home. And you are correct about politics and religion never letting a crisis go to waste.—PG
Blogfinger: Agreed, that is why I shall remain at my winter home in central Florida this summer instead of going to my OG summer home. It saddens me that there will likely be avoidable Covid cases in OG as a consequence of continuing the tent rentals, religious services, flea markets etc.
I would agree with both the above comments. I have written the CMA twice regarding summer plans for town/beach and I first received a generic response that was obviously being sent to anyone who contacts them regarding the boardwalk, with a generic information sheet attached.
I wrote them back and told them they obviously had not read my email, and basically let them have it with all the above. They wrote me back again with a really lame statement that was both condescending and ignorant.
I also wrote the governor and pleaded with him to take statewide action, which I hope he’ll do soon after he sees how bad this weekend was (it’s already way too busy here in the OG today).
You may have also seen Don Stine’s article in the latest Coaster quoting Freeholder Tom Arnone, who had “met with local mayors” in the area [which is not part of his job as far as I know] about this issue, and who claims they agreed that it should be “left up to them” because Gov. Murphy “wasn’t doing anything.”
This arrogance, selfishness and willful ignorance is going to take a heavy toll not just on our state, but on the country.
RRS: On the home front, we have an organization with the stated plan of bringing thousands of religious tourists into town this season with no consideration for the health of those who live here.
This is a small town with families and vulnerable seniors. Their attitude is abhorrent, and their policies are a threat to all of us who live our lives here. And they act as if we do not exist and they fail to recognize that any risk which they take on (such as packing a church with people) cannot help but be a potential problem for the rest of us.
Some people do not have the ability to self isolate because they live in small apartments shared with many others. Particularly true of the poor.
Others choose not to self-isolate. One only needs to review the recent videos in Brooklyn of the many Hasidic Jews that attended a funeral en-masse. In this case, religious conviction over-weighed secular self-isolation and social distancing rules.
Still others adopt a “just this once it will be OK” attitude and invite friends and relatives to their homes for social occasions. My neighbors across the street did this last weekend. They hosted at least 8 people for a visit of several hours duration and all hugged and kissed their goodbyes in the driveway at the conclusion.
Still others simply ignore current guidelines, I observed a group of 15-20 teenage girls sitting on the ground in a circle elbow-to-elbow in a public park yesterday. And there were three female adults with them.
Still others venture out sans mask or any other type of PPE, potentially endangering both themselves and others by extension should they be among the asymptomatic carriers.
Others simply ignore social distancing rules and brush by you in supermarkets.
Some will flout the self-isolation and social distancing rules next Sunday on Mother’s Day, it will be interesting to see if the data shows an uptick in new cases within 3-14 days after Mother’s Day.
A friend with 2 teenage sons has a daily battle with them over forbidding them to leave home or have friends over when their friends are evidently doing so.
So, in conclusion, there are those who cannot self isolate and social distance, those who will not due to religious convictions, and those who grant themselves the occasional or frequent reprieve. That’s why the contagion continues.