Why Listening to Health Center Guidance On COVID-19 Matters
The following is an opinion piece. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Townsquare Media Sedalia / Warrensburg.
The Pettis County Health Center says Pettis County will continue with the 14 day quarantine for people who have been exposed to the cornavirus. Well sort of. And does it really matter anyway?
In today's Pettis County COVID-19 Task Force Briefing the number one bullet point from the Nixle Summary was about how Pettis County will continue with a 14 day quarantine after exposure. Except for the following, which I pulled from their Facebook page:
For completely ASYMPTOMATIC individuals who absolutely cannot remain in a quarantine for 14 days, the 10 day option may be used. Individuals need to continue to monitor for the entire 14 day period and seek testing if symptoms develop.
The ten day option, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says that those folks showing no symptoms of the coronavirus can go back to work after 10 days, as long as their local health governing body says it's OK. Although, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still continues to endorse the 14 day quarantine.
Pettis County Health Center says the County is sticking with the 14 day quarantine because Pettis County is in the Extreme High Risk Category. Yet then they say if you're asymptomatic and you "absolutely cannot remain in quarantine" you can do ten days.
The question I have is what does "absolutely cannot remain in quarantine" mean? Is it because you absolutely need to work so you can pay the bills? Or you absolutely have to go Christmas shopping for your kids? Or you absolutely, positively are craving a big slutty cheese burger, so you're hitting the drive through?
And does it matter anyway? Our politicians don't have the guts to listen to the health experts they appointed to positions that are supposed to help us stay safe. And if you go back and look at previous task force briefings, The Pettis County Health Center has all but named people they KNOW should have been quarantining, but chose to go out and about not giving a damn about anyone but themselves.
Yes it does matter. Here's why. The crowd that thinks we should just ignore the disease, not wear the masks, and meet at Applebee's for Jenny's bachelorette blow out, paying no attention to Aunt Marge's hacking cough. Well they've forgotten one thing. I don't care how much Aunt Marge judges me, I'm not interested in exposing myself to her or others potential COVID cooties.
Pretending this disease doesn't exist, or lead some people's death, or have severe negative consequences on some people's health, won't bring normalcy or profitability back to the businesses hurt by the pandemic.
If all restrictions went away tomorrow with the virus out there and no vaccine, do you think my wife and I would start dining out? Do you think we'd book that Kansas City getaway we want to take? Book that trip to Chicago? Step on an airplane? Go to the movies? See a show or attend the Missouri State Fair? Visit my older relatives? Hell no.
And do you think we're the only two who will still stay home? There's many more like me out there. Many aren't writing articles or itching to get into some stupid Facebook fight about it. But they're out there. And every day this goes on is a day longer we're spending less money.
You want this to go away? I do too. You want business to thrive? You want to party with your friends and family? I do too. The best way to make that happen. Wear a mask. Wash your hands a lot. Get the cornavirus vaccination when it comes out. And for goodness sake, if you think you might have had close contact with someone whose come down with COVID-19, be a patriot and stay home. Just on the off chance you're infectious.
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