Public Health doc: Masks can prevent rollback of economic reopening

 


By Andy Gardner

St. Lawrence County’s Board of Health president discussed what he calls his “Reopening Rollback Prevention Program” during the St. Lawrence County legislature’s Monday, July 27 Finance Committee meeting.

Dr. Andrew Williams said a recent uptick in coronavirus cases in St. Lawrence County and nationwide brings with it “appropriate fear things are going to change and we’re going to have to roll back the reopening.” He made his comments during a time when coronavirus cases in Akwesasne have started to go up as well.

During his presentation that he gave to the legislators via Zoom, he pointed to two examples he believes showing that mask usage can keep the virus in check and keep businesses from having to shut down again.

“I think if you’re pro-business, which we all are, then you should be pro-mask,” the doctor said.

He noted an incident in May where two hairstylists in Missouri tested positive for COVID-19 and exposed about 140 customers to the illness. The stylists and customers had all worn face coverings, and Dr. Williams said the CDC was not able to document any transmission of the disease. He compared that to an incident in Washington state in March where a member of a church choir transmitted the illness to about 87% of the other members, none of whom wore masks.

He said he feels things have gotten to a place where the term “physical distancing” should replace “social distancing.”

“I feel like we should be talking about physical distancing. I think there’s a lot of stress involved with social distancing,” he said. “I think people should socialize. They should socialize at a safe distance, with masks.”

He cautioned that people should avoid traveling out of the area.

“I think in a rural community, travelers end up being the focus of who introduces the virus into the community,” he said.

Dr. Dana McGuire, St. Lawrence County Public Health director, said of the new cases in July, most of them were related to travel, and 13 of them were “due to one gathering here in the county.”

“In this month, we almost made it back up to two cases per day, and we hadn’t been seeing that since the last week in April,” she said.

McGuire also noted that of the overall infections, the largest age groups in St. Lawrence County diagnosed with COVID-19 are ages 21 to 30 and 50 to 70.

Legislator James Reagen, R-Ogdensburg, said older people should remember they are just as likely to catch and spread the coronavirus.

“I think we all have a tendency to say ‘oh those irresponsible kids are putting everyone at risk’ … it’s just as important to keep the focus on that 50-70 year-old group that can get overconfident and also expose people,” Reagen said. “It’s important that we all realize that it doesn’t take much to create a problem.”

Reagen also urged people to go on “staycations” at local campgrounds or other facilities that allow people to get away while not mingling with lots of other people.

“We all need to make the emphasis on staying local. Here we are, we live in St. Lawrence County, the most beautiful county in the world,” Reagen said. “Stay here in St. Lawrence County and patronize the amazing places we have all across this county.”

Dr. Williams also said people should take a “regionalism” approach, since St. Lawrence County’s economic reopening is tied to seven others in the North Country. A big spike in one of the seven could lead to the other six having to go back to an earlier phase of reopening.

“We have seven counties but we all have one goal … protect the health and safety of our community, protect the health and safety of our region, and make sure the region doesn’t have a rollback,” he said.

The doctor also pointed to several other measures he believes will help keep the North Country at its current reopening phase - expanding testing capacity; giving reopening guidance, especially to larger institutions like schools; consistent messaging and education so everyone is on the same page with regard to a community effort; and maintaining hospital capacity in case of a second wave.

Dr. Williams talked about what he calls the “five pillars” of coronavirus mitigation - wearing a mask that covers the mouth and nose when in public, social distancing, frequent and thorough hand washing, staying home if sick and avoiding unnecessary travel.

He believes that businesses who take these measures will increase consumer confidence at a time when the economy has taken a hit because of pandemic-related shutdowns.

“[People] know the places where the mask use is enforced and they feel more confident,” he said. “Actively complying, participating in the five pillars is critical as we move our economy forward.”

 

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