The Flaming Gorge Days Committee has a difficult decision to make. Having to cancel an event that would have taken place in its 64th consecutive year is something we’re sure no one involved wanted to do. They made that tough decision and while there are some unintended consequences associated with that choice, the group should be commended for pulling the trigger on a difficult call.
While the decision ultimately came down to a business dilemma, specifically what to do if contracts were signed and FGD would have to be canceled due to state health mandates, the cancellation will also help curb the spread of COVID-19.
Nationwide, protests of stay-at-home orders are taking place by people who think their liberties are being infringed through those orders. While we can sympathize with anyone wanting to see life return to normal, that can’t happen until more and better tests are more widely available.
Even now, COVID-19 testing is woefully inadequate. Tests take at least several days to be returned. In many instances, it takes longer than a week. Meanwhile, some other parts of the world, testing doesn’t take nearly as long. In Hong Kong, a strict testing and quarantine protocol has resulted in extremely low infection rates for the city of 7.5 million. The city hasn’t had to initiate shelter-in-place orders like the United States, other portions of China, and many European nations have initiated. The tests results can be delivered in a little as 11 hours. By acting on WHO suggestions early, it was able to significantly hamper COVID-19’s spread within the city. That window of opportunity has closed for the U.S.
COVID-19 isn’t going away until a vaccine is widely implemented. This will take years to accomplish. The next best alternative is a strenuous testing and isolation program initiated throughout the U.S. Without that, we’re one symptomatic individual away from a serious outbreak. An outbreak would almost certainly cause the whole process to stop, then start over from scratch. Anyone vested in restarting the economy should demand much more COVID-19 testing.
Better testing is something Sweetwater County residents should demand from both our state and federal governments. We urge them to contact Senators John Barrasso and Mike Enzi and Representative Liz Cheney to demand wider testing capabilities by the government. We’re including contact information for each at the end of this column. A person can also find an email contact page on each member’s congressional page.
Once those testing and quarantine capabilities are in place, we can start easing back into the normal pattern of life.
Sen. John Barrasso -- (202) 224-6441, Rock Springs office -- 362-5012
Sen. Mike Enzi --(202) 224-3424, Jackson office -- 739-9507
Rep. Liz Cheney -- (202) 225-2311, Riverton office -- 463-0482
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