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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 13, 2020)
CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner ANDREW CUTLER Editor WYATT HAUPT JR. News Editor JADE McDOWELL Hermiston Editor FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020 A4 Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEW Virus has us in uncharted territory F or those of us keeping up with current events, there has been a whirlwind of dramatic developments over the last few days as governments at every level, national sports leagues, state and local offi- cials have begun canceling events and gath- erings out of fear of spreading COVID-19, or coronavirus. According to World Health Organiza- tion, the number of cases of COVID-19 out- side of China increased 13 fold in the last two weeks. As of Wednesday, there were more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 people had died from the disease with thousands more who have been hospi- talized. The numbers have only grown since and now those infected include famous actor Tom Hanks and his wife. The proverbial dominos began toppling in the U.S. Wednesday night after an NBA player was confirmed to have contracted the virus. The game that he was scheduled to play in was summarily canceled before tipoff, leading to what seemed like a chain reaction. The league promptly suspended its season until further notice. In short order, universities, athletic conferences and the NCAA itself began canceling games and tournaments that already begun. The NHL has followed suit and there was word Thurs- day morning that the MLB would also sus- pend operations. In a speech to the nation, President Don- ald Trump announced a ban on travel to the U.S. from Europe. The administration and Congress are both weighing additional responses. On Thursday morning, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown banned large gatherings in the state. Major universities shifted to remote classes for 80,000 students and local schools were urged to cancel events. Now, several planned local gatherings are also being canceled and the newspaper is com- Oregon Capital Bureau Photo/Jake Thomas Gov. Kate Brown details steps Oregon is taking to limit the spread of COVID-19 at a press conference in Portland on Thursday. piling a list. Even prep sports and outside school activities are being impacted. It’s a lot to take in. Is it an overreaction? Maybe. No one, not even the bravest of key- board warriors on social media, can say with any certainty. Officials appear to be acting with an abundance of caution and a desire to do the right thing. This is clearly uncharted territory. And although some national media outlets may have sensationalized develop- ments, many others are merely reporting the facts and doing their level best to pro- vide the best possible information. Count us in. While we can all shake our heads and have a good laugh about panic buying of toi- let paper, there is plenty of sobering news. The World Health Organization declared a“global pandemic” on Wednesday. That’s not a “hoax” or a partisan political conspiracy. It’s real. In Oregon, state health officials on Wednesday announced that six more people had tested positive for COVID- 19, including two residents at a veterans’ nursing home in Lebanon. As of midweek, Oregon had recorded a total of 21 presump- tive (meaning they tested positive in a state lab but haven’t been confirmed by the CDC) and confirmed cases. That number will have likely increased as this editorial was being penned — state health officials warned on Thursday morning that Oregon’s true num- ber was likely somewhere between 150 and 200 cases. Closer to home, Umatilla County’s first case of COVID-19 was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then a second presumptive case was identi- fied. We take solace in the words of Uma- tilla County Public Health Director Joe Fiu- mara, “For most people’s day-to-day life, the risk is still low.” Indeed, it is for the benefit of protecting the most vulnerable among us — the elderly and those already suffering from underlying health conditions — that these precautions are being taken. The disease has proven to be particularly deadly for this segment of society, in fact, many times more lethal than, say, influenza. Cancellation of events, restrictions on nurs- ing home visits and other “social distancing” methods not only prevent some people from getting the virus altogether, it also helps “flatten the curve” of the pandemic, keeping serious cases spread out over time. Health officials have stressed that when viruses are left unchecked, the number of serious cases spikes rapidly, overwhelming a coun- try’s ventilators, intensive care unit beds and other resources needed to keep critically ill patients alive. The more slowly numbers build, the more time medical providers have to prepare. Unfortunately, this particular coronavi- rus strain may just be getting started. It has only spread in the human population since December 2019. According to health offi- cials, many of us may become infected and suffer only moderate or mild symptoms, or exhibit no symptoms at all. But for others, it may be a death sentence. We wish it were not so, but here we are. The EO will con- tinue to provide readers with the most accu- rate and up-to-date information possible so that they can make informed decisions about their own behaviors and potential risks involved. Ultimately, we are all responsible for our own health and well-being. OTHER VIEWS Compassion in the time of coronavirus Editor’s note: Do you have a point you’d like to make or an issue you feel strongly about? Submit a letter to the editor or a guest column. ing out the same number of cases across a longer time horizon. That way, we will have fewer sick people at any given point, allowing health care systems and supply chains to itizens of democracies can provide precious resources, such as scarcely fathom the extreme, ventilators, beds for intensive-care but effective, social controls units and, of course, medical staff. China has imposed in response to But even in the midst of social the coronavirus outbreak. But now distancing, which is so unnatural to we are seeing variations on China’s our species, we humans have other large-scale quarantines and travel useful, innate capacities that the restrictions in Italy, Israel and else- virus will allow us to retain, even as where. Such measures we strive to reduce face-to- are certainly under con- face contact. And we can sideration in many other use these natural proclivi- ties as weapons, too. These countries. On Tuesday, innate capacities include New York Gov. Andrew our impulse to cooperate Cuomo deployed the and our ability to delib- state’s National Guard to erately teach each other establish a 1-mile con- tainment zone in New useful things (a defining Rochelle, a suburb of the trait of our species that is N icholas nation’s most populous exceedingly rare in the ani- c hristakis mal kingdom). city. COMMENT The complicated agenda A debate is raging in we face is that, in this time the United States about of a possible pandemic, just as we where to draw the line between are supposed to distance ourselves, individual freedoms and social we must also band together. Pan- responsibilities. demics are an especially demand- But just as the coronavirus’ spread has forced us to consider sup- ing test of our ability to cooperate pressing our democratic impulses, it because we are trying to protect not also calls on us to suppress our pro- just people we know but also people foundly human and evolutionarily we do not know (or even, possibly, hard-wired impulses for connection: care about). When we avoid meet- ings, decline to shake hands or pull seeing our friends, getting together our kids from school, we are show- in groups or touching each other. Even spouses in the same household ing compassion to innumerable face- are implausibly advised to stay phys- less other people, because we are ically distant if one of them is sick. interrupting possible chains of con- tagion that might pass through us, None of this comes naturally to whether we ourselves get sick or not. us, nor is it easy. In my case, since I We will also be called upon to have spent much of my professional career studying marriage, friendship help those among us who are most vulnerable and least appreciated — and social networks, and the health the elderly, the homeless, the chron- benefits they offer, I am finding it ironic to be strongly advising against ically ill, the institutionalized. And health care workers will be expected human contact — but that’s what to take personal risks of getting sick I’m doing. or even dying so they can care for We are being asked to do all this others. But again, when a disease is to protect the greater good. If we limit social contact, we can “flatten” spreading, helping others also helps the coronavirus epidemic by spread- ourselves, by helping to eradicate C YOUR VIEWS Love your children as much as you love your phone I was recently at a local cof- fee shop when a mother and her small child entered. Hav- ing worked in an early childhood program, I was looking forward to seeing them interact with each other. The mother put her child in a high chair and placed several toys on the tray. Then she began looking at her phone. Not once did she even glance at her child. Parents, children desperately need interaction with you. Do yourself and your child a favor by visiting www.circleofsecurityin- ternational.com. It provides won- derful information. I believe today’s young chil- dren are at risk and will pay the price for missing out on neces- sary, special, one-on-one time with parents. So, parents, love your children as much as you love your phone. Spend as much time with them as you do on your device. Darcia Throop La Grande CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES GOVERNOR Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court Street Salem, OR 97301-4047 503-378-4582 REPRESENTATIVES Greg Barreto, District 58 900 Court St. NE, H-38 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1458 Rep.GregBarreto@state.or.us Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. Greg Smith, District 57 900 Court St. NE, H-482 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1457 Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us SENATOR Bill Hansell, District 29 900 Court St. NE, S-423 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1729 Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. reservoirs of infection and stopping transmission. Our species’ evolved capac- ity for teaching can also help com- bat the virus. The openness and speed with which scientists, experts and officials around the world have shared information have been amaz- ing. Websites based on shared data are now being updated daily with genetic analyses or epidemiological information about the coronavirus. And in an effort reminiscent of con- verting factories to munitions pro- duction during World War II, many scientists (including those in my lab) have shifted from their usual work and are redirecting to efforts that might help with the coronavirus, and they are rapidly posting their discov- eries online before official publica- tion for all to see. The human desire to teach each other is further abetted by scientific journals — such as Nature, the New England Journal of Medicine and the Lancet — that are implement- ing special fast-track procedures to review and publish results about the coronavirus. The way the virus affects us and the way we are responding ironically illustrate another profound aspect of human evolution. Part of the rea- son humans are social in the first place is to learn from each other, to share knowledge. Indeed, the spread of germs is the price we have had to pay for the spread of ideas. In the time of a pandemic, it’s tempting to rely on baser instincts: fearmonger- ing, selfishness and the suppression of information. But it’s our innate goodness, in the form of cooperation and teaching, that will allow us to repel the invader. Evolution has set us up for epi- demics, but it has also endowed us with the tools to fight them. ——— Nicholas Christakis is a phy- sician and sociologist and is the author of “Blueprint: The Evolu- tionary Origins of a Good Society.” Send letters to the editor to editor@eastoregonian.com, or via mail to Andrew Cutler, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
