Ideas for Reopening U.S. Businesses, Etc., Closed Due to COVID-19

There’s much disagreement over when and how to reopen United States businesses, etc., that are closed due to COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). Below I offer some ideas for doing so.

Some Basics

While much remains unknown about COVID-19, many persons agree that maintaining social distancing of six feet or more and wearing cloth facial masks can help reduce the spread of the disease.

Also, most persons who die from the disease are eldejrly and/or suffer from underlying health conditions such as diabetes, some form of lung ailment, etc.

This indicates that many businesses and other activities could restart soon if they:

• keep employees and customers separated from one another by six feet or more,
• require facial masks to be worn by both workers and patrons,
• and persons who are senior citizens or suffer from underlying health conditions seek to stay home.

Current Precautions By Businesses That Remain Open

Many retail stores that are currently open (supermarkets, discount stores, etc.) during the pandemic are taking several precautions to reduce the likelihood of spreading COVID-19. These steps include:

• requiring employees (and in at least a few cases, customers) to wear facial masks,

• limiting the number of customers in their stores,

• seeking to maintain a minimum of six feet (I think at least ten feet is better.) between customers even in checkout lines by marking distances in tape on the floor,

•  and installing sneeze guards at register areas to reduce contact between cashiers and customers.

These steps seem effective in reducing the spread of the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website [1] provides similar and additional information about COVID-19 and how to reduce its spread, including encouraging persons to seek to wash hands frequently, avoid touching one’s face, and to maintain social distancing of at least six feet, as well as staying at home when reasonably possible, especially if you are age 65 or older or have an underlying health problem.

We Need a Balanced Perspective

Total isolation at home might be the most effective way to stop the spread of the disease. But persons need food, medicine, etc. Furthermore, some must work at healthcare facilities, groceries, warehouses, etc., to provide necessary services.

And shutting down a large percentage of businesses for a long period would be enormously expensive. A cost-effective balance needs to be found that provides a reasonable amount of safety while not driving the federal, state, and local governments, or large numbers of businesses and individuals into bankruptcy.

What Is a Balanced Perspective?

Current indications are that deaths and new cases of COVID-19 in the United States are at or near a peak, about to start declining. This may offer a good opportunity to gradually reopen businesses.

Businesses that can provide the same safety measures mentioned earlier in this article regarding businesses currently open can I think reopen, subject to possibly closing again if a surge in cases occurs.

I think reopening most businesses is a risk worth taking. What is the huge difference between a person buying clothes, shoes, etc., at a huge discount store while there to buy their groceries and the same person shopping at a clothing or shoe store?

If hair salon owners and customers wear masks and persons are required to set up appointments in advance (so there is no one in a waiting room), allowing them to reopen seems reasonable.

Restaurants that can provide for tables to be several feet apart, thus allowing persons to maintain social distances, could also reopen for inside dining, as I see it. Since persons may sit at a restaurant table for an hour or more, I think social distancing of at least ten feet is preferable to six feet and good ventilation is important too.

Yes, as long as they can adhere to reasonable guidelines (which I think I outlined above), I think many, if not most, businesses can reopen relatively soon.

Team Sports, Including Spectator Sports

Team sports are not a necessity (though I am a big college basketball fan). And such sports present major social distancing problems.

It is virtually impossible for football players or basketball players to maintain social distances while playing their sport. Therefore, I oppose restarting those in the near future.

Baseball is less of a problem. The fielding team is spread out across the large field or stadium. The batting team only has one player at the plate at a time. And if fans are only allowed in perhaps 1/3 of the seats in each row and only 1/3 of the rows, thus seating perhaps 1/9 of the normal capacity, perhaps a crowd of 5,000 could watch a game in a stadium that normally seats 45,000 as long as they maintain spacing entering and leaving the stadium, while using restrooms and concession stands, etc.

But even with baseball, there is some brief contact between players while running the bases, being tagged out, etc. However, while I think it would be better to hold off on all team sports, I think baseball could perhaps start a season in late May, subject to the restriction that it be cancelled if significant problems develop.

If baseball (and similar sports) goes well and cases of COVID-19 continue declining, maybe football and basketball could be played later. But we need to beware of a possible resurgence of the disease worse than the initial outbreak. I suspect college football and college basketball may not be played this upcoming season due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in the winter. Ditto for professional sports.

Public Schools 

If things go well this summer, I think schools may be able to reopen for the fall, which remains months away. But, they need to be prepared to close quickly and return to online instruction if COVID-19 cases surge. 

A Resurgence in Fall or Winter

The horrible 1918-19 flue pandemic caused more problems in its second and third waves in fall 1918 and winter of 1918-19 that it did in its spring 1918 outbreak. And some form of flu (which is a type of coronavirus) returns each year.

Experts don’t know yet if COVID-19 will do the same. But many believe it will return this fall and winter, worse than it is now. It may be necessary to maintain social distancing, use of facial masks, and other safety precautions for a year or more.

Good news is that as the production of protective facial masks, expansion of medical facilities, development of treatment methods, and work on a vaccine progress, we may be better prepared for a fall and winter outbreak than we were for the initial one, assuming we don’t let our guard down. A key is to seek to be prepared for a resurgence as we reopen businesses, etc.

Closing Thoughts

The fact that a large percentage of persons who get COVID-19 seem to be asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms is good news. A Reuters article [2] reported that “96% of 3,277 inmates who tested positve for the coronavirus were asymptomatic,” in four U.S. “state prison systems.” Such high percentages of asymptomatic cases haven’t been found in other situations, so perhaps something about the prison system contributes to this, but it is agreed that a large number of persons with the disease are asymptomatic. 

And though at least some of the virus may remain in the air for minutes or longer and on surfaces for hours or days, indications are that prolonged contact with infected persons is the primary method of spread. Maintaining social distancing and wearing masks can help.

Allowing more businesses to reopen with safety guidelines in place is a reasonable middle road, as I see it. We don’t want a total reopening without any safety measures.

But we don’t want so many problems from closed-down businesses that more persons die from suicide than from COVID-19. A March 29 Tennessee Star article [3] reported more suicides in one Tennessee county in a week than deaths in the entire state from COVID-19. While I don’t know the cause of the suicides, I am confident that concerns about unemployment, the economy, etc., take their toll on persons’ mental health.

Let’s seek to take reasonable safety precautions and seek to keep our sanity. I optimistically feel things are going to work out well in the end thanks to God and to the medical professionals, researchers, and safety precautions by businesses and individuals that are under God’s guidance.

ENDNOTES:

1 “Coronavirus Disease 2019”;  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; webpage accessed April 26, 2020; https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

2 Linda So, Grant Smith; “In four U.S. state prisons, nearly 3,300 inmates test positive for corona virus -- 96% without symptoms”; Reuters; April 25, 2020, updated April 26, 2020; webpage accessed April 26, 2020; https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-prisons-testing-in-idUSKCN2270RX

3 Anthony Gockowski; “More Peole Died of Suicide Than Coronavirus in Tennesseee Last Week”; The Tennessee Star; March 29, 2020; webpage accessed April 26, 2020; https://tennesseestar.com/2020/03/29/more-people-died-of-suicide-than-coronavirus-in-tennessee-last-week/

DISCLOSURE:

The author works part-time at a retail store. The store he works at remains open. Among other things, it sells a lot of groceries, cleaning supplies, and toilet paper.

NOTE:

This article being submitted to Google Blogger on April 26, 2020 is virtually identical to one posted earlier the same day on Craft News Report, a website operated by his friend Paul Craft.

What's in the News Besides COVID-19?--Many Things

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has dominated news coverage the last month on television, radio, and the Internet. But much other news is worth coverage too:

The Presidential Campaign

Perhaps the top news story in the U.S. other than COVID-19 is the Presidential election campaign between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Locusts in Africa

A huge plague of locusts that may be “20 times worse than” the one a couple of months ago that generated news headlines for days threatens the eastern part of Africa according to a Guardian article [1] and other sources.

Wars

Numerous wars continue around the world. WarsintheWorld [2] provides a lengthy “List of ongoing Conflicts” on its website. In normal times, the numerous conflicts would garner much more news coverage.

Global Warming

A recent USA Today [3] article cites scientists as stating “that 2020 has nearly a 75% chance of being the warmest year on record for” Earth. Perhaps the key words are “on record,” since before recorded history Earth was typically much warmer than it is now. However, if not for COVID-19 coverage, these scientists’ statement would have garnered much more news coverage.

Federal Budget Deficit

Even among conservatives, few persons are complaining about the federal budget deficit now. But it is going to be huge.

In an April 13th article, The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget [4] projected a budget deficit of “more than $3.8 trillion (18.7 percent of GDP) this year.” It appears that our federal budget deficit this year will be the worst since the World War II period of the 1940s, when considered in relation to the size of the economy.

Other News

Numerous other news stories have occurred in recent months that would have garnered much more attention if not for COVID-19. These include weather-related phenomena such as drought, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, etc. They also include more allegations of sexual abuses. And lots of other stories are out there too, probably including many that I’ve never heard or read about.

COVID-19 Is Only One Cause of Death

Finally, despite the news headlines COVID-19 deaths attract, the majority of the persons who die each day in the United States die from something else (heart disease, cancer, stroke, accidents, suicide, etc.).

We pay relatively little attention to most deaths, which occur due to what I guess could be called the typical causes. Furthermore, even persons who die partially due to COVID-19 typically have other contributing factors such as age, diabetes, lung disease of some type, etc.

Still, COVID-19 may be the leading single contributing cause of death in the United States this week. Last week, April 6th-12, COVID-19 may have been a close #2 behind heart disease according to a Washington Post analysis [5] of data. Furthermore, there may be many who die of causes related to COVID-19 who were never tested, thus don’t have COVID-19 listed as a cause of death.

But, while accurate data may be virtually impossible to obtain, Statista.com’s analysis [6] of some available data indicates the death rate per capita from COVID-19 in the United States is 9th among 134 countries whose data they analyzed. Most countries seem to have far fewer deaths per capita from COVID-19. Let’s not get so obsessed with one cause of death that we neglect all the others.

ENDNOTES:

1 Samuel Okiror; “Second wave of locusts in east Africa said to be 20 times worse”; The Guardian; April 13th, 2020; webpage accessed April 19, 2020; https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/apr/13/second-wave-of-locusts-in-east-africa-said-to-be-20-times-worse 

2 “List of ongoing Conflicts”; WarsintheWorld; updated April 11, 2020; webpage accessed April 19, 2020; https://www.warsintheworld.com/?page=static1258254223

3 Doyle Rice; “2020 expected to be Earth’s warmest year on record, scientists say”; USA Today; April 16, 2020; webpage accessed April 19th, 2020; https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/04/16/global-warming-2020-expected-warmest-year-record-noaa-said/5144767002/

4 “New Projections: Debt Will Exceed the Size of the Economy This Year”; CRFB.org; April 13th, 2020; webpage accessed April 19th, 2020; http://www.crfb.org/blogs/new-projections-debt-will-exceed-size-economy-year

5 Dan Keating and Chiqui Esteban; “Covid-19 is rapidly becoming America’s leading cause of death”; Washington Post; April 16th, 2020; webpage accessed April 19th, 2020; https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/04/16/coronavirus-leading-cause-death/?arc404=true 

6 Raynor de Best; “COVID-19 deaths worldwide per one million population as of April 19, 2020, by country”; Statista; April 19th, 2020; webpage accessed April 19th, 2020; https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-milliion-inhabitants/

NOTE:

This article being submitted to Google Blogger on April 19th, 2020 is virtually identical to one the author submitted earlier the same day to Craft News Report, a website operated by his friend Paul Craft.

Easter Has Not Been Cancelled in 2020

Some of my friends seem especially sad, even depressed, about missing Easter church services today, April 12th, 2020, Easter Sunday. Most in-person church services have been cancelled here in the United States due to COVID-19, the novel coronavirus outbreak.

But, folks, Easter has not been cancelled. God is alive! And God is in control!

In fact, alternatives to in-person church services have been offered.  Many church services have been converted into online, television, or radio worship services. At least a few churches have even held drive-up church services where persons stay in their cars with the cars parked at least six feet apart and the sermon message broadcast via a radio station, etc.

Still, many people seem disheartened at missing their churches’ special Easter services. I understand at least partially. Easter Sunday often features special Easter programs, special music, and perhaps the highest attendance of any church service all year.

Persons often invest in new clothing for Easter Sunday. Parents, grandparents, and other relatives thrill at the sight of young children singing and playing roles in reenactments of Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.   

But although most church pews are empty this Easter Sunday, God is still there, here, and everywhere. Furthermore, as many have shared in Facebook posts attributed to various sources, churches aren’t the only thing empty on Easter Sunday. Jesus’ tomb was empty on Easter Sunday too.

The Easter story that has been around for over 2,000 years is alive and well this year. The Easter story is preserved in all four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Easter still exists.

We can worship God, pray, read our Bibles, sing, listen to a worship service on the radio, watch one online, or watch one on television. God is alive! Yes, GOD IS ALIVE!

Furthermore, our living God, the one and only God, desires us to be real, authentic, true Christians. And true Christians don’t have to sit in a pew on Easter Sunday.

What Is True Christianity?

True Christianity includes doing loving service for others.

It includes fellowshipping with others in some way. And that fellowship can include a conversation with a neighbor outdoors from 25 feet away.

It includes evangelism. And that doesn’t have to be door-to-door witnessing. It can just be witnessing to others by answering their questions when they ask the reasons for our joy in a phone conversation or on FaceTime or on Zoom.

True Christianity includes teamwork. Christian service isn’t something just for preachers and deacons. All Christians are called to serve. We are all part of a team. We can phone neighbors or relatives to check on them, take food to someone needy and leave it on their doorstep to keep social distancing, etc.

True Christianity includes rest. We need a balanced life. We don’t want to burn ourselves out. This COVID-19 pandemic may be a blessing in the sense that it is reducing multitasking and slowing down many hectic lifestyles.

True Christians are those who seek to obey the highest righteous authority, God, by seeking to do what is best, showing love to others and themselves. We will never attain perfection in our human lives. But we can strive toward it and experience the blessings that come from doing so.

Closing Thoughts

As long as there are persons actively seeking to be true Christians, serving God and others as well as themselves, Christianity is alive and well. And, yes, Easter still exists.

Wherever you are, seek to worship God in some way. Enjoy God’s blessings! Happy Easter everyone!

NOTE:

This article is being submitted to Google Blogger on April 12th, 2020.

Should Governments Order Church Services Cancelled Due to COVID-19?

Should the government be allowed to close churches?

I am writing this on Palm Sunday (April 5th, 2020). Almost all churches here in Kentucky either cancelled services today or are holding them via Internet, television, and/or radio due to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s orders to avoid public assemblies due to COVID-19. Similar policies have been enacted in many other areas in the United States and other parts of the world.

Perhaps you saw the news headlines last week reporting the arrest last Monday of Tampa, Florida megachurch pastor Rodney Howard-Browne. He held church services Sunday, March 29th, 2020 despite government orders not to.

Are the government closure orders appropriate?  

Past Precedents

Let’s look at past precedents.

The Bill of Rights is often touted as guaranteeing persons in the United States freedom of religion, including the right to assemble together for church services.

However, that freedom of religion has limitations. The United States Supreme Court over 100 years ago ruled that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could not practice polygamy as part of their religious beliefs.

Laws also exist to prohibit snake-handling by church members in churches. These parishioners take Mark 16:18 as their inspiration for the practice.

Furthermore, during the 1918-19 flu pandemic in the United States, church services (and other public assemblies) were prohibited to reduce the spread of the disease. The Courier-Journal reported* the arrest of a pastor on January 26, 1919 for holding services illegally.  

The current COVID-19 pandemic has parallels to the one in 1918-19. Indeed, there have already been cases of COVID-19 being spread via church gatherings.

Current Situation

Cancelling church services now in the COVID-19 pandemic is in theory at least less of a hassle to church members than the cancellations in the 1918-19 flu pandemic. During the 1918-19 period there were no Internet websites, no television stations, and no radio stations to broadcast services.

We now have worship services broadcast online, including many live via Facebook and via the websites of individual churches. We also have television and radio which broadcast many services. Persons can even participate in virtual services in some cases.

Furthermore, persons can pray, meditate, sing, read their Bibles and worship God in other ways at home or wherever they are.

My View

I don’t doubt the sincerity of the faith of many who desire to worship. Indeed, a devout Christian whom I went to school with years ago stated on Facebook that she attends the church in Tampa, Florida whose pastor was arrested last week. 

I know God can protect persons who assemble together. Indeed, I even think the Florida pastor may have been less likely to catch COVID-19 in his church than in jail assuming as he claimed [https://lc.org/newsroom/details/040220-statement-of-dr-rodney-howardbrowne-1] that social distancing was practiced. However, it’s hard for me to believe that in a church with a large number of persons present that social distancing was practiced effectively.

Even if it was, such an assembly seems to be a risk not worth taking. I recall the gospel passage where Satan urged Jesus to jump from the top of the temple because God would protect him, Jesus replied that it was wrong to test God. I agree.

I urge Christians to seek to maintain social distances. Still, seek to check on your neighbors and relatives. Seek to donate to charities like food banks if you can.

Pray for God’s perfect will for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of COVID-19. And to make things easier for hospital staff and others in the public, seek to avoid unnecessary travel and unnecessary public gatherings to help reduce the spread of the disease.

I actually think the case for restricting religious practices now is stronger than in the situations mentioned earlier from years ago regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), snake-handling churches, and the churches ordered closed during the 1918-19 pandemic.

Why? The actions of the Mormons primarily endangered only their members. The actions of the snake-handlers primarily only endangered those in such churches. Parishioners in 1918-19 had little other recourse to hear a sermon message than attendance in person.

In contrast, church members today have alternatives for worship and contact, as mentioned earlier. Furthermore, thanks to the advance of widespread rapid transportation, church members who assemble now can drive automobiles many miles quickly to spread the disease to other towns and cities. And there are indications that approximately 50% of those with COVID-19 have no symptoms and may be spreading it unknowingly.

Perhaps most important, the government is not singling out churches to stop freedom of religion. The government is prohibiting most public assemblies, and is only doing so temporarily to prevent the spread of a contagious disease.

The government’s actions are reasonable, beneficial, and done with the right motive. I strongly support the actions.

ENDNOTE:

* Jon Hale; “One pastor was so outraged by church ban during Spanish flu that he went to jail”; Courier-Journal.com; March 20, 2020; webpage accessed April 5, 2020; https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/03/20/coronavirus-pastor-arrested-holding-church-during-spanish-flu/2874182001/

NOTE:

This article being submitted to Google Blogger on April 5, 2020 is virtually identical to one the author submitted to Craft News Report, an article operated by his friend Paul Craft, earlier the same day.