Gov. Mike Dunleavy said we don’t need a “hammer” to deal with COVID-19 here in Alaska, saying that he won’t mandate mask usage or other measures to slow the spread of the virus.But hammers come in different weights for different tasks. The biggest sledgehammers, which can be 8 pounds or more, pack a wallop. Regular framing hammers, approximately 1-3 pounds, are for smaller, everyday jobs. From what I have read, Alaska doesn’t need a sledgehammer, but if our governor chose a smaller, framing-weight “hammer,” we could slow down the increase in cases now.
According to information in the ADN this week, cases are spiking in Anchorage and way up in Fairbanks, contact tracing is overwhelmed, and the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association said the state's hospital capacity could be threatened with the present increasing rates of infection. Check the graph of COVID-19cases involving residents; it's going up, up, up.
If our state had a small-sized “hammer” now, this could make a huge difference in what we face: We could keep things under control and manage well enough until there is a vaccine. Measures, such as mandating masks in public and distancing, could help bring the rates of infection down so it would be easier to open schools, get the economy back on track and return us all to a more normal life.
But if we continue the way we are and health care workers become overwhelmed and hospitals fill up, it will be too late for even a “sledgehammer” to help us.
L.L. Raymond
Homer
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