Calm down and party on? No. Wichitans should work together by staying apart

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday banned all gatherings larger than 50 people — a restriction aimed at curbing the spread of the new coronavirus — but she stopped short of closing bars and restaurants as some cities have done.

“Thankfully,” the governor said, many businesses and organizations across the state have taken “difficult but necessary precautions in a proactive manner.”

Unfortunately, many have not — and that’s a problem that may require swift and more forceful government action.

In the Wichita area, at least a handful of bars and other venues gleefully continued with plans for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and other gatherings, making minor adjustments but imploring customers to calm down and party on.

Meet up with friends, goes the message. Relax. Have a drink. It’s not that bad.

But it is bad — or it will be if we don’t take this seriously.

Horrifying accounts from hospitals in Italy, the European epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, show infections and death totals soaring by the day, even after extreme measures that locked down most of that country.

U.S. officials warn that America is on a similar path. On Tuesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, responding to guidance from the White House, updated its guidelines for public gatherings, saying that during the next two weeks, all events of 10 or more people should be canceled or held virtually.

All events. Everywhere. Not just in Washington, California and New York, where COVID-19 cases already are stretching health care systems thin.

As of Wednesday, Kansas had 21 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Wesley Medical Center in Wichita treated a 72-year-old Butler County man before releasing him to self-quarantine at home.

Sedgwick County Health Director Adrienne Byrne said the state’s 50-person rule for gatherings should remain in place unless the virus spreads more widely in our area.

“The hope is that people will make good choices for the community — for the health of the community and to protect those most vulnerable,” Byrne said.

The goal is to “flatten the curve” — severely limiting public gatherings to slow the spread of the virus and allow hospitals more time to prepare.

So far in Wichita, many businesses, theaters, health clubs and attractions have closed, restaurants have switched to carry-out meals, hospitals have postponed non-urgent procedures, and churches have canceled worship services. Schools are shuttered for the remainder of the school year.

The economic and social impact will be devastating, no doubt, and it’s crucial that we help local business weather this crisis.

But we have to get serious about limiting non-essential gatherings — public and even semi-private ones — so tighter restrictions from elected leaders may be necessary.

We have to work together by staying apart.

This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 5:17 PM.