OK to be angry about Pierce County slipping to Phase 2. It’s part of grief process
People all over the 253 area code have reason to feel twinges of a mini-grieving process today. It’s a natural response to Monday’s news from Gov. Jay Inslee that Pierce County is one of three counties — along with Cowlitz and Whitman — that he’s rolling back to Phase 2 COVID-19 restrictions.
The announcement is demoralizing for all of us burdened by pandemic fatigue. It’s crushing for businesses that can ill afford being whipsawed between 25 and 50 percent capacity. But ultimately we must push through and remember that public enemy No. 1 is a virus.
The reaction might vaguely resemble the five stages of grief made famous by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.
Stage 1: Denial
Inslee warned last week that a handful of counties were on the verge of falling from Phase 3. Pierce leaders knew our numbers were trending at or above the line in both of the decisive metrics: fewer than 200 new cases per 100,000 population over two weeks, and fewer than 5 hospitalizations per 100,000 over one week.
And yet Monday’s announcement still hit like a ton of bricks. There might even be denial that we’ve been backsliding. It’s tempting to think: Our case rate (268) isn’t nearly as bad as Cowlitz County (332). Or Lewis County has a worse hospital rate (8.7) than ours (6.4) and they didn’t get rolled back.
But a denial mindset can minimize all the work still ahead to beat this virus. It also ignores that we missed the mark, even with the wiggle room the governor provided Friday; he said counties had to meet only one metric to stay in Phase 3, not both.
Local officials are also hung up on a recent shortage of vaccine allocated to Pierce County, the result of what state health officials call a “technical glitch.” But this denies that many providers have more vaccine than arms to inject it into — at least for now. We’ll see what impact the statewide pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine has.
Stage 2: Anger
Local officials used a variety of words Monday: Discouraged, disappointed, frustrated. Peel away the veneer and you’ll find anger, a completely normal reaction.
“You can understand why people are frustrated,” Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier told us. “The challenge here is that the metrics as being applied have the unintended consequence of not meeting reality on the ground. We are well positioned to provide the people of Pierce County the maximum protection possible.”
Also frustrating is that some less-emphasized Pierce County COVID metrics tell a positive story. Our 14-day death rate, for example, has recently hit its lowest point since late July.
It might not quite be anger, but we felt our hackles rise at Inslee’s Thursday press conference when he deflected accountability for the difficult decisions ahead. Coronavirus is in charge, he said, and “I’m like the scorer at the referee’s table.”
Come on, governor. You’ve owned your decisions in the past, correctly comparing the management of COVID to adjusting dials rather than flipping a switch.
Inslee also should’ve been out front Monday. Rather than issuing a press release, why not go on camera to share the hard news and offer reassuring words to the affected counties?
Stage 3: Bargaining and rationalization
If our case numbers really start to skyrocket, we won’t protest returning to Phase 2.
If we were still grouped with King and Snohomish counties for determining COVID phases, like we were last winter, we’d be home free.
“Ifs,” “buts” and other conditional scenarios are a dangerous game, and may very well lead to ...
Stage 4: Depression
A US Census Bureau survey in December found more than 42 percent of respondents reported symptoms of anxiety or depression. And that was before we faced a second year of COVID life, the arrival of highly infectious variants, and more on-again, off-again restrictions like what the 253 is enduring this week.
“People are exhausted,” Dammeier told us. He worries reverting to Phase 2 won’t lead to more diligence in following precautions. “I’m concerned it may have the opposite effect, that people who have worked hard to do the right things finally say, ’just forget it.’
“I certainly hope that’s not the case,” he added.
We do, too. Hope is not enough, however, which brings us to ...
Stage 5: Acceptance
Inslee made his decision, in reasonable alignment with available data. He will feel immense pressure to examine new information and reevaluate the rollback. We trust he will — ahead of his three-week timetable, if the situation warrants.
Responding to a pandemic isn’t black and white. Governors don’t have the luxury of one-time, flip-switching decisions. With the benefit of hindsight, public health experts may someday determine that Inslee adjusted some dials more than necessary.
The people of Pierce County must now redouble efforts to control what we can control. Support local businesses with renewed vigor. Wear face coverings, continue social-distancing habits, avoid unnecessary large gatherings and sign up to be vaccinated as soon as eligible.
And focus our grief where it belongs: on the 520 Pierce County lives lost to COVID-19, and the ones yet to come.
News Tribune editorials reflect the views of our Editorial Board and are written by opinion editor Matt Misterek. Other board members are: Stephanie Pedersen, News Tribune president and editor; Matt Driscoll, local columnist; and Jim Walton, community representative. The Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom and does not influence the work of news reporting and editing staffs. For questions about the board or our editorials, email matt.misterek@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 5:30 AM.