Celebrate progress made, but don’t throw it away for short-term gain

Thursday, March 4, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Whether it was seeing little kids heading into school buildings or watching 2,500 fans cheer for the Vegas Golden Knights, Monday was a special day in Las Vegas.

After a year of isolation, scenes that looked somewhat like normalcy were playing out before our eyes.

For that, credit goes to the thousands of front-line health care providers, public health officials, government leaders, volunteers and others who have worked over these past 12 months to limit the spread of COVID-19 and vaccinate Southern Nevadans.

With a light now appearing at the end of the tunnel, we thank them for their above-and-beyond efforts. Nevada’s caseload and death rate from the disease have fallen off significantly in recent weeks, which comes as an enormous relief after the alarming third spike in infections during the holidays.

But as impatient as we might be to get beyond social distancing, mask wearing and crowd restrictions, it’s critical to keep moving forward with caution.

That’s the sound advice from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who noted with alarm Friday that national declines in infections and deaths had stalled after consistently dropping since January.

Walensky observed that the third spike may be leveling off at a relatively high rate of new infections, which is worrisome. The trending could signal the spread of new variants of the disease.

“We may be done with the virus, but clearly the virus is not done with us,” she said.

That, sad to say, is well-put.

The good news is that since Walensky sounded the warning, which was based on three straight days of increases in new infections nationwide, the numbers have dropped again. Meanwhile, vaccine shipments have ramped up to the point where more than 50 million Americans, or about 20% of the population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

However, that recent uptick in infections is definitely cause for concern, and offers a reminder that the rollout of vaccinations doesn’t mean the pandemic is over.

In Las Vegas, it’s critical to watch the numbers closely and not move too quickly to reopen. As a prime travel destination, we’re more vulnerable than many other communities to another spike in COVID-19 and to the spread of the variants.

Thus far, the recent steps we’ve taken toward reopening have proven to be prudent. Those included increasing capacity for most indoor business establishments to 35% from 25% as of mid-February, and allowing up to 2,500 attendees at large gatherings. In addition, the Clark County School District rolled out its plan for phased-in return to in-school instruction, which began Monday with prekindergarten through third-grade students going back to the classroom.

Under Gov. Steve Sisolak’s current reopening plan, another easing of restrictions will occur March 15 when conventions and trade shows will be allowed to resume with a 1,000-person attendance cap, and most indoor businesses will be allowed to bump up to 50% capacity.

Other cities and states, unfortunately, have taken much more reckless steps amid the recent downturn in infections. Texas and Iowa, for instance, dropped their statewide mask requirements and lifted limits on capacity at bars and restaurants, while Montana also did away with capacity limits for casinos and other businesses. Michigan, Mississippi and Louisiana were among other states that eased restrictions on businesses as well.

Such moves worry public health administrators like Walensky, and with good reason.

“I remain deeply concerned about a potential shift in the trajectory of the pandemic,” she said. “We stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground that we have gained.”

Las Vegas should stay on our current course. It’s critical not to let the short-term benefits of reopening win out over the long-term benefits of protecting ourselves and our guests from the spread of the disease. Yes, we’re hurting economically more than most areas, with an unemployment rate surpassed only by Hawaii’s. But the better we keep the virus under control, the quicker we’ll get through the crisis and the healthier we’ll be on the other end.