Republican states across the South and Southwest are reversing the nation's pandemic recovery, setting new record after new record for COVID-19. And that’s not all: More young people are testing positive in those states as they apparently decide everything’s fine, and it’s safe to go out drinking with their friends.
In Texas, where one county has seen less than 7% social distancing according to cellphone data, the state has closed 12 bars for violations of reopening protocols. A public health official in Mississippi called social distancing practices “overwhelmingly disappointing”—and no wonder. The state is seeing a surge of cases linked to fraternity parties.
“We're also seeing that not only are [young people] testing positive because they're testing more, they're also testing positive at a higher rate increasingly over the last week,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, though he tried to downplay the risks by saying the “vast majority” of cases are asymptomatic, which means they don’t have “huge clinical consequences.”
But the largest hospital in Georgia is reporting an increase in patients in their 20s and 30s, which suggests that “huge clinical consequences” can also be attached to the coronavirus spreading among younger people, even if many are asymptomatic. The thing about that is, an asymptomatic person can spread it to a bunch of people who could get very sick, so you can’t exactly just shrug it off. Though DeSantis is trying.
The South’s coronavirus numbers are looking like a disaster is approaching. Seeing the virus shift to young people who are out and about—fraternity parties! Bars! Memorial Day parties!—may mean a lower proportion of people who test positive will be hospitalized or die, but it’s very bad news for the spread of the disease. Day after day, Florida is reporting record numbers of positive tests (and it’s not just the result of increased testing). South Carolina set a single-day record on Saturday with 1,157 new cases. Mississippi, home of those fraternity parties, has seen its highest number of hospitalizations since April.
These Republican governors continue to have a choice between public health and allegiance to Donald Trump. They keep choosing Trump.