MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Here we are at the beginning of another holiday weekend. The third one in the COVID-19 era, the others being Easter weekend and Mother’s Day. As Memphis and Shelby County continue moving toward greater reopening of the economy, along with more personal movement, it is important not to become complacent about the coronavirus.
The Memorial Day weekend is always the first big holiday of the year for outside activities – including cookouts and picnics. But this pandemic has proven to be a killer. And medical experts agree that the rate of infections have been slowed only because people stayed home, practiced social distancing when they were out, and started wearing masks. Most, if not all, of those things must be maintained throughout this weekend. If you’re throwing a cookout, the crowd should be limited. And social distancing and facial coverings should be in force.
Local health department officials believe the slight uptick in cases over the last couple of days could be linked to gatherings during Mother’s Day weekend nearly two weeks ago. It would be disastrous if two weeks from now, we see another even higher increase in cases – because people decided to throw caution to the wind – and join a large Memorial Day gathering.
I clearly understand the need to revive our crippled economy. But we must continue taking precautions to protect ourselves and others. So, have a happy – and safe Memorial Day. And that’s my point of view.
