Mar 19, 2020 5 min read

Dear Washington County, don’t do what we did. By “we,” I mean my current residence of Montgomery County, Maryland. As a Washington County native, I’ve been watching the spread of COVID-19 into Western Pennsylvania. Maryland was hit several weeks ago but has only just now taken serious measures to curb the virus. Washington County still has time to swiftly control the disease’s spread and save lives.

Since the first three cases of COVID-19 were announced in Montgomery County, Maryland, on March 5, the number of cases in the state has climbed to at least 60, as of March 17, almost doubling overnight between this Monday and Tuesday. Despite this exponential climb and with 18 cases in nearby Washington, D.C., Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan did not shut down all nonessential business until March 16. Before then, despite the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) warnings about social distancing, I received frequent, cheerful emails from local businesses reassuring me they were still open and events would continue as planned. Crowded concert halls, bars and restaurants were packed with patrons, and grocery stores and pharmacies were more busy than usual as shoppers hoarded toilet paper, nonperishables and medicine.

I found myself growing uneasy when I learned a coworker’s partner may have been exposed to the virus, though I was fortunate that my employer implemented remote work soon after. (Testing later revealed, to my relief, that my coworker had not been exposed.) The news and government were telling us to practice good hygiene and self-quarantine to slow the virus’ spread. The larger community around us, however, behaved as though nothing dangerous was happening until Maryland’s governor mandated closures. Workplaces that had insisted employees report in person, despite health concerns, suddenly found the means to implement teleworking, event spaces that refused to issue refunds suddenly canceled and gave customers’ money back, schools across the state shut down and people finally began taking the CDC’s guidance seriously.

Unfortunately, Maryland’s actions to halt the spread of the virus may be too little too late. As scientists learn more about COVID-19, they are discovering that people with only mild symptoms or even no symptoms at all may be unknowingly infecting others and that symptoms may not appear for several days or even weeks. Additionally, the shortage of tests for the virus leaves many communities unprepared to understand the full scale of COVID-19. Two Montgomery County, Maryland, residents who later tested positive for COVID-19 attended an event at a nursing home shortly before they experienced symptoms, but who knows how many other people in the county have been going about their daily lives, unknowingly risking the health and safety of their elderly or immunocompromised or otherwise at-risk friends and relatives? My hope is that Hogan’s shutdown will be enough to prevent Maryland from becoming like Seattle, where 50 people have died as of March 17 and hospitals are so overwhelmed that health-care workers are running out of protective gear and getting sick themselves.

As I watched the COVID-19 cases climb in Maryland, I kept an eye on news from my home state, and I was relieved to read that Washington County, Pennsylvania, at least, still seemed clear. I took comfort in believing my friends and family in Western Pennsylvania, some of whom are in the demographics most likely to suffer and even die from COVID-19, seemed safe. Now that the pandemic has hit my hometown, however, I offer some words of caution: You still have time to slow the infection’s spread.

With only two known cases in Washington County, two in nearby Beaver County and the case numbers in Allegheny County climbing to 12, as of March 18, Western Pennsylvania still has time to act before going the way of Montgomery County, Maryland, or even Seattle. The county commissioners have declared a state of emergency, which is an important step in slowing the virus’ spread, but there is more that can be done. Local businesses should comply with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown directive. Employers should institute remote work, especially for vulnerable employees, and offer paid sick leave to affected workers. County residents should remain home and remember that caution and vigilance do not need to mean panic.

These changes will disrupt individual lives and the local economy in the short term, but in the long term, the health and safety of everyone in the county will benefit the local economy much more than sickness, death and an overwhelmed health-care system. Local and state governments can take steps to mitigate some of the worst economic effects for their citizens. For instance, Montgomery County, Maryland, has halted evictions for 15 days during this crisis, and Pennsylvania may want to consider similar measures.

While COVID-19 has been dismissed as just like the flu, unlike the flu, scientists have not yet discovered reliable treatments for it. Also unlike the flu, we the human species have not yet developed any immunity to it. When the virus appears in a community, it hits hard and fast and can threaten to overwhelm hospital resources beyond what they need to provide necessary care to everyone. While COVID-19 infects the globe, a collective mindset within local communities and a sense of care toward each other is a strong defense against the virus. Right now, the next victim could be your grandfather, your aunt, your mother, your best friend or even you. Do you really want to put your loved ones and yourself at risk? Staying home, practicing good hygiene, buying only what essentials your family needs and following the CDC’s guidance benefits not just you as an individual but your county as a whole.

In my current home in Maryland, I’ve seen the damage dismissing COVID-19 can do. I would hate to see similar harm happen in my hometown of Washington.

Merrill C. Miller is a nonprofit writer and editor in the Washington, D.C., metro area and a former Peters Township resident.