OUR VIEW: Don't lose sight of Covid wave that is upon us

Another presidential election cycle has come and gone. We'd like to bask in the glow of public engagement we witnessed in the past few months as nearly three out of four people of voting age in Carlton County filled out ballots. In Minnesota, we take pride in high voter-turnout and 2020 was no exception. We should celebrate that.

But we can't bask right now.

We'd like to acknowledge the extraordinary effort by election officials and volunteers during a trying cycle to make the election safe and efficient. They never get enough credit.

We'd like to praise them in many more words, but right now, we can't.

Obversely, we'd like to see the passion at the polls spread into every crevice of county life by having more people choose public service. We thank those who continue to serve, and those who put their name on a ballot, but there were far too many uncontested races this fall at the city, township, school and county level.

Presidential races bring out the voters, but presidents don't set property tax levels. They don't fix roads. They don't solve school budget crunches. People serving on the local level have the most impact on our daily life. If you care, take part.

We'd like to point out the myriad ways people can serve and make sure we have the at-home democracy we demand. But right now, we can't.

There's an apolitical elephant in the room, wearing a sash, that we can't ignore right now. It's been pacing back and forth at times, raising a ruckus. For too long now, it's been silent, in a corner, ignored.

But it's there. And it isn't going away, no matter the distractions set in our brains.

That sash reads "Covid-19."

It is here. It is real. It is deadly.

The pace of community spread in Minnesota is the highest it's ever been, and if the pace continues, one out of three people will acquire the virus, and some won't recover.

If we can't get a handle on it, it will permanently alter life as we know it in the county, state, country and world.

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, was appointed this week to President-elect Joe Biden's Transition Covid-19 advisory board. Osterholm had stark words this week for those thinking we've gained any kind of edge over a virus we have lived with for eight months now.

"Right now, because of pandemic fatigue - where people just have assumed 'I'm done with the virus,' even though the virus isn't done with them - they're in public places, bars, restaurants, gymnasiums, churches, family reunions, weddings, funerals ... I can go down the laundry list of all the (reasons) we're seeing major outbreaks occur. And then we have those who bring it home."

Just in time for the holidays.

Many will get sick from Covid and recover. But we're seeing a surge in hospitalizations locally and regionally that has officials rightly concerned. Our medical facilities are becoming overburdened. Our schools are playing whack-a-mole with learning models as both cases and staff shortages increase.

The dire messages were loud and clear this week.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz laid out new social restrictions Tuesday. "You have control over where this thing goes, " he said. "This is not inevitable that we end up in a crisis. But if we don't do these things we certainly will be there."

Dr. Charles Kendall is the incident commander and head of the Community Memorial Hospital Covid-19 emergency response team. "My fear is this is just the beginning," he said at a press briefing at Cloquet City Hall Tuesday. "I have been optimistic throughout this, especially in the spring, that we would not come to a point that has been seen elsewhere with hospitals overwhelmed due to Covid-19. Just in the last week,

I am much less optimistic."

Small hospitals like Community Memorial in Cloquet operate on very thin margins to provide adequate care for the region. They are dialed in to serve needs in normal times - accidents, heart attacks or other organ trouble, births, and aging care. When we flood the facility with Covid patients, we risk the overall health needs of the entire community. It's especially critical as winter comes in along with the flu and cold season.

So, what can you do?

Wear a mask. We are done with the political games on this simple step. It's time we respect everyone in our spheres of contact and protect each other.

Get tested if you feel you've been exposed to the virus or if you plan to spend time with people, who should also be tested. You need to make a plan, especially as the holidays approach. Families really need to coordinate, and spend time together only if people are sure they aren't carrying a deadly virus over the river and through the woods.

Stay home. Plan your necessary trips with precision. Order from a restaurant. Get together with people socially online, or at safe distances, preferably outside.

There are those who think we can't fight Covid by avoiding everyday practices that stifle the economy. Osterholm had a message on this as well. "Let me make it very clear: Those who distinguish we have to choose between the economy and the public health - that's an absolutely false distinction," he said in his MPR News interview Monday. "When you see our towns, our cities or counties, our state overrun with this virus, we see hospitals not able to provide critical care that should be provided because they're overrun, that has a tremendous impact on the economy. So we have got to find a way to maximize our health and maximize our economies."

Staying safe from community spread does not require strict isolation. We all recall the early weeks of the pandemic. We'd like to not revert to that dark time, but we just may have to. Testing certainly helps. Mindfulness does as well.

We know our readership skews to an older demographic. We urge readers to share this message with younger people, many of whom have been key community spreaders as they congregate dangerously. Tell them you don't want to get ill. You don't want to die.

"This is dangerous because we can't see it," Walz said of younger people spreading the virus. "They are not sick but they are infected and they are contagious."

Take pause, be wary, and care. Care about your community, care about your family. Care about how we can come out on the other side of this.