Letter to the Editor - Time for action on COVID, not hand-wringing

In just the past week, Montana has jumped from 1,000 cases to over 2,000. On June 30th we were tracing and isolating contacts for 100 percent of new cases in less than 48 hours, now we’re tracking down and isolating contacts in a timely fashion only 33 percent of the time.

According to CovidActNow.org, we are one of 10 states with an “active or imminent outbreak.” Montana has some natural advantages: low population density, no big cities, a sensible governor. We’re not Arizona or Texas — not yet. But we do need action from officials, not just expressions of grief and sympathy.

What can we do? Impose a mandatory state-wide face mask rule for inside public spaces, and exclude guests from hot spots like Arizona, Texas and Florida, as many other states are doing. Close bars for a while, as this is a really bad time for bars, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. Needless to say, with numbers exploding instead of declining, and as national guidelines require, we can’t re-open schools or colleges. An urgent program to hire and train more health workers to trace close contacts would help. Let’s get serious, Montana.

Jerome Walker, M.D.

Missoula