As we cross the threshold from Month 1 to Month 2 of the pandemic shutdown, some flecks of light are beginning to appear at the far end of the tunnel. On Monday, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington jointly announced a pact to work together in reopening their economies.
COVID-19 has preyed upon our interconnectedness. In the coming weeks, the West Coast will flip the script on COVID-19 – with our states acting in close coordination and collaboration to ensure the virus can never spread wildly in our communities.
We are announcing that California, Oregon and Washington have agreed to work together on a shared approach for reopening our economies – one that identifies clear indicators for communities to restart public life and business.
Good news, right?
On Tuesday, California governor Gavin Newsom made it clear that mass gatherings will be the final box on the list to earn a check mark.
Though his state is not on the West Coast, Ohio governor Mike DeWine echoed Newsom's sentiment.
"As you look at any kind of coming back that large gatherings of people are going to be the last thing that we check off the box and say, 'OK, we should be doing that,'" DeWine said. "I think it's not going to be what the states do only, it's going to be what fans think is safe. What do restaurant customers think is safe? What do people who go to bars think is safe? If you go to a Reds game, do you think that's safe? So that is our challenge and the state's challenge is to do everything we can possible to make people feel safe and it be true that it be safer in regard to whatever activity they be engaged in."
It's impossible to hear those comments and not think back to quotes like this one from UCLA head coach Chip Kelly last week:
"I don't have any say in what's going on," Kelly told reporters on Thursday. "You know, I think the medical people that are in charge will, and I think in a lot of cases, even the NCAA may weigh in on it.
"But you know, the governors of the States and the mayors are the ones that are going to tell you if we can do it. The NCAA can say, 'hey, you guys are all going back,' but if Governor Newsom says we're not going back, then we're not going back."
When laid against the consensus that, unlike professional sports, college sports will not be played without fans, it makes sense why people like Chris Fowler are hearing momentum for a spring season. Such a plan doesn't guarantee anything, but it does buy time. And time is of the essence right now.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.