It is a good sign that Gov. Asa Hutchinson is easing the rules associated with the coronavirus pandemic. His philosophy seems to be that government should get out of the way of the public as quickly as possible.
Some of what he is throttling back on is based on the continued downward-pointing arrow of the coronavirus, but masks will be in place through March.
At this point, with variants of one kind or another still in the wind, we can imagine the public wearing masks for a lot longer than the end of March. For those with compromised health, a mask might be a constant companion.
February has been quite a month for Pine Bluff, despite its brevity, what with the bitter cold and knee-high snow, which was just an introduction to the week without water or without much of it. Consequently, we can imagine that the thought of the coronavirus took somewhat of a back seat. Seeing nothing coming out of the faucet will do that to a person. But now that the rest of life is coming back into focus, we recommend going slo-mo on reversing restrictions, especially in Pine Bluff, where we have struggled.
We come to that conclusion from listening to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, who said the nation should not get carried away with reversing the headway that's been made and that the next few weeks will be pivotal in deciding which way the pandemic is headed and how quickly we can unwind restrictions.
"We don't want to be people always looking at the dark side of things, but you want to be realistic," he told ABC News. "So, we have to carefully look at what happens over the next week or so with those numbers, before you start making the understandable need to relax on certain restrictions. So, just watch it closely and be prepared to react according to what actually happens."
Certainly, conditions are improving. More people are rolling up their sleeves and getting their covid shots. The vaccine manufacturers are ramping up output, and another vaccine soon will be available. As people get their shots and feel at least somewhat protected, the more they will be ready to get out and about a little more.
But as the governor said, people have learned where they can go safely and where they can't. And he said the restrictions he is lifting could be reimposed if the numbers start going in the wrong direction.
"Let me emphasize that because we're changing these directives to guidelines does not mean that you're going to see a change in behavior, and I do not expect to see a change in behavior," Hutchinson said, according to a Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article.
"For example, in state government we will be telling our departments of government that they need to continue to follow the distancing, the social distancing guidelines," he said. "We need to continue following the wearing of masks when you cannot social distance."
Yes, the masks. Keep wearing them.