Avoiding all the settings and occasions that Dr. Thomas Dobbs and other health officials ask is admittedly hard.
Not many but those absolutely petrified of COVID-19 are going to give up ALL sporting events, in-person church services, weddings, funerals and social events, such as Christmas parties, not to mention refraining from any in-person interaction with relatives other than those who live in the same household.
You might give up some or even most of the above, but all of it? Unlikely. Especially when some of those urging the social monasticism have trouble adhering to it themselves.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is a prime example.
This week, Reeves ordered a further tightening of restrictions on those occasions where large — and even not so large — groups of people might congregate and risk spreading the disease. He issued a new executive order that, in addition to adding more counties to his mask mandate, severely cuts down on the size of social gatherings as well as the number of fans permitted at sporting events.
Meanwhile, the governor attended a pair of basketball games Tuesday at Pillow Academy, then hosted a Christmas party at the Governor’s Mansion Wednesday, one of several it was reported he has planned for this holiday season.
On the basketball games, he gets a pass. He has two daughters who play for Jackson Prep, Pillow’s opponent Tuesday. No one should blame him, regardless of what the state health officer says, for wanting to be there in support of his children, even though it admittedly comes with some risk. Besides, the governor wore a mask, at least most of the time, while he sat in the stands, which is something he has on other occasions been inconsistent about.
The Christmas parties are something else.
At the pleading of Dobbs and others, many organizations, businesses and individuals are forgoing — with much heartache — these fun but nonessential gatherings. They’ve been told by state officials, including the governor himself, that to do otherwise is irresponsible. They’ve heard that the public’s unwillingness to give up its normal Thanksgiving social rituals is why infections and hospitalizations have soared in the two weeks since and why deaths are anticipated to follow the same pattern. They’ve been warned that if they ignore the advice again at Christmas and New Year’s, it could be catastrophic.
We don’t expect Reeves to be perfect in following such stern advice, but we do expect him to try a little harder to practice what he and the state are officially preaching. If the governor wants the public to take the warnings about COVID-19 seriously, he needs to do a better job of leading by example. If he, even with such a spotlight on him, can’t make those sacrifices, he shouldn’t be surprised when those who aren’t in the public eye do likewise.
