Surgeon General: This is a ‘Pearl Harbor moment’

April 5, 2020

Americans, brace yourself; as bad as it’s been, this pandemic is about to get worse. That’s the warning today from the US Surgeon General.

In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Vice Admiral Jerome Adams said this week is going to be the “hardest and the saddest” for “most Americans’ lives.”

“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized, it’s going to be happening all over the country and I want America to understand that,” Adams said.

The Surgeon General’s warning comes a day after one of the nation’s leading infectious disease experts, Dr. Deborah Birx, warned that the next two weeks are “extraordinarily important.”

“This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe,” she said during an April 4 press briefing at the White House.

Early Sunday, the nationwide death toll had gone up to at least 8,503 people, with at least 312,245 infected, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. As of noon Sunday, Georgia’s death toll was up to 211 with 6647 cases of COVID-19 confirmed statewide.

Preparing for the surge

Hospitals across Georgia are preparing for the anticipated patient surge. The state will reopen two previously closed hospitals this week – one in Albany and another in Snellville – and deploy self-contained med units to add 296 new hospital beds in the state.

State health officials say the peak period for hospital capacity is likely still three weeks away, on April 23. Gov. Kemp addressed that when he issued a statewide shelter in place order on April 2.

“We’ve got to be more aggressive,” Kemp said. A policy of social distancing and staying at home ‘‘is buying us more time to get additional hospital beds ready, order supplies, and continue to prepare for more positive cases.’’

Still, many continue to criticize Kemp for sending mixed messages. At the same time that he ordered Georgians to stay home, he also left open the majority of businesses and all of the state’s parks, even forcing coastal areas to reopen beaches they previously had closed.

Pleading for state parks to close

Tybee Island closed its beaches on March 20. The mayor fired back in a letter to Gov. Kemp Saturday saying she and the town council don’t want the beaches reopened now.

“As the Pentagon ordered 100,000 body bags to store the corpses of Americans killed by the Coronavirus, Governor Brian Kemp dictated that Georgia beaches must reopen, and declared any decision makers who refused to follow these orders would face prison and/or fines,” wrote Tybee Mayor Shirley Sessions.

Sessions’ concerns are similar to those of officials in North Georgia counties where state parks operate. It’s not just the mixed messaging – telling people to stay home while simultaneously inviting them to your state parks – but also the drain on local resources.

Tybee currently is not properly staffed with Emergency Medical Services and there are no lifeguards in place, says Mayor Sessions.

In North Georgia, most park rangers now are working remotely and visitor centers are closed. That means there are fewer of them available to assist the public in the event of an emergency. And with the current drain on medical personnel and equipment, critics argue it’s unwise to encourage the public to engage in potentially dangerous outdoor activities such as boating, hiking, and swimming.

You can still book a room at a state lodge and go camping but, beyond social distancing, the state has not issued information about how it’s managing infection control at these sites.

Residents worry about cross-community infection.

As people travel into state parks from outside areas, they’re shopping in grocery stores, filling up at gas stations, and coming into contact with residents in communities which, as of today, still maintain generally low infection rates.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources sought to subdue critics by posting a series of tweets Saturday showing photos of sparse crowds social distancing on state lakes and beaches. But even that elicited backlash.

They shouldn’t even be there to begin with! I’m sorry the privileged boat owners don’t have to abide by the shelter in place rule like the rest of us are! Shelter in place – not shelter at the lake with friends! Ridiculous this is never going to end at this rate! #ShelterInPlace
— Karen Beth Courcy (@karenbethcourcy) April 5, 2020

There are those who support the governor’s decision to keep state parks open and who are thanking him for not “caving in” to public pressure. Still, it appears they’re in the minority.

Online groups have started petitions, hospitals and elected officials have sent letters, and other local leaders continue to build coalitions they hope the governor will listen to. Whether he does remains to be seen but on Tybee Island, they’re not waiting. Sessions made clear in her letter to Kemp that while the island may be forced to open its beaches visitors “will not have beach access and parking lots will remain closed until further notice.”