According to a recent WJHL article, the rate of new COVID-19 cases is decreasing in the Northeast Tennessee area. This is positive news for the region and for ETSU students, but this is not necessarily indicative of things getting back to normal any time soon. In such uncertain times, it is good to celebrate small glimpses of progress, but it is dangerous to put too much weight into them.
I think people often mistakenly perceive positive effects from taking preventative measures as an indication that the problem itself has been solved. In general for any region, if the number of cases dropped when there were more safety regulations and case numbers increased again after the regulations were lifted, that clearly shows that preventative measures were helping. However, the problem is not solved. It is reckless to assume things are over at the first sign of progress; however, at the same time, it is misguided to assume any small setback is guaranteed to have a huge ripple effect later on. Unfortunately, many people seem to have adopted both of these kinds of attitudes.
As for the Northeast Tennessee region and ETSU, cases may be lower, but I don’t think they will stay that way. ETSU has made a lot of safety regulations to prevent the spread of the virus such as requiring masks on campus, having single-occupancy rooms in residence halls, and moving 80% of classes online. They have done what they can to help prevent the spread on campus, but ultimately they are not able to control what their students or staff do in their personal lives off-campus. If students want to have large gatherings or parties off-campus, they will.
Currently in the second week of the fall semester, there are 12 positive cases in the ETSU community and four quarantined in ETSU housing according to the ETSU COVID-19 Dashboard. Though this is a small number, it is hard to imagine the number will not go up later considering it is not even the end of the second week of classes.
Washington County officials recently decided to extend the county-wide mask mandate, which was originally set to expire at the end of August, until Sept. 30. Hopefully, this mandate will have positive effects, keep the numbers at a downward trend and reduce some of the risk that will come with higher volumes of people gathering in the region due to the school year commencing for public schools and local colleges.
Though local numbers are decreasing, it does not mean this pandemic will be over in the near future. However, if people continue to take preventative safety measures even after reports of small improvements, hopefully life will get back to normal sooner.
