12 NOVEMBER 19, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
The painful reality
Slowly but surely, COVID-19 is
growing once again across New
York City. The dreaded second
wave has arrived.
A vast number of cases have broken
out on Staten Island and in other
clusters across the city. The COVID-19
positivity rate is creeping back up toward
the 3 percent mark, a threshold
which, if the city crosses it soon, will
likely prompt Mayor Bill de Blasio to
order public schools closed and shift ed
to remote learning indefi nitely.
The increase in cases prompted
Governor Andrew Cuomo to order
all restaurants, bars and gyms closed
by 10 p.m. statewide to prevent people
from being out late and potentially
spreading COVID-19.
The governor also declared, two
weeks shy of Thanksgiving, that all
household gatherings be capped at a
10-person maximum — though that
mandate is about as unenforceable and
impractical as a mandate could be.
We knew it was going to get worse
in the fall. Elected offi cials and health
EDITORIAL
ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
Editor-in-Chief
ZACHARY GEWELB
Classifi ed Manager
DEBORAH CUSICK
Assistant Classifi ed Manager
MARLENE RUIZ
Reporters
ANGELICA ACEVEDO
JACOB KAYE
CARLOTTA MOHAMED
BILL PARRY
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The increase in cases prompted Governor Andrew Cuomo to order all restaurants, bars and gyms closed by 10
p.m. statewide to prevent people from being out late and potentially spreading COVID-19.
Photo via Flickr/Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Offi ce
experts have all said as much. The efforts
the city and state took to beat back
the virus the fi rst time was extraordinary
— but so very painful — in myriad
ways.
For months, people complained
about the measures taken to limit the
virus’s spread. We agree that some of
them, such as the ban on indoor dining
throughout the summer, went too far
and too long.
People now bristle over the new
regulations and question what the
government is doing to them. But we’ve
lost the plot if we think that government
is the sole problem here.
That mask-wearing has become a
matter of politics, not public safety,
has helped spark new clusters of
outbreaks. Next to the virus itself, the
rabid defi ance and carelessness among
some over having to wear a cloth over
a face to protect other people has been
the most nauseating part of this entire
pandemic.
State and city government can
respond to this tragedy and provide the
physical needs to answer it. Mandates
and executive orders mean nothing if
we choose not to follow them.
So we all face our moment of decision
here — not as a city, but as a people.
Do we take responsibility for this
crisis and each other by masking up
and socially distancing even during
the holidays?
Or do we keep throwing caution to
the wind and put the entire city at risk
of further disaster?
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SUMMARY:
The Girl Scouts of Greater New York
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REACH:
3,250 (as of 11/16/20)
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