SALENA ZITO: Coronavirus has this small Ohio city longing for a return to normal.
There are now 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus in the state, so far there are none reported yet here in East Liverpool or anywhere in Columbiana County. But in a city where nearly 15% of the population is over age 65, Bricker is being cautious. He points to the city hospital in the distance, a highly acclaimed but small local facility that is limited to 152 beds for a city of 11,000. Those numbers and odds are weighing on the accountant turned mayor’s mind.
“First, we needed to do a series of precautionary measures to prevent the spreading of this, so we closed the city offices to keep this from spreading to our workers but also to our citizens, because if we don’t take preventative measures, we’ll just really overwhelm our hospital and our healthcare system,” he said.
This is life in America, interrupted. Aside from the older gentleman who groused about having to pay his water bill in a slot and not in person, people were doing what they had to keep themselves and their community safe.
“The healthcare workers are really our first line of defense right now,” Bricker explains. “Anyone who has exhibited symptoms is being asked to quarantine. They have also set up drive-through testing. We’ve had a couple of people tested. And all the results have come back negative.”
Good.
We’re a much better people than our chattering class is, or gives us credit for being.