Here we are with loosened coronavirus restrictions. Neighbors to our left and right, Texas and Mississippi respectively, have done away with mask mandates. Vaccines are rolling out, and hopefully enough people will get vaccinated and herd immunity will be reached with limited further loss of life and further economic interruption.
Both of those are important considerations and are intertwined. Timing, however, is the key. Loosen restrictions too early and we risk dropping the ball before we’ve crossed the goal line, returning to where we were before. Loosen them too late and we hurt people, delaying families and businesses that are in dire need to recover.
It’s a difficult balance to strike. Both are important to public health. Listen to what Steven Procopio, Policy Director for the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, had to say about finding the “goldilocks solution,” the answer that’s jusssssst right:
