Education, open spaces and information

We’ve never experienced anything like this coronavirus situation. The Cape Gazette and its editors have never written more editorials about a single subject during their 45 continuous years of covering Delaware’s Cape Region.

We have to keep letting these important messages resonate so they sink into the general population. Only by being relentless can we have a fighting chance. Never has education been more important. All of us, our children especially, have to be hyper aware and develop understanding required to protect themselves and their communities.

COVID-19 and other deadly viruses are here to stay. The world’s population has reached the level where the rapid transmission we’re seeing is now commonplace. Division Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Ratty said it early on: To be safe, we have to assume the virus is everywhere and take necessary precautions.

State and local communities have worked hard to get educational signs out everywhere. Those efforts need to be doubled to make it all sink in.

The pandemic has also shown us how important our public open spaces – parks and trails – are to our health. People feel a great need to get outside where there is room to have fun without jeopardizing our health. As Delaware’s leaders put the finishing touches on this year's budget, they should continue to funnel resources into trails and open spaces. Those investments will pay big dividends for Delaware’s health and economy in the future.

Finally, it’s important for state officials to provide as much timely information to the public as possible through Delaware’s testing, tracking and isolating initiative. When situations are discovered such as corona-infected teens circulating widely, especially in indoor settings as reported in Dewey and Rehoboth, the more specific information, the better. People need to know if they might have been exposed, and the entire community can learn how to avoid repetition of similar situations.

Young people may be able to safely weather a corona infection, but others unknowingly infected could become gravely ill or die. Widespread, accurate information can help counter those outcomes.