Mere months after we first learned that the deadly coronavirus had no connection to Mexican beer, it’s as if someone has waved a magic nasal swab and, poof, the pandemic is over.

Across Metro Detroit and throughout Michigan, social distancing and the wearing of masks has somehow become passé for many. Not cool. Old school. The standoff between mask wearers and those who refuse to cover up has generated an ugly schism based on political beliefs.

Those who are masked practice safe social interaction, caution and common sense. Those who make a statement by shunning protective gear range from people who think the virus has waned to those who believe the entire matter was a hoax.

With Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency restrictions easing substantially, we’ll see another surge in Covid-19 cases if selfishness and carelessness prevail.

Residents of Detroit and its suburbs – the epicenter of Michigan’s outbreak — should not need to be reminded how hard this community was hit over a period of nearly four months. Since the pandemic reached the U.S., Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties have experienced more coronavirus deaths, 4,687, than 43 states have registered on a statewide basis. Forty-three states. Let that sink in.

 

This is an excerpt from a column I wrote for Deadline Detroit. Continue reading here.