Hold these Republicans accountable for deaths caused by recklessness

President Trump tweeted a series of all-caps messages Friday that Virginia, Michigan and Minnesota—states with responsible stay-at-home orders — should “LIBERATE” themselves. It’s not clear whether this was a suggestion for armed insurrection, as his Virginia tweet referenced the Second Amendment, or simply a grossly irresponsible call for Americans to congregate in protests at a time when large gatherings risk infection spread and possibly more deaths. Either way, by encouraging violation of state measures to fight the pandemic, Trump abandoned his position of a day earlier, when he declared that governors should call their own shots. Trump was already morally responsible for the lost lives that could have been saved by prompt action to combat the coronavirus. He has no national plan to ramp up testing, which is critical to safe reopening. He should be held accountable for endangering those people encouraged by his irresponsible tweets.

Trump is not the only Republican who must be held accountable. Without ample testing, governors do not know how widely the virus has spread, the true infection rate or the risks posed by relaxing stay-at-home orders. None of that appears to bother Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, who initially delayed closing beaches statewide. “Florida’s governor on Friday gave the green light for some beaches and parks to reopen if it can be done safely,” the Associated Press reports, “and north Florida beaches became among the first to allow people to return since closures because of the coronavirus. [Jacksonville] Mayor Lenny Curry said Duval County beaches were reopening Friday afternoon with restricted hours, and they can only be used for walking, biking, hiking, fishing, running, swimming, taking care of pets and surfing.”

How are local officials and ordinary people to know what is safe? Absent widespread, reliable testing, we have to wait until cases spike, hospital admissions soar and more deaths are recorded. There not only isn’t data showing whether it’s safe to go back out, but also some indicators suggest this is a poor time to lift restrictions. According to news reports, more Florida residents were diagnosed Friday than in any time during the past two weeks. The state Department of Health on Friday reported 1,413 new cases of covid-19, the highest number since 1,330 people tested positive on April 3. Continue reading.