In a Global Pandemic, the Disparity Between Federal and State Response is Polarized.

The Federal government, while it sets precedent with policy and action, does not have the political leverage that state, county, and city legislatures have when battling Covid-19. Controlling a pandemic is challenging and complicated. As cases decline in parts of the United States, cases are also spiking, and the federal consensus is that the battle against the virus is near its end. For example, New York saw more than 300,000 cases in its height and is now seeing a dramatic decline in hospitalizations, cases, and deaths after four months of imposed shutdown. Simultaneously, however, Florida has seen close to 10,000 cases per day for the past three days. As New York begins to rebuild its economy and workforce, Florida is businesses, beaches, will soon be forced to enact quarantine across a majority of the state seeing a spike in cases.

When it comes to uniting around an effort to combat the Coronavirus pandemic, we are nothing but divided. Qualified medical professionals have been dismissed as players of a democratic coup. Wearing a mask is an act of disloyalty and cowardice. The deaths of millions dismissed as a hoax.

While individuals such as Dr. Fauci at the Federal level continue to preach societal caution, their words are merely pleas for action at the point and time. State and city officials must turn the words of Dr. Fauci and other public servants into policy and decree. Let me very clear: this pandemic isn’t over. We still need to boost our testing capacity. We need to instill in the minds of citizens that wearing a mask isn’t optional. Once again, we need to flatten the curve in the first wave of this Pandemic.