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In the category of: 50 opinions
Governors find their moment — and peril
The political stars of the pandemic are facing nearly unprecedented challenges in the months ahead.
It is this intersection between the national capital and 50 state capitals that will be a principal theme for POLITICO’s The Fifty, a new series that examines the ways in which governors, mayors and other political figures are shaping the nation’s future. The pandemic, more than any crisis in recent memory, has an intimate edge. It affects not just some citizens, but virtually every citizen, in an immediate and tangible way at work and home. As state and local governments are much closer to the stuff of daily life — and have more direct responsibility for public health — so too will they be the more relevant and vibrant arenas for creating post-pandemic America.
In interviews in recent days, several governors told POLITICO they have found their new circumstances — and the re-ordering of their own personal and political priorities — to be all-consuming.
In the category of: Blindfolded
“It’s like we’re flying blind”: The US has a Covid-19 data problem
Six months into America’s battle with Covid-19, we still can’t really see the enemy.
There isn’t good real-time data on where the virus is and who it is infecting. Our diagnostic testing is at an all-time high, but it’s still missing the vast majority of infections.
We don’t have systematic surveillance programs like we do for the flu to fill in the gaps, and we don’t have good metrics that tell us how well the virus is being contained. We’re particularly in the dark about what’s happening in many minority communities, which have lower testing rates than white communities.
We don’t have good foresight into the future either: As the response to the pandemic grows more fractured, and the policies less consistent and more politicized, it’s getting harder to model.
“It’s like we’re flying blind,” says Sarah Cobey, an infectious disease modeler at the University of Chicago.
In the category of: Zoom call extraordinaire
Biden Won’t Go To Milwaukee For Acceptance Speech
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will not travel to Milwaukee to accept his party’s White House nomination because of concerns over the coronavirus.
That’s according to a Democrat with knowledge of the decision who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity to discuss planning.
The move is the latest example of the pandemic’s sweeping effects on the 2020 presidential election and the latest blow to traditional party nominating conventions that historically have marked the start of fall general election campaigns.
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