Editorial: Gov. Noem can do more
As the number of COVID-19 cases climb around the country and specifically in South Dakota, it’s clear more needs to be done to combat this novel virus.
Ultimately, the person who can exercise the most power in our state government is Gov. Kristi Noem, but she hasn’t been doing enough to protect the people living in her state.
While we can all do our part to stay home, it’s evident there are thousands of people who think their rights are being infringed on. Instead of seeing it as life-saving and ensuring that your community stays healthy, many are taking to their capitol buildings to protest shelter-in-place orders.
Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken asked Gov. Noem earlier this month for a shelter-in-place order for Minnehaha and Lincoln counties due to the quick spread of COVID-19 in the area and the Smithfield processing plant hotspot.
Noem denied the request and has repeatedly said the state of South Dakota will not have such an order in place because “The people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety.”
While it’s important to make sure our freedoms as American citizens are being protected, we need to recognize when we need to make individual sacrifices for others. While healthcare professionals are making huge sacrifices, others are simply upset that they can’t walk around without a mask.
It seems silly to be upset about wearing protective masks during a worldwide pandemic, doesn’t it?
We need a leader who is willing to take charge in a crisis and make educated decisions on how to best serve the state. The only real action Noem has taken so far is working with Sanford Health to use an antimalarial drug in trials across the state.
That drug, hydroxychloroquine, doesn’t seem to be promising.
According to an article from the Los Angeles Times, other countries like China, France and Brazil have already been using hydroxychloroquine and haven’t had success with the drug. There were also patients on the medicine that developed other health issues because of its use.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Americans should be wary of this drug.
“We still need to do the definitive studies to determine whether any intervention, not just this one, is truly safe and effective,” Fauci said.
While it’s good that the state is doing research on a cure for COVID-19, if we’re going to do research it should be on a medicine that actually has the promise of saving lives.
Gov. Noem can do more for her constituents, and we’ve seen that social distancing can save lives and prevent the spread of this virus.
The majority of states have already put shelter-in-place orders in effect. Let’s see some real action of preventing the spread of COVID-19 in our state.
