Hello everyone,
It is safe to say that businesspeople woke up to a different Delaware this morning after a University of Delaware faculty member was listed as the state’s first coronavirus case.
This was followed yesterday evening when it was announced that the NBA was putting its season on hold after a star player was found to have coronavirus.
Today we learned about three additional presumptive cases involving members of the UD community.
Until now, it was easy to see Delaware as a virus-free zone, despite much evidence to the contrary.
When virus maps were posted, Delaware was a light spot in a sea of red.
Delaware callers to sports radio talk stations brought up the state’s lack of cases. Too many here and elsewhere were buying the claim that the virus was little more than a mild case of the flu.
Even after the announcement of the first case yesterday afternoon one emailer questioned the source of the Delaware Business Now post on the news.
The good news is that we now know it takes to get the rapidly rising number of cases to level off, based on the painful experiences of other nations and states.
It involves drastic measures including extensive testing, ordering those with colds to stay at home, businesses having as many staffers as possible to work at home, changing personal habits, and a temporary end to large gatherings.
Be prepared for another cascade of bad news in the coming days as Wall Street and Main Street try to deal with this harsh reality.
Meanwhile, it’s time to rely on science, rather than speculative social media posts or theories of cable news pundits. Doug Rainey, chief content officer
