The danger of self-isolating from COVID-19 on public lands
Linky.
...visitors desperate for activity and distraction have flooded into Moab, Utah, the gateway to Arches National Park. “We had crowds of people that felt like peak summertime,” said Ashley Kumburis, who manages a rafting and jeep tour outfitter that’s still open. “If you didn’t know this contagious virus was spreading, you would think it was a regular summer day in Moab.”
On March 16, doctors from Moab Regional Hospital sent a letter to Gov. Gary Herbert, R, asking for help. “We are writing this letter to implore you to shut down all non-essential business service in Moab,” it reads. Citing a lack of hospital beds and no local intensive care unit — at a time when lodging for the following weekend was estimated to be at between 75-95% capacity — officials were concerned that “tourism would drive the spread” of COVID-19. Within a few hours, the Southeast Utah Health Department issued an order closing restaurants and lodging, and camping on both public and private land to outside visitors.
...For people around the country, this is a confusing message. After hearing that outdoor spaces are the safest areas to avoid the spread of COVID-19, many are venturing out, seeking the sort of isolation that public lands offer. But when visitors start overwhelming gateway communities, the public lands are no longer a safe refuge.
...Sending people to parks means they’ll use the amenities in both the parks and in nearby towns. Grocery stores in the rural West, as in the rest of the country, are struggling to stay stocked, bathroom facilities will need cleaning, and the more visitors there are, the greater chance for injuries that might need to be treated in rural hospitals — hospitals that lack the capacity to treat them.
...And that’s not all: “I’m especially worried about fire season right now,” Anzelmo told me. “NPS employees from all different backgrounds form a good part of the wildland firefighting workforce.” Anzelmo fears what will happen if those employees get sick or overworked while trying to keep parks open during a national emergency. “Do we want to exhaust that bench of the federal workforce in public lands right now for a momentary feel-good moment while a pandemic is raging, or do we want to be smart and be ready for the other emergencies that are going to happen?”
..As Depoe Bay, like the rest of the country, prepares for a possible onslaught of COVID-19 cases, Fuller wants visitors to reconsider coming and unknowingly infecting her small community. “People can come back in the summer when things are better,” she said. “But not now.”
