Are you part of the problem or solution?

In just over one week, the number of confirmed cases in Milam County jumped by six, from 20 confirmed cases to 26 confirmed cases.

During that same period, TDSHS reports that the number of confirmed Texas COVID-19 cases increased by over 15 percent in the past week.

While some of the increase can be attributed to additional testing, the number of Texas deaths also increased by 17 percent in the past week. These increases do not account for the additional re-opening of businesses.

Gov. Abbott announced that additional re-openings will be allowed except for the hotspots in Randall, Potter, Moore, Deaf Smith and El Paso counties.

Child care facilities, massage therapy, and youth clubs can reopen immediately; bars, rodeos, bowling alleys, bingo parlors, simulcast racing, and skating rinks can open Friday with limited capacity; and sporting events without fans and youth camps on May 31.

This makes our mitigation efforts even more important than ever. The only way to prevent the spread of the virus is social distancing, hygiene, sanitation and facial coverings.

The problem is that many in our county simply don’t take the virus issue seriously.

Many don’t keep their distance or wear a mask in public. Many make veiled excuses, such as I am not old or I’m in good health. But none of this matters.

But none of this matters.

The primary purpose of mitigation is to prevent the spread of the virus. One can have the virus, spread the virus, infect others, cause the death of others and not have symptoms.

Re-opening of the economy does not give us a free ticket to forget about mitigation. In fact, quite the opposite. It makes mitigation more important than ever.

We need to open business and get the economy going and we can do that safely if we all practice mitigation.

It is different, no doubt, as it is odd not to shake hands or give a friend a hug. But by just avoiding touching a friend, one may save their life and certainly may prevent the spread.

There is no doubt this virus will be with us for a long time. We must learn to accept the known fact that we have to change the way we interact to prevent the spread.

Only you can do this. As the numbers rise, ask yourself: are you a part of the problem or a part of the solution?