GOP Governors Brag About How They Didn't Shut Down-- Putting Thousands of Lives at Risk

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has been bragging about how AWESOME she has been doing with the coronavirus thing in the state of Iowa-- so much so, that she co-wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post saying that it's time to open up-- everything's fine! 

It's shocking how Reynolds can make the claim that her approach worked.   Along with Mark Gordon of Wyoming. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, and Mike Parson of Missouri (all Republicans), Reynolds claimed:

"The Plains states have managed this emergency exceptionally well by many measures. Our states have simultaneously ranked low in terms of infection rates and deaths. We protected our health-care systems by allowing retired physicians and nurses to return to practice, and at no point have our hospitals been at risk of being overwhelmed."

These five states are destined to be part of the next wave in coronavirus infections, due to their lack of stay-at-home orders, social distancing or robust testing.  They are gambling with the lives of their residents, and trying to keep secret the extent of their outbreaks. 

In the editorial, Reynolds and her buddies boasted, "When emergencies hit, our tradition has been to plan and manage in consultation with community partners."  Don't tell that to the Major of Perry, Iowa.  For weeks, he's been trying to get information from Tyson's Foods, who runs the meat processing plant that employs over 15% of his town's 7,700 residents.   In cahoots with state health officials, Tyson's management has rebuffed the efforts of Perry's mayor to get information on the status of testing for the plant's 1,200 employees.  Naturally, the Major wanted to know what was going on, so that he could react accordingly for the safety of the town's residents. 

After weeks of secrecy and stonewalling, the shit hit the fan.  Perry's local newspaper finally was able to report that a jaw-dropping 58% of the workers in the local Tyson's plant tested positive for the coronavirus.   730 out of 1,200 workers have the virus and have been (potentially) spreading the virus to neighbors and family members while they went about their business (with no stay-at-home orders or business shutdowns).  Perry has only one hospital-- let us all pray they can keep up with all of these cases.

This shocking news comes on the heels of reports that over 444 workers at the Waterloo Tyson's Plant tested positive and generated over 1,500 cases of community spread in  Black Hawk county--overwhelming health facilities there.   In Columbus Junction, 221 cases of coronavirus were reported at the local Tyson's plant after weeks of stonewalling by Iowa State health officials.  There is no estimate yet of how many cases of community spread resulted while those cases were not reported to local officials.  In Tama (a town of only 2,900 people) 258 workers at the National Beef plant tested positive.  Tama isn't large enough to have its own hospital.  In Newton, 131 employees of a Newton wind turbine blade plant (owned by TPI Composites) also tested positive this week. 

Brag all you want, Kim-- I'll bet you won't be so proud after the virus is done victimizing the medically vulnerable and the poor in small towns across your state.