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Dear Decaturish,

Stacey Abrams would have known.

That handmade sign appeared in my neighborhood recently after Gov. Kemp stated on April 1 2020, that he had just learned that individuals with Covid-19 who are asymptomatic can still transmit the disease.  The sign indicated a wistfulness of what could have been.

The sign communicates that elections really do have consequences for citizens’ daily lives!  Kemp easily could have known that asymptomatic people can spread the disease. Dr. Robert Redfield, CDC Director, said in mid-February that asymptomatic transmission of coronavirus was possible. Studies from as early as January showed cases of coronavirus spreading amongst people with no symptoms. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told CNN that there was no doubt that asymptomatic transmission occurred, based on a study published on Jan. 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Even a passing acquaintance with the nature of other viruses would have informed the Governor that people often “shed” viruses even when they are not displaying symptoms themselves, thereby making asymptomatic spread a possibility.  So, okay, the Governor didn’t know about asymptomatic transmission and now he does. As of April 13, 2020 Georgia has a total of 13,315 reported cases (and many more cases where testing has not been done, I’m sure).

Of that total, 2,589 are or have been hospitalized and 464 Georgians have died. Meanwhile, only 53,271 tests have been conducted in Georgia. The state of Georgia now is the state with the 11th most cases in the USA after being surpassed by Texas for the 10th position.  The New York Times reported that, on April 10, Georgia had 11,673 cases or 42 cases per 100,000 population and 416 deaths or 4 per 100,000 population which is greater than Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and California, all of which have more total cases than Georgia.

Gov. Kemp didn’t know but he reasonably should have known. Stacy Abrams would have known.

– Carole H. Johnston, Avondale Estates

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