The last time I ordered a round of shots I was sitting in a bar in Montreal on March 13, 2020 celebrating my 5 year wedding anniversary. A few hours later, I received an email from the US Embassy in Ottawa warning that the Canadian government may restrict travel to the US with no warning. Four days later, I sat in the airport watching live TV as Justin Trudeau announced closing of the US/Canadian border within 72 hours. I was packing my bag on March 11 to leave for Canada when we still had an entire NBA season to look forward to. I returned on March 17, we had Tiger King and at least 10 months of sheltering-in-place to look forward to.
Few could have predicted the impact COVID-19 would have on the livelihood of Oklahomans, but it doesn’t mean our leaders are free from blame. You don’t have to be a genius obscure blogger to understand that keeping antiquated unemployment assistance portal open while closing multiple rural hospitals since 2010 was a dangerous decision or that cutting $4.5 million in Health Department funding for 2020 would be catastrophic for our already overworked county health departments. Pandemic or not, this thinking in the short-term has and will continue to have long-term negative consequences for our state.