Heartland hotspots: A sudden rise in coronavirus cases is hitting rural states without stay-at-home

[BeckyDem]

A sudden rise in coronavirus cases is hitting rural states without stay-at-home orders


Updated 11:51 AM ET, Fri April 17, 2020


Washington (CNN)The test results came back on Easter Sunday. Tammy had been feeling "kind of crappy" when she went to her doctor in rural southeastern Oklahoma last week. A sign of possible pneumonia prompted her to get a coronavirus test later that day at the McCurtain County Health Department in Idabel.


When it came back positive, Tammy, who spoke on the condition that CNN not use her last name to protect her privacy, had already quarantined herself. Isolated, she decided to write her governor, Kevin Stitt, the first-term Republican and one of just 8 governors in the US to resist issuing a statewide stay-at-home-order. Tammy had voted for Stitt but she didn't agree with his decision.
Her message to him was simple: "Shut this mess down."

Just as cases are starting to plateau in some big cities and along the coasts, the coronavirus is catching fire in rural states across the American heartland, where there has been a small but significant spike this week in cases. Playing out amid these outbreaks is a clash between a frontier culture that values individual freedom and personal responsibility, and the onerous but necessary restrictions to contain a novel biological threat.

The bump in coronavirus cases is most pronounced in states without stay at home orders. Oklahoma saw a 53% increase in cases over the past week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Over same time, cases jumped 60% in Arkansas, 74% in Nebraska, and 82% in Iowa. South Dakota saw a whopping 205% spike.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/politics/republican-governors-stay-at-home-coronavirus/index.html

[scrabblequeen40]

1. Karma is fast. eom

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. Yep. Exponentially so. n/t

[uponit7771]

2. Wha ... well dammit ... no one could've seen this coming / sarc.

[tanyev]

3. But they're LIBERATED!

[BeckyDem]

4. Land of the FreeDUMB!

[defacto7]

5. I suppose death could be consided liberating in a way.

I'll stick with a little home time.

[SWBTATTReg]

6. And these people were the first to laugh and make fun of us in the urban areas who locked down...

first, and now karma is visiting their rural communities with a fervor with no end in sight. Four of these states border Missouri (I live in MO). This is wonderful news that our neighbors, who didn't shut down due to the CV, have now put the entire Midwestern region of the US at risk because of some of their ignorant citizens who thought they were immune. Now they're going to get sick, and / or die. I hope MO blocks the highways of every one of these irresponsible states. If they don't, it could possibly kill Missourians.

Let's explore this expansion here...lets say that South Dakota has 5 people sick now...and its CV rate is growing at a 205% increase per week (hey, the other increases are pretty damn big too). Thus, in one month, the 5 people in South Dakota will be unbelievable. It's a total shame, for everyone of these people saw how the CV spread in NY and other places, despite best efforts to stem the spread.

And where is our gutless wonder of a president? Cowering in the hallways of the WH along w/ his traitor friends in the Senate and House. I hope the long arm of justice finds everyone of you and nail you for insider trading, for crimes against humanity, and worse.

[Midnightwalk]

7. Rugged individualists have to be near other people

I got to spend a few weeks mostly alone in a pretty isolated place last year. I went to town for supplies a couple of times a week. Talked to maybe 3 or 4 people the whole time.

I live in a small city but grew up in a big one.

Getting out and doing stuff away from people is easier in rural settings.

I don’t get what makes rural people chafe at social distancing more than city folk. In a way it’s the lifestyle they’ve chosen.

People in remote areas definitely depend on each other more. Maybe that’s part of it?

Or is it the message on talk radio that the lockdown is a liberal plot to destroy America that motivates them?

I think it’s a combination of factors and I’m sure there are other reasons I’m not thinking of.

[StarlightGold]

9. No fucking sympathy

AT. ALL.

[StarlightGold]

10. And, slightly off-topic...

but what's the fucking deal with the word "heartland"? I've always hated that word. Like someone from Oklahoma is more of an American than someone from New Jersey.

[freepotter]

11. Merriam-Webster defines it as

"the central geographical region of the U.S. in which mainstream or traditional values predominate" Living in Oklahoma, I always thought of Oklahoma and Texas as the crotch of the nation, as progressives (by definition of heartland) are pretty scarce. That stinks!

[Blue_true]

13. I think it just mean interior states west of the Mississippi. nt

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

12. A preview of what's in store if Trumpy gets his way.

[Blue_true]

14. Yes. A small fraction of what will hit them. nt