'There's no help coming before the election': Indiana's RV capital faces its worst coronavirus outbr [View all]

The worst of the pandemic is hitting Elkhart County, Ind., just days before the election. The number of new coronavirus cases is exploding. Positive test rates are three times the national average. Local hospitals are running low on beds, their doctors and nurses exhausted.

Yet Elkhart’s public health leaders and politicians know exactly what needs to be done — how to slow the virus and break the chains of transmission. They did it with success during a smaller outbreak this summer.

But they also know that’s not going to happen now.

“There’s no help coming before the election,” said Lydia Mertz, the county’s health officer, describing the delay — which might stretch on for weeks — as “extremely alarming.”

“I think right now some elected officials are just looking to get through the first weeks of November before they do anything unpopular,” said Dan Nafziger, chief medical officer at Goshen Hospital, referring to the restrictions seen in the state earlier this year that he believes are needed again.

“Without a doubt, the election is a factor,” said Mike Yoder, a Republican county commissioner.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/10/29/elkhart-indiana-covid-outbreak-election/?utm_source=reddit.com