As states and municipalities prepare to lift some social distancing restrictions in the coronavirus crisis, a poll of local leaders this week found nearly 64% think the current restrictions are “about right.”
Chattanooga City Councilwoman Carol Berz responded that closing some businesses and imposing social distancing restrictions were smart steps to combat the pandemic and limit the spread of the coronavirus.
“The nation was ill-prepared for the pandemic, the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control) being insufficiently funded by President Trump since at least 2017,” Berz wrote in response to a question in a new Power Poll of leaders in Chattanooga and Hamilton County. “On the other hand Chattanooga’s response, though inconvenient, was right on target.”
Others who responded to the poll, including Hamilton County Commissioners Tim Boyd and Sabrena Smedley, wrote that restrictions need to be lifted.
“We need to go back to work!” Smedley wrote in her survey comments. In a follow-up email, she added that caution is important in that process.