Name: Opinion | Northam stumbles through a crisis that should have made him a rock star
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Opinion | Northam stumbles through a crisis that should have made him a rock star

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This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift ShareMark J. Rozell is the dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, where he holds the Ruth D. and John T. Hazel chair in public policy.What a missed opportunity.That’s the undeniable conclusion after watching Gov. Ralph Northam (D), the only governor in the nation who is a doctor, shamble through Virginia’s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, a crisis that should have been right in his sweet spot.Northam’s medical training uniquely positioned him for confident, assertive and sure-footed leadership of Virginia in the defining crisis of our time. But his stewardship has been marked by confusion, halting half-measures, about whether testing data were fudged to begin a reopening early and a bewildering resistance to providing timely, essential information to an anxious public.AdvertisementThis pandemic presented Northam with a golden moment to position himself nationally as a respected authority, juxtaposed against a flailing, cartoonish president who inexplicably played down the disease’s severity and the magnitude of the global outbreak, who spouted embarrassing and dangerous whims as possible cures and who angrily lashed out at medical experts who dared contradict him with scientific fact.Instead, Northam drifted along in February and early March, offering lip service and tepid half-measures lacking actionable detail. In late March, when the horrific onset of an exponentially spreading disease was undeniable, he of nonessential businesses, home-sheltering for all but those involved in essential functions and social distancing in places such as grocery stores.His administration’s response to the crisis has lurched from one underachievement to another.AdvertisementOnly five states and Puerto Rico have tested fewer residents per capita for coronavirus than Virginia, according to an . And even those numbers are inflated by unreliable antibody testing.The Department of Health refuses to account publicly for coronavirus outbreaks and deaths at , even when in mortality from the disease.Unable to keep pace with other states in securing personal protective equipment (PPE) for health-care professionals, the state entered a $573,000 contract with a high-dollar global consultancy to obtain the PPE but is of the deal.Finally, Northam appears to be ignoring Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for , among the few areas where he and the Trump White House have concurred.AdvertisementNortham was adamant that social distancing and home-sheltering orders remain in place until after the number of cases and deaths had declined for 14 consecutive days. As showed cases cresting, Northam announced a “” reopening of business starting May 15, allowing some merchants, restaurants, houses of worship and others to open at limited capacity while entertainment venues remain closed. He justified the about-face in part by citing replenished PPE inventories and more testing. He insisted on a unified Virginia approach in which all regions — populous, hard-hit areas as well as rural, sparsely populated ones with few cases — reopen as one, only to acquiesce twice as, held out for slower reopenings.Northam is nothing if not a gentleman. His thrice-weekly news conferences are nonconfrontational compared with Trump’s sneering televised rants. Northam is calm and reassuring — doctorly.But history won’t judge him on those soft skills. It will judge him on whether he guided Virginia through this crisis and delivered certainty and leadership — a plan — to businesses waiting to reopen, workers desperate to save their jobs and families burning through their savings and fearing the future.Read more:The latest: More than two years into the pandemic, , , while liberal Montgomery County asks . Meanwhile, Black funeral directors still face a daunting amount of and the omicron wave has had an .At-home tests: Here’s .Mapping the spread: Tens of thousands have died in the and numberin the hundreds of thousands.Omicron: Remaining , plus a breakdown of and .Get the latest local news: Sign up for the and CommentsGift ArticleTOP STORIESClimate ChangeReporting on Earth’s changing climate and the people trying to find solutions to one of the biggest challenges of our era.Try a different topic or to save your preferences

This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift ShareMark J. Rozell is the dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, where he holds the Ruth D. and John T. Hazel chair in public policy.What a missed opportunity.That’s the undeniable conclusion after watching Gov. Ralph Northam (D), the only governor in the nation who is a doctor, shamble through Virginia’s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, a crisis that should have been right in his sweet spot.Northam’s medical training uniquely positioned him for confident, assertive and...

Opinion | Northam stumbles through a crisis that should have made him a rock star

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