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A30 FEATURE
Thursday 26 March 2020
Rural America watches pandemic erupt in cities as fear grows

By GILLIAN FLACCUS stands at ninety," the let-
Associated Press ter states. "Not nine hun-
DUFUR, Ore. (AP) — The dred, not nine thousand,
social distancing rules re- not ninety thousand. Nine-
peated like a mantra in ty. This number is sure to
America's urban centers, rise in the near future but
where the coronavirus we need to keep our wits
is spreading exponen- about us."
tially, might seem silly in Others worry about outsid-
wide-open places where ers bringing the disease
neighbors live miles apart to truly remote areas that
and "working from home" aren't equipped to deal
means another day spent with it. Across the nation,
branding calves or driving there are over 51,000 gen-
a tractor alone through a eral intensive care beds in
field. urban counties, compared
But as the pandemic with just 5,600 in rural coun-
spreads through the U.S., ties, according to data
those living in rural areas, compiled by The Associ-
ated Press.
Those beds serve a smaller
population than in urban
areas, but it would still take
In this photo taken March 20, 2020, cattle rancher Mike Filbin stands on his property in Dufur, Ore., fewer people in rural areas
after herding some cows and talks about the impact the new coronavirus is having on his rural to overwhelm a typical hos-
community.
Associated Press pital. In fiscal year 2018, the
average rural hospital had
too, are increasingly threat- school and work closures, home haven for dozens of eight ICU beds, compared
ened. Tiny towns tucked and it eliminates the possi- celebrities. with 20 for a typical hospital
into Oregon's windswept bility of the FaceTime card It's also become the epi- in an urban area.
plains and cattle ranches games and virtual cocktail center of Idaho's caseload, In Georgiana, a small town
miles from anywhere in hours that urban Americans with at least 35 cases and in southern Alabama, the
South Dakota might not have turned to in droves to known community spread only hospital closed last
have had a single case of stay connected. of the virus. At least 14 of the year and residents have
the new coronavirus, but The routine ways that rural cases are among health now been forced to flock
their main streets are also Americans connect — a care workers, forcing the to the health clinic instead
empty and their medical bingo night, stopping in at town's small medical work- when a person in a town 5
clinics overwhelmed by the a local diner or attending ers to bring in replacement miles (8 kilometers) away
worried. Residents from ru- a potluck — are suddenly staffers from nearby cities. was diagnosed with CO-
ral Alabama to the woods taboo. "Our town thrives on peo- VID-19. More than 30% of
of Vermont to the frozen "Rural people are reliant on ple coming to town, and Georgiana's 1,600 residents
reaches of Alaska fear the their neighbors and have for the first time in our his- are over age 60, putting
spread of the disease from more confidence and trust tory we are discouraging them at higher risk with
outsiders, the social isola- in their neighbors," said visitors," said Bradshaw, of limited medical facilities to
tion that comes when the Ken Johnson, a senior de- the town of 2,700 people. serve them, said Mayor Je-
town's only diner closes, mographer at the Carsey "Initially people had differ- rome Antone.
and economic collapse in School of Public Policy ent levels of adoption, but The town's older residents,
places where jobs were al- and professor of sociology there's tremendous com- he said, are "aggressively
ready tough to come by. at the University of New munity pressure that we're upset" even though no one
"Nobody knows what to do Hampshire. "Now you have all in this together. We've there has been diagnosed
and they're just running in people who are supposed gone from being a vibrant yet.
circles, so stay away from to self-isolate themselves. town to a ghost town." In Alaska's Point Hope, an
me is what I'm saying," said What does that mean The town's coffers rely on a Inupiat whaling village
Mike Filbin, a 70-year-old when people you depend local option tax, and if that at the edge of the Arctic
cattle rancher in Wasco on, in order to help you, are drops by half the city will Ocean nearly 700 miles
County, Oregon, one of going to put themselves have lost $700,000 in rev- (1,130 kilometers) north of
the few parts of the state and their families at risk? I enue, he said. Anchorage, tribal leaders
that has yet to see a case don't know what that will Some communities have have been preparing and
of COVID-19. do in rural America." pushed back on shutdowns discussing potential issues
"Right now, we're pretty Neil Bradshaw, the mayor that have brought daily such as air travel into town.
clean over here, but we're of Ketchum, Idaho, is start- life to a standstill. Leaders The state's limited road
not immune to nothin' — ing to see the answer in his from seven Utah counties, system doesn't reach the
and if they start bringing it own community. for example, sent a letter community of 900 people,
over, it'll explode here." The rural resort town has earlier this week to Gov. which relies on planes for
To make matters worse, struggled since the arrival Gary Herbert urging a "re- much of its connection to
some of the most remote of COVID-19, and he fears turn to normalcy," and said the outside world.
communities have limited if the virus lingers too long, the closure of schools and This week, one of the two
or no internet access and it could devastate it. The business was causing panic airlines that serve Point
spotty cellphone service. town is nestled next door and hurting the economy. Hope will begin restricting
That makes telecommuting to the tony skiing destina- "As of (Monday), the total flights to cargo and pas-
and online learning chal- tion Sun Valley Resort and deaths attributed to the sengers with medical or
lenging in an era of blanket is known as the second- virus in the United States other essential needs.q