Documents for Download:
- Fargo Directive by Mayor Dr. Tim Mahoney - Stay Home. | Save Lives.
- West Fargo Directive by Commission President Bernie Dardis - Stay Home. | Save Lives.
- One Page Synopsis of Fargo's Stay Home. | Stay Lives. Directive
I am joined today by West Fargo Commission President Bernie Dardis, Cass County Chair Chad Peterson and Fargo Park Board President Jerry Rostad and we are here to discuss an important new directive for the Fargo – West Fargo metro. It is called “Stay Home. | Save Lives.” I have five main points I’d like to discuss with you today:
This pandemic is unlike any other crisis.
In a flood, we can reasonably predict how conditions will impact a future crest thanks to many years of experience. This is an entirely different challenge. We do not have a hundred years of reports to predict this “COVID-19 Beast.” We do, however, have the ability to affect the duration of this viral curve and the number of people infected. This will be and is more serious than floods. Many people are losing their lives in the United States, including people in Cass County. Healthcare systems across the nation are becoming overwhelmed. Our local economy is already being severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
100% activation is required.
In a flood event, 2 to 5 percent of our residents physically volunteer to produce sandbags, but if we failed in a flood fight, every person in Fargo would be affected. The COVID-19 pandemic requires 100% of our residents to activate themselves to minimize this local disaster, which is already impacting every person in our metro. I need 100% engagement. This is not a “never leave your house order.” Instead, I’m trusting each of you to be “North Dakota Smart” as North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has directed. We are standing here today in full support of North Dakota’s statewide efforts. By issuing these local orders, we are supporting Governor Burgum’s work by issuing specific guidance to the residents of the Fargo-West Fargo metro to make sure everybody is taking this as seriously as possible. This is important - I’m asking you to think twice when you leave your home. Be smart when you do things. When you need to get groceries, do so in a reasonable way. There is no reason to turn the trip into a social excursion or to hoard food. When grabbing takeout from one of our many great local restaurants, be respectful that the restaurant employee is seeing dozens of people every day. Keep physical distance between you and them and wear a mask.
You can be a lifesaver.
In many national crises, we can feel helpless because we cannot offer direct assistance. In this situation, we can all make a difference, especially in a rural state like North Dakota. We have seen differences in modeling with some projecting a 30% community infection rate in North Dakota and others projecting up to 80%. We need to engage in much more than “wishful thinking” to keep this infection rate much closer to the lower percentage of community spread. We can and should put these measures in place immediately. Follow the new CDC guidelines and begin wearing masks when you make essential trips outside of the home in order to protect you and those around you. Masks are not meant to take the place of physical distancing and good handwashing hygiene – but they can be valuable as an additional strategy to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Our front line defenses against this virus are healthcare professionals, public health experts and our first responders. It is important to remember these people could actually be the same ones we are encountering when purchasing groceries or going to the pharmacy. Wearing these masks protects our front lines of defense by allowing them to stay healthy so they can save lives...maybe even your own.
Save your summer.
Even if you are young and experiencing no symptoms, you may be a carrier and infecting people around you of all ages. We are seeing that 55% of Cass County COVID-19 positive cases are under the age of 40. We clearly are not getting through to you. Let’s personalize this a little more. You likely enjoy your summers in the Red River Valley and everything they entail. Think about these events: outdoor concerts at Bluestem, RedHawks games, the Downtown Street Fair, Happy Harry’s Ribfest, TEDx, the Red River Valley Fair and Fourth of July festivities. That’s just to name a few. We could all miss out on these events if we are still in a period of social distancing because the virus is running rampant. The only things that determine whether or not we are still in a period of social distancing is you if we can get this virus handled. So, how do we get COVID-19 under control? There are many unknowns about this virus, but one thing we do know is that without human contact the spread of COVID-19 will cease. Did you know that Fargo is known as the “City of Parks.” I love our parks more than anyone. But, for the next month, we cannot have what I saw last week; with ten people who otherwise wouldn’t have contact with each other getting together for a basketball game in Island Park. This type of close contact is dangerous right now. If one of those ten people were a carrier, and did not know it, that person could infect the other players, and each of them could infect an additional 16. That is how this spreads to 160 people – because of one game of pickup basketball. Social distancing is critically important.
We the People can end this crisis.
Your city, state and federal governments can and are putting substantial resources and personnel into place to respond to COVID-19. We are trying to attack this three-fold: By community education, by prevention and through treatment. The government alone, however, cannot solve this crisis. We the People are the ones who can mitigate the spread in our community. All of this is for nothing if our people continue to be carriers and transmitters of this virus. As a physician, as a father, as the husband of a front line nurse, as the Fargo COVID-19 Incident Commander and as your Mayor I feel it is my duty to issue the Stay Home. | Save Lives. Directive at this time. As we recently heard from the U.S. Surgeon General, this is the time we can make the most impact over the next few weeks. We would rather be accused of doing too much than doing too little. We cannot be wrong on this. I am doing what I feel is best for our community and our people. This is real and it is time for real action by our citizens. Today, we are doubling down on the Governor’s actions and orders by issuing these local directives. We are making sure that people understand the importance. Let me be clear: this is NOT a shelter in place order and this is NOT a mass business closure. This is an order requiring our people to stay smart by staying home whenever possible to stop the spread and save lives. Make a difference now. We need you to take us seriously. We need you to take our Governor seriously and our world needs each of you to take the virus seriously. This is one of the biggest crises we have ever faced in our community’s history. Now is the time – stay home to save lives.
I want to reiterate that I need you to incorporate these five main points immediately:
- This pandemic is unlike any other crisis.
- 100% activation is required.
- You can be a lifesaver.
- Save your summer.
- We the People can end this crisis.
If we do this, together, we will save lives.