Walls with Holes

 Pennsylvania announced new rules for dealing with the surge in the virus yesterday...and two of them concern me, not for what they are intended to do or their direct consequences, but because they impress me as being inherently unenforceable.

The first restricts private gatherings, even in your own home, to no more than 10 people. A good idea, yes, but how do you prevent violations, or even know when they have occurred? What punishment ensues for those who do violate this restriction?

The second calls for anyone entering the state from another state to either have tested negative within 72 hours before crossing the border or else quarantine for 14 days after arriving. Again, how is this to be enforced? Beyond airports and train stations, Pennsylvania has literally thousand of roads (and not just major highways) that cross the state line with Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, and New York. In my own area, there are scores of little local streets that go from towns in Delaware County to towns in New Castle County, Delaware. Many of them do not even change their names as they go from one state to the other; the only indication that you have moved from Delaware to Pennsylvania is a change in the style of the street signs and, possibly but not always, a sign that says "Welcome to Pennsylvania". It is quite literally impossible to guard everyone of these crossings with a state cop or other official to ask for proof of a COVID test.

Why does this concern me? Because regulations and restrictions (whether concerning COVID or anything else) that cannot be enforced lead to a belief (among a certain class of residents) that none of the regulations and restrictions matter. "You can't stop him from coming into the state with a full-blown case of the virus? Then why should I bother wearing a mask in the store?" Yes, most residents will not take that attitude...but if the past eight months have taught us anything, it is that there is a significant number that will use any excuse to defy even common sense rules, if they see them as inconvenient or somehow intruding on their individual rights. And it is that small but significant number who then spread the infection among the rest of us.

Yes, I protect myself...and so I am not likely to contract COVID (I've come through the whole thing so far, even while working in a store for four months, healthy). But my worry is that these people will strain our medical system, will force even tighter restrictions on businesses, and eventually cause severe damage to the state and the nation.