Gov. Beshear is headed in right direction, but Ky still needs firm reopening date

Last week, I challenged Governor Andrew Beshear to join both Republican and Democrat states around the nation and set a full reopening date for Kentucky’s economy.

It’s apparent that my call to “reopen Kentucky” hit a nerve in the Governor’s Office. On Friday, the Governor blasted out an opinion piece in which he criticized those who are calling for a full reopening date as “partisan” and revised his position on lifting restrictions.

While his latest announcement of loosening capacity restrictions is a step in the right direction, it is still not good enough for our small businesses, like restaurants, or where other leaders across the country are headed or have been.

The loosening of capacity restrictions is long overdue and lags where some states, including some of the most left-leaning ones, already are. For instance, the Governor said Kentucky restaurants can operate at 75 percent capacity starting on May 28 – a level by which New York City restaurants are already operating. Pennsylvania, led by a Democrat governor, will lift almost every single COVID-19 restriction on Memorial Day. California, also led by a Democrat, has set a reopening state for June 15. Florida, Tennessee, and Indiana have been fully open for months.

When such a diverse set of states around the nation are setting reopening dates, why can’t Kentucky?

It’s just plain silly for the Governor and others to say that this idea of fully reopening and setting a reopening date in Kentucky is partisan. Here in Kentucky, it’s a bipartisan cause. Kentucky Sports Radio’s own Matt Jones, a well-known Democrat who has considered running for office, agrees with me. Even a liberal columnist in this newspaper agreed with me.

The virus is real. It’s taken a severe toll on our world. I’ve met people who have lost loved ones. I’ve also met business owners who have lost their life savings due to the effect of the virus on our economy. And in recent weeks as I’ve traveled the state for a series of roundtables, I’ve heard from Kentuckians, especially those living along our borders, who tell me they routinely travel to fully-reopened Indiana and Tennessee to spend their money.

The reality is this: The longer we refuse to fully open up, and specifically refuse to give a full reopening date, the longer we will lose jobs and workers to other states. While I think we should already be open, setting a full reopening date as soon as possible will send a signal of confidence to Kentuckians and to our small businesses as we get back to normal.

And of course, the vaccine is part of restoring normalcy and it’s readily available. I tell everyone I know that I think it’s one of the best ways to get things back to normal. In fact, at one of my recent roundtables with business owners and farmers at the Laurel County Extension Office, I encouraged attendees to take advantage of the vaccine clinic occurring on-site on the same day. But at the end of the day, taking the vaccine is a personal choice, and so is supporting our small businesses.

We know more about this virus than we did last year and we have unprecedented access to therapeutics and vaccines. I hope we can follow the emerging bipartisan national consensus, fully reopen our state, and get back to making Kentucky a great place to work and live.

In order to do that, Governor Andrew Beshear should give Kentuckians a full reopening date. It can’t come soon enough.

Ryan Quarles serves as Kentucky’s Commissioner of Agriculture.