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'We need to walk and chew gum at the same time' | Louisville launches COVID-19 Renewal Task Force

More than 45 city and business leaders joined forces to fight the coronavirus and its lasting impacts.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When will things get back to normal? That is one of the more popular questions and the one with no exact answer. That said, Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI) and the chamber of commerce for Louisville has assembled a team to put us in position to bounce back when that time comes.

Last week GLI announced a newly formed ‘COVID-19 Renewal Task Force’.

The mail goals of the task force include:

  • Provide high-level guidance and insight on business response efforts.
  • Identify any areas of need in the community that have not already been addressed and organize partners for action.
  • Advocate for COVID-19 relief at the local, state, and federal levels.
  • Provide input on an exit strategy from the quarantine.
  • Mobilize financial resources when needed.
  • Leverage your business networks to engage others in relief efforts.

So far about more than forty-five city and business leaders accepted the invitation. First-term Councilman Anthony Piagentini spent the weekend drafting a plan he says is an exit strategy.

“What I hope is that happens pretty quickly -- we have a lot of very dedicated and passionate people throwing their ideas on the table. What will come out of that is hopefully a really good,” Piagentini said.

He wants the plan to be a spring board for further discussion and planning. His draft also talks about the cost of the cure.

“I don’t think anybody disputes that social distancing is reducing the total death toll – that’s excellent – that’s great.”

Piagentini doesn’t discount the actions governments have taken but said “we need to walk and chew gum at the same time.”

“By shutting down the economy there are repercussions to those decisions,” Piagentini points out. What are the outcomes of the decisions we are making and is there a point when our cure becomes more costly—in terms of lives for example – than the disease?”

“Poverty has a mortality rate – we are going to significantly increase the poverty rate with the shutdown of jobs and businesses, that needs to be part of the equation,” he says.

Piagentini estimates we could see 1,000 to 1,500 deaths per year due to the impacts of poverty connected to the coronavirus in our community.

Piagentini’s draft includes six action steps:

  1. Agree on a model we are following so we can track progress.
  2. Release a regular (daily if possible) accounting of our current health care capacity including material (e.g. PPE, ventilators), infrastructure (e.g. hospital beds and space), and personnel (doctors, nurses, etc.).
  3. Agree on a set of benchmarks and steps that would trigger the reopening of society and the lifting of executive orders.
  4. Quantify the affect the ‘cure’ is having on public health to ensure we aren’t creating a public crisis that is larger than the disease.
  5. Agree, in conjunction with business leaders and public health officials, how to reopen businesses and continue to reduce the risk of continuing the spread the virus.
  6. Document an exit strategy plan and submit it for public scrutiny.

Piagentini said action is needed now so when the time comes to reopen businesses are as prepared as possible.

“There is an increase – a crescendo of states – that have had a larger impact than we’ve had --that are doing this. We need to do it as well.”

Piagentini said he encourages anyone to look at his plan and give him feedback but reiterates the plan needs to made public, “that is an important part of public processes – visibility and transparency.”

The first Task Force meeting is Thursday and Piagentini said he’ll summarize the draft to the members and hopes others have ideas to build on his draft.

Here's a first look at Plagentini's draft:

WHAS11 News' FOCUS Team obtained a the following list of the members that that have confirmed they will participate in the task force.

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