The sidewalks in downtown Hermiston sit empty on a Friday afternoon in early April. A group of Hermiston residents is pushing to reopen the town and put an end to social distancing requirements.

Many counties across the state already turned in plans to the state for a phased reopening and we hope soon Umatilla County will be able to see the light at the end of the COVID-19 virus tunnel.

But that isn’t going to happen anytime soon based on the number of cases that continue to erupt locally. The decision as to when we can reopen rests firmly in our own hands.

As the East Oregonian reported Sunday, the county’s total COVID-19 cases climbed to 83 and while some of the spike can be attributed to more testing, the single overriding factor in the rise, according to the health department, is instances where residents are spreading the sickness at social gatherings.

That means a couple of things. First, it shows that the social distancing measures — proven to be effective throughout the nation — are not being followed as closely as they should be within our county. Secondly, the longer people decline to follow social distancing and more cases are reported, the longer it will be before the county can reopen.

In a way we wish it was more complicated than just a willingness to follow a few simple guidelines. But it isn’t. Health officials from the federal level on down have repeatedly stated the steps — easy to follow — to stop the spread of the virus. We are not doing that. Instead, we are creating an environment for the virus to flourish.

A release from the health department last week showed that over a 14-day span, 42 area residents began to show signs of COVID-19 virus symptoms with as many as six a day becoming symptomatic. That is a stunning statistic and should be a wake-up call for everyone.

The COVID-19 virus has killed over 80,000 in the U.S. and over 285,000 globally. It is highly contagious. It isn’t “just like the flu.” It is more dangerous than the flu. Because it is so highly contagious that means we all must subscribe to the methods outlined by health officials to stop the virus from spreading.

None of the social distancing rules or the shutdown of the state itself has been easy. Yes, statewide we’ve seemed to cut the spread of the contagion. Yet, on the other side of the coin, thousands are out of work and the small business community is suffering terribly. There is an understandable urge to get things going again. We get that.

But until we can get the number of cases to stabilize, we are not going to be able to reopen. So, practice social distancing. Wear a mask. Let’s all work together to get past this as fast as possible.