* Scott County had been the only county in the state without a confirmed COVID-19 case until last week. Neal Earley with the Sun-Times headed over there to have a look around. It’s a good piece, so you should read the whole thing, but here’s one excerpt…

Like so many other parts of Illinois, the county is eager to return to normalcy, [Winchester mayor Rex McIntire] said.

But some restaurant owners say they’re not seeing a return to that normalcy. In Winchester, many townspeople are still wary of returning to indoor dining.

At the Pitt Stop, a restaurant along the main square in Winchester, business remains slow. Owner Jeff Pittman attributes it to coronavirus concerns and summer heat keeping customers away.

Pittman, who serves as an alderman in Winchester, said he mostly closed his restaurant to indoor seating. He was the only one working at this restaurant Monday night. […]

A few weeks ago, a visitor from the Chicago suburbs showed up at Winchester Bowl, a popular restaurant and bowling alley in town […]

But even back then, business was slow and has yet to pick-up, limited to carry-out food orders. Few are bowling. Around happy hour on Monday, Granger had just one customer.

It’s not the disaster proclamations, it’s the virus. People need to wear masks, keep their distance and use actual common sense until there’s an effective treatment and/or vaccination.

Throwing people to the zombies is not the answer here.

*** UPDATE *** Greg Hinz has some national poll results from Harris…

Forty-three percent of those surveyed said mayors should make limiting the spread of COVID-19 the priority over reopening business, with 35 percent saying both should be equal priorities. Just 15 percent—about 1 in 6—said reopening should be the priority. […]

Asked specifically about reopening offices, 8 percent said workplaces should reopen immediately without restrictions, and another 56 percent said sometime this summer, with safety requirements in place. But 19 percent said offices should wait until “fall/winter” to reopen, and an additional 17 percent said offices should stay shut “indefinitely.” […]

Safety masks are popular, at least in theory. Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed say they wear masks every time/most of the time when they are out in public. But only 49 percent say all or almost all of those they see out are doing so.