Put your hands together for Line Comeau.
Clap for Dunbarton’s town administrator, who acted quickly after learning that precautions to fight the coronavirus might be needed Tuesday, at crowded events like election-day voting and town meetings later that night.
Or, rub your hands, after applying some of the hand sanitizer that Comeau ordered weeks ago.
Or, do both. Clap to say thank you. Rub to stay healthy. And since this woman showed the vision of an eagle with binoculars, learn how to say her first name properly.
It’s pronounced Leen. She’s earned at least that.
“We wanted to be pro-active,” Line told me Monday. “We wanted to make sure that if you’re shaking hands, you’ll have someplace to clean your hands if there’s no water around.”
That’s why she chose to load up on sanitizer, something that was easy to do before the term pandemic became a regular part of our day-to-day conversations.
As of late Monday, no one had postponed Tuesday’s ballot voting or night meetings. The same went for the meetings slated for Saturday.
That was confirmed late in the day, when a joint press release issued by Secretary of State Bill Gardner and Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said only four cases of coronavirus had been diagnosed in New Hampshire, and increased testing lately has shown no new cases.
The show must go on.
“Accordingly, New Hampshire public health is not recommending the cancellation of events at this time,” the statement read. “They encourage people to continue with their everyday activities but take precautions to protect themselves.”
The release went on to warn election officials to promote common sense ahead of time. Stay home if you have a fever. Disinfect potentially infected surfaces. Cover your mouth when coughing. Practice social distancing.
That information came to the media long after I’d called local school and town administrators, looking to see if they had any current information. They all speculated that all systems were go, but that was based on reports from previous days, showing the changing nature of the crisis.
The press release surfaced hours later, near the end of the workday. Before that, it was guesswork for officials.
“I would not postpone this,” said Pembroke town moderator Tom Petit. “The stuff I was listening to this morning on my way in seemed a little overblown to me.”
“As far as I know, we’re going ahead with Saturday’s meeting,” said Jim Goff, Pembroke’s town clerk.
“I don’t know,” said Evelyn Pike, Chichester’s town clerk. “As of now, we’re planning on opening the Saturday meeting at 10 in the morning.”
Elsewhere, in places like Italy and China, caution rules the day, because the numbers for this strange new sickness –those diagnosed and those who have died – grow each day. That could mean the teams in the four major North American sports leagues – Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NFL and the NHL – might soon be playing in empty stadiums and arenas.
The Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo are in jeopardy. Marathon road races have been canceled in Italy and China. The Bahrain Grand Prix next month, a Formula One race, will be held with no spectators at the track.
Elsewhere, the New Hampshire Special Olympics has canceled basketball assessments and the state basketball tournament this month, and sank the Greater Manchester Area Swim Meet next month.
These facts could lead to voters requesting absentee ballots to avoid close contact, but it’s not that easy.
“People are coming in for absentee ballots, but they needed a good reason to do that,” said Marge Morgan, the president of the New Hampshire City and Town Clerks Association. “The standard reason we accept is they will be out of town, but with the possibility of getting an illness, we’re not allowing it.”
Here, further clarity was needed, but it was nowhere to be found. Morgan said those who are more susceptible to the coronavirus, such as seniors, might be allowed to vote from home. But does that mean every senior in town might be eligible for absentee status? What’s the age cut-off? Who chooses?
Meanwhile, Morgan said town clerks will wear rubber gloves. She hopes hand sanitizer will be flowing throughout the state as well. Then she said there are no guarantees that either will be plentiful, at the polls or later during the meetings.
“Every town says the same thing,” Morgan said. “They’re out.”
Added Dave Stack, Bow’s town manager, “At the polls, we will keep the booths clean and there will be some hand sanitizer.”
When asked if he had enough to go around, Stack said. “We have to get some. The shelves are empty.”
I saw that firsthand Monday at a Concord grocery store, where hand sanitizer was gone, replaced on the shelf by boxes of tissues. The employee there chuckled when I asked if the store had any hand sanitizer left.
Which brings us back to Comeau. She heard about the potential danger, about a new infection that could one day circle the globe. She took it seriously.
More than most.
“We have to be prepared,” Comeau said. “I have to prepare everything for the selectmen and I thought this hand sanitizer might be an extra, helpful tool.”
So clap your hands, or rub your hands, or do both, voters in Dunbarton. Line’s vision was sharp, indeed.