This weekend, too many people were acting as if this disease is beaten

OK, North Texans, we saw some of you this weekend — cautiously venturing out at the limited reopening of restaurants, tennis courts and golf courses. You shopped in the malls and patronized the stores and other businesses that were open.

Those were hopeful signs that at some point, we can return to some semblance of life as we knew it before this pandemic.

But freedom comes with responsibility. As more restrictions are lifted, it’s critical that we continue to be smart and safe to avoid worsening the spread of coronavirus and a return to sheltering in place for all of us.

We’ll say it again: That means wearing masks in public. That means social distancing in restaurants. That means resisting the urge for mass gatherings in backyards and parks.

While we applaud those who are following the health experts’ advice on how to stay healthy, we saw some taking dangerous risks. Some restaurant patios were packed. We saw crowded parks and neighborhood gatherings. Alarmingly, not everyone was wearing a mask or remaining the recommended six feet apart.

Keep this up and we’ll be right back where we started with this public health crisis.

It’s worrisome that on the first weekend of Gov. Greg Abbott’s reopening order, Dallas County saw its highest daily number of positive cases. Officials reported 234 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, two days after a previous one-day high of 187. And there have been a total of 111 coronavirus-related deaths.

We knew that with more testing, the numbers would rise. Front-line workers such as grocery store employees without symptoms can now be tested at drive-through centers, for example. Original estimates had the county reaching its peak of cases by mid-May, after which there could be a decline.

But we won’t get on the downside of the curve if we don’t all take proper measures to slow the spread. A key data point to watch is whether the number of hospitalizations rise. So far, officials say they’re not overwhelmed. We know that can change all too quickly.

We argued that shelter-in-place orders had to end at some point and the state had to formulate a strategy on how to gradually and safely refuel a stalling economy. But to make that strategy work, testing and contact tracing to determine the virus’s spread also must expand quickly and efficiently.

Abbott’s plan is a reasonable measured way forward.

More restrictions will be lifted soon and we’ll see more businesses open their doors. None of it will work if we don’t all do our part. Each person gets to decide what’s best personally in this continuing crisis. We can survive it, if we are mindful that our behavior affects thousands of other Texans.

This isn’t over by a long shot. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Stay six feet away.