We’re as anxious as anyone for the local economy to get rolling again. The plan to do that regionally proposed by Rep. Blaine Wilhour of Beecher City has its merits. It also raises questions – but any plan worth considering should be able to stand up to questioning.

The local representative says that as long as hospital bed capacity remains sufficient to meet the demand for any new COVID-19 cases, regions should be allowed to open over the course of three phases in 14-day increments.

We hope there will be a lot of questions when the Effingham County Board considers a resolution on Wednesday to endorse Wilhour’s plan.

For example, it says that during all three phases there will be "available testing and monitoring for employees of the following groups: Long Term Care Facilities, Assisted Living/Group Home Facilities, Hospitals (In-Patient and Staff), Healthcare Workers, Law Enforcement."

What exactly does "available testing and monitoring" mean? The plan says the public health department will monitor businesses. Is that the county health department? Who provides the tests? How often are they administered? What is the frequency of monitoring? If it’s the county, does the county have the resources to handle all of that?

COVID-19 tests have been performed on just a couple hundred people in Effingham County since the health crisis began. Are there hundreds – thousands? – of tests now available in the county to cover all these groups? If there are, that’s great. But we’d like to hear county health officials address the county board on these points.

The plan says that throughout Wilhour’s phases masks are required for employees of most businesses open to the public – as well as temperature screenings, with employees exhibiting temperatures above 100.4 F. sent home. Who makes sure employees are wearing masks and getting their temperatures taken? Who makes sure people with high temperatures are sent home? Will county health department employees fan out across all these businesses, returning to each one multiple times during Wilhour’s phases?

We don’t see a requirement for patrons to wear masks. We’re not suggesting patrons must wear masks – even though that’s the courteous thing to do and we encourage it. But we’d like a health professional to explain to the county board why it’s different for employees and patrons. We could guess, but we think it’s the sort of thing for a health expert to talk about.

For that matter, has the county board invited any doctors to the meeting? Perhaps it should ask Dr. Ryan Jennings, the chief medical officer at HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital. We’ve come to trust doctors more than politicians on either side of the aisle during these confusing times.

Places of Worship are allowed 25% occupancy in Wilhour’s first phase, 50% occupancy in the second phase and 75% in the third phase. Who decides who gets to go to church? Can pastors talk to the county board about the feasibility of this?

Frankly, we have similar questions regarding the governor’s plan to open regions of the state. The main differences we see are in timing. Pritzker seems abundantly cautious.

We just want any plan to be workable and based on science. Along those lines, there are a ton of other questions than these few to ask county board members and Wilhour.

Ask them.