We’re Going to Reopen Soon, and We ShouldReal Clear Politics, Apr 18, 2020, Jim Talent
No one should kid themselves. We’re not at the end of the COVID-19 epidemic. We’re not even at the beginning of the end. But to paraphrase Winston Churchill, we are approaching the end of the beginning; and that means the severe social distancing restrictions, which were imposed to achieve certain goals in the early stage of pandemic response, can and should be adjusted in recognition of our growing ability to deal with the disease in a more targeted way.
As always, context is important. The extraordinary social distancing measures were designed to slow the spread of the virus. They were a hedge against the worst-case scenario – a spike in the number of severe infections that would overwhelm local health care systems. That kind of spike happened in China and in Italy, and no one wanted it to happen anywhere else.
There were other benefits to the restrictions. They bought time to gather information about the virus, build greater surge capability in the health system, pursue effective medical countermeasures, and develop and scale up diagnostic testing. They also convinced the public, as nothing else would have, of the importance of learning and practicing the kind of hygienic protocols that health officials have been urging people to adopt for years.
The measures have succeeded beyond the expectations of health authorities. This epidemic will continue to claim too many victims, but the infection rate is slowing, and the virulence of the disease looks to be less than feared. As a result, we now can have greater confidence that there is enough reserve capacity in the health system to provide everyone who needs it with intensive care.
That means the severe restrictions have served their primary purpose and the benefit of the doubt should be given to lifting them in the next few weeks. This is not a question of weighing economic concerns against health concerns. Public health authorities know better than anyone that general quarantines – and that is essentially what has been imposed in many places – have mixed health implications and that where it is not necessary to continue them it is necessary that they be lifted.
Read more:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/04/18/were_going_to_reopen_soon_and_we_should_142963.html
