With spring in full bloom it’s not surprising that people
are most anxious to end the coronavirus lockdowns and return to normalcy. The movement of many states and the federal
government to reopen businesses will certainly make a great number of people
happy, but it defies what science and the history of epidemics and pandemics
tell us.
What kind of society have we become if we ignore the
institutions we have created to guide us during such times? How can we discount organizations like the
Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, and the World
Health Organization, as well as Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, a prominent infectious
disease expert and White House advisor?
President Trump and some state governors will certainly win
the political favor of many rich and powerful individuals and corporate
executives, most of whom are white. But,
the people of color who have been most ravaged by the coronavirus and have
little political influence will pay the greatest price for this foolhardy relaxing
of restrictions.
Up to this point, the virus has disproportionately attacked
along socioeconomic lines. Those who
have to use public transportation, those with low paying jobs in which they
cannot work from home, and those with underlying health problems and poor
healthcare are especially susceptible right now.
“COVID-19 offers us a moment in time to pay attention to
these inequities,” explains Grace
A. Noppert, Postdoctoral Scholar in Epidemiology. “Pockets of COVID-19 transmission in any
community keep the risk of an enduring epidemic alive for every community
(emphasis added).”
Although the country has shown recent signs of promise, its
COVID-19 death rate is still alarmingly high and it’s testing grossly inadequate. Governmental leaders cannot make sound policy
decisions without comprehensive data on the number of infections. And it is unconscionable to do so while ignoring
the pervasive advice of the scientific and medical communities.
The recent emergence of a potentially lethal, pediatric
disease linked to COVID-19 is further cause for caution.
To prematurely open businesses now is to encourage the movement
of people from community to community and state to state which will encourage
the spread of the virus and ultimately prolong the social restrictions and
economic downturn. Certainly it will
encourage people to travel from hotspots like New York City to nearby areas where
the lockdown has been relaxed. Even the
suggestion of reopening soon is irresponsible because it gives the impression
we are nearly through this and can let our guard down.
Furthermore, government agencies do not have the resources
to insure compliance with the various laws businesses will have to follow when
reopening. Invariably some businesses
left to their own devices will bend the rules.
And as we learned from the notorious Westport,
Connecticut party that became national news for spreading the virus, a
single incident can trigger a ripple effect of contagion.
In the months since the coronavirus first came to our
attention in late December 2019, we have not seen any comprehensive, timely, clear,
and consistent top-down leadership at either a federal or state level. The response to the pandemic has clearly
demonstrated how dysfunctional government in general has become and how few
politicians in a reactionary, media frenetic world are equipped with the foresight
and courage to make tough, but necessary decisions to bring us all through these
difficult times.
A patchwork of policies by individual communities, states,
and the federal government only invites disaster. We are all in the same lifeboat and we will
only weather the storm with minimal pain and suffering if we all row in unison
and no one rocks the boat. This is not
the time for politics. This is not the
time for scapegoats. This is not the
time for bravado. And this is not the
time for greed. It is a time for courage,
sound decision making, and accountability.
In the absence of such leadership we need to let science and
history guide us, and that means voicing your dissatisfaction with this
reckless policy direction. And above all,
we need to sanctify the preservation of all human life.
