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| Why easing off social distancing soon would be a huge mistake | Why easing off social distancing soon would be a huge mistake |
| (2 months later) | |
| EVERYONE FEELS cramped, worried and fearful, not only of the novel coronavirus but also of the toll it is taking on the economy. It is smart to think ahead about returning to normal. But the impatience with social distancing expressed by President Trump and others raises the possibility the president might ease off too soon. This would be a huge mistake. A hard road lies ahead; it is not yet time to exit. | EVERYONE FEELS cramped, worried and fearful, not only of the novel coronavirus but also of the toll it is taking on the economy. It is smart to think ahead about returning to normal. But the impatience with social distancing expressed by President Trump and others raises the possibility the president might ease off too soon. This would be a huge mistake. A hard road lies ahead; it is not yet time to exit. |
| Mr. Trump tweeted his frustration late Sunday night, saying he did not want to “let the cure be worse than the problem itself,” and declaring he would decide “as to which way we want to go” at the end of his designated 15-day period of social distancing. Then Monday evening, Mr. Trump said, “America will again, and soon, be open for business. Very soon. A lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. A lot sooner.” He signaled his intention to relax his guidelines to limit damage to the economy. Earlier, his former economic adviser Gary Cohn called for discussing “a date when the economy can turn back on.” Lloyd Blankfein, the former chief of Goldman Sachs, proposed that “within a very few weeks [we] let those with a lower risk to the disease return to work.” | Mr. Trump tweeted his frustration late Sunday night, saying he did not want to “let the cure be worse than the problem itself,” and declaring he would decide “as to which way we want to go” at the end of his designated 15-day period of social distancing. Then Monday evening, Mr. Trump said, “America will again, and soon, be open for business. Very soon. A lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. A lot sooner.” He signaled his intention to relax his guidelines to limit damage to the economy. Earlier, his former economic adviser Gary Cohn called for discussing “a date when the economy can turn back on.” Lloyd Blankfein, the former chief of Goldman Sachs, proposed that “within a very few weeks [we] let those with a lower risk to the disease return to work.” |
| More coverage of the coronavirus pandemic | More coverage of the coronavirus pandemic |
| This is an understandable goal, but if done wrong it will boomerang. The virus is highly contagious. Separating people by social distancing while isolating the sick helps break the chains of transmission and spares hospitals a disastrous overload, at least until a treatment or vaccine is found. In the United States, social distancing has been in place only a week or two. If the restrictions are relaxed now and people start to congregate again, the consequence might be a second explosion of infections and death. | This is an understandable goal, but if done wrong it will boomerang. The virus is highly contagious. Separating people by social distancing while isolating the sick helps break the chains of transmission and spares hospitals a disastrous overload, at least until a treatment or vaccine is found. In the United States, social distancing has been in place only a week or two. If the restrictions are relaxed now and people start to congregate again, the consequence might be a second explosion of infections and death. |
| Judging by China’s experience, this first wave may take 10 weeks or more. Certainly the business leaders who are thinking about how to move on are right; someone should be planning for the reentry of workers into the economy. If our health-care systems survive the first wave and are properly supplied, and testing is widely available, then adjustments can be made to the social distancing regimen to help get people working again. Some careful thought should be given to how those who have recovered and show immunity can work without spreading infection to those who are still vulnerable. It will require a surge in medical supplies and testing; someone should be gearing up for that, even as others manage today’s health crisis. | Judging by China’s experience, this first wave may take 10 weeks or more. Certainly the business leaders who are thinking about how to move on are right; someone should be planning for the reentry of workers into the economy. If our health-care systems survive the first wave and are properly supplied, and testing is widely available, then adjustments can be made to the social distancing regimen to help get people working again. Some careful thought should be given to how those who have recovered and show immunity can work without spreading infection to those who are still vulnerable. It will require a surge in medical supplies and testing; someone should be gearing up for that, even as others manage today’s health crisis. |
| But at this stage, it would be wrong to relax the guidelines in pursuit of the chimera of economic rebound. | But at this stage, it would be wrong to relax the guidelines in pursuit of the chimera of economic rebound. |
| Read more: | Read more: |
| Tim Searchinger, Anthony LaMantia and Gordon Douglas: Mass testing is the only sustainable solution | Tim Searchinger, Anthony LaMantia and Gordon Douglas: Mass testing is the only sustainable solution |
| Jennifer Rubin: Trump cares more about the stock market than humans | Jennifer Rubin: Trump cares more about the stock market than humans |
| The Post’s View: Here’s an economic aid plan better than Mitch McConnell’s | The Post’s View: Here’s an economic aid plan better than Mitch McConnell’s |
| Nina Shapiro: We came to work for you. Please stay home for us. | Nina Shapiro: We came to work for you. Please stay home for us. |
| Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker: Facing covid-19 reality: A national lockdown is no cure | Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker: Facing covid-19 reality: A national lockdown is no cure |
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