It would appear from what is currently broadcast on television news stations about the coronavirus that the country could be headed for another total shutdown … at least that seems to be what they lean toward and want their viewers to believe is the right way to go.
Every news cycle each day starts off with the latest numbers of new cases across the nation. Listeners are bombarded with reports about the horrors of COVID 19 and various negative developments about it. The message is clear – the intent is to create fear and panic in the American people.
We feel that another national shutdown like the one in March, April and May would be disastrous. Many financial experts predict that it would bring a total collapse of the U.S. economy, far worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s.
But we need to examine the whole picture, that is, the effects of the spring shutdown on both the medical side and on the economic side, and the two miseries that resulted.
There is no doubt that the pandemic is horrible. It has affected every state in the union and all sectors of those states from small towns to large cities and in between. Hundreds of thousands have been stricken with the virus, and some of them have died. This misery is undeniable.
The purpose of closing down the country was to reduce the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Staying at home, wearing masks, hand washing, social distancing and other precautionary measures were either mandated or recommended. It didn’t have much success with the number of cases if you believe news reports that list them climbing (some say skyrocketing) in many areas, but it seems to have helped some in the categories of hospital admissions and deaths.
Now let’s look at the other side of the coin. Because of the shutdown, businesses were closed or their operation seriously curtailed and millions of Americans were put out of work and forced to file for unemployment. A number of the businesses that closed never opened again, and those that have are still at a much-reduced level of operation. Some individuals and business owners affected by all this lost their entire life savings and/or were forced to file bankruptcy. Again, this misery is undeniable.
The long and short of it is that there was a trade-off – the misery of the pandemic and efforts to stem the tide of its scourge for the misery of the economic collapse that ensued. In order to save lives because of COVID 19, lives were destroyed by the shutdown.
To do that again would escalate the shutdown’s economic misery to such an extent that the nation might never recover.
Thankfully, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine did not mandate closing the state again in his address on Wednesday. He rightfully stressed paying more attention to the precautionary measures mentioned above and working to open schools even if delayed until the end of August. (We agree with waiting a bit to start school to gather more information.)
It is a difficult thought to express, but we feel that the coronavirus should be allowed to run its course without wrecking the nation’s economy. Yes, there will be temporary medical misery, but eventually it will subside if everyone uses precaution, and hopefully it will soon be eliminated through a vaccine. In the interim, further economic misery by a second shutdown should not be added to its horrible legacy.