Apr 28, 2020 5 min read

People are scared, which is to be expected in these trying times. But what people are specifically scared about differs greatly among the populace. Of course, the novel coronavirus sits at the top of the list. It is the most deadly virus to plague the world in over a century, which is frightening. With no vaccine, and no universally accepted medical treatments, COVID-19 has killed over 40,000 in the United States alone with the numbers growing daily. All non-essential businesses are closed and many others are restricted to curbside pickup or online ordering only. Masks are now required for entering all public buildings to help mitigate the spread of the disease. Many are scared, and rightfully so, to leave their homes to do even the basic tasks of buying groceries or getting the mail. This grim reality is the daily norm for everyone for the near future.

Stay-at-home orders have frozen the economy, and with unemployment levels approaching depression-era levels, people are terrified of what the future holds. This unknown is what people are most scared about. Some may be temporarily furloughed, while others may have the savings to withstand several months of loss of income. But many do not have these safety nets and have no idea how they will survive through the week, month, or beyond. Not being able to provide for yourself and your family, through absolutely no fault of your own, is terrifying.

As horrifying as things look, things could be worse. The orders implemented by Gov. Tom Wolf were timely and have spared Western Pennsylvania from the brunt of the pandemic. But now is not the time to let off the brakes. President Trump recently outlined broad, rather aggressive, recommendations to be used by states to begin to reopen. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania has not yet met any of the criteria. The initial criteria to begin the three phases of reopening would be to have 14 days of declining trajectory of new cases. Also, and most importantly, the guidelines ask for robust testing programs to be implemented. As of this writing cases in Pennsylvania were still increasing and a robust testing program was not yet feasible.

Another part of the federal plan requires businesses to supply proper social distancing limits and protective equipment, including temperature checks, to their employees. Until manufacturing can catch up with demand for test kits, masks, and temperature readers, these criteria will not be met for the foreseeable future. The shortage of proper masks alone will limit what can be done for quite some time. Once the guidelines are met, and health experts and elected officials are satisfied that the imminent threat has passed, the process of reopening businesses and lifting stay-at-home orders can begin.

We need to stay the course for just a little bit longer. In 1918 the Spanish Flu pandemic was ravaging the world at the same time as World War I was coming to an end. In the United States, stay-at-home orders were mitigating the spread of the disease. However when the war ended and the servicemen returned home, they were greeted with parades and large crowds welcoming them home. This brought out a second, much more deadly, wave of the disease. By the end of the pandemic, the Spanish Flu killed more than 5% of the population of the United States alone. Social distancing and stay-at-home orders are in place to keep the current pandemic from reaching anywhere close to those disastrous levels.

On the other side, Sweden has done exactly that and has resisted stay-at-home orders with the government attempting to build a “herd immunity” among their citizens while protecting high-risk individuals. The country has only about 10 million citizens, with most around the urban centers, and has seen over 15,000 cases. This is drastically more than the number of cases to their neighboring countries of Denmark and Finland. But the most disturbing statistics in this attempt at keeping things open is in the number of deaths, which is close to 2,000, over 10% of the confirmed cases.

The question then becomes, which is more important, every human life or the state of the economy? Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Everyone, first and foremost, has the right to life, and we need to do everything within our power to protect that right.

But the one thing that does make the United States great is its ability to recover. And while it may look good on a hat, we have never needed to make America great again. We are already great, and this pandemic will make us stronger. To the doctors, nurses, home health-care workers, grocery store workers, delivery drivers, and everyone else on the front lines helping to keep us safe, fed, and, above all, alive, we offer our sincere appreciation and gratitude!

Ben Bright is chairman of the Washington County Democratic Committee.