There is a false narrative that is pervading our social media and news. This narrative has the Covid-19 situation regarding opening up the economy has been intentionally and incorrectly polarized as pitting HUMAN LIVES vs MONEY

This is PROPAGANDA!

Bear with me as Twitter’s character limits make nuanced arguments difficult to express:

1.Current quarantine measures are UNSUSTAINABLE
2.Economic depressions have DEADLY EFFECTS
3.Involuntary quarantine measures are UNCONSTITUTIONAL

1.22 million Americans are currently out of work. This number is growing. According to the St. Louis Fed, this number could hit 47 million with a total of 67 million being at high risk for layoffs.

These unprecedented numbers are worse than THE GREAT DEPRESSION!

There will be severe implications because of this. Entire industries will collapse, supply chains will be entirely interrupted, and inflation will rise as we continue to print ‘stimulus’ money.

‘Well what about quarantining until we get a vaccination?’

Developing a vaccine will take ~1 year at minimum and it’s not a surefire guarantee either as we might not be able to create a vaccine for this virus.

Herd immunity is our best bet in beating this virus, however, we must approach it properly to prevent overwhelming our hospitals.

2.The economy has many health-related implications: malnutrition, violent crime, murder, suicide, and more are linked to unemployment and other broader measures of the economy. Desperate people take desperate measures.

This means that the argument isn’t lives vs money, its LIVES vs LIVES. This leads me to the crux of my argument: extending the quarantine will COST MORE LIVES than saving them in the long run.

3.I agree that quarantine was the correct initial move as we needed to ensure that our hospitals systems were not overwhelmed. However though, this quarantine cannot come at the expense of our rights and liberties!

Around the US, we are seeing a sickening amount of constitutional violations in response to this pandemic. https://twitter.com/johnstossel/status/1252650898930774017?s=21

If our rights can be taken away from us during a pandemic, then they are not rights, merely PERMISSIONS. Furthermore, the government doesn’t have the authority to decide which business are deemed essential or not.

This is a death sentence to many businesses and endangers the wellbeing of those who rely on them to earn their living. This decision should be up to individual citizens and business to decide what precautions they deem necessary.

So where should we go from here?
•REOPEN THE ECONOMY ASAP
•SCALE UP mask production and testing
•DESTRIBUTE masks to the population or PROVIDE instructional PSAs for most effective DIY masks
•ENCOURAGE widespread and proper use of masks through PSAs

•ENCOURAGE the sick, elderly, and at-risk to continue to self-quarantine
•FUND social programs to support the above populations

•ENCOURAGE social distancing and proper sanitation practices when possible
•MONITOR and REPORT Covid-19 cases to prevent new potentially hospital overwhelming hotspots from emerging

We must disseminate up-to-date and accurate information to our citizens and trust in them to make the best, responsible decisions for their individual selves.

Covid-19 is a serious situation that should be addressed; however, we cannot allow the cure for this virus to do more damage than the virus itself.

Works Consulted:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/20/landing-a-job-in-the-midst-of-the-coronavirus-outbreak.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/30/coronavirus-job-losses-could-total-47-million-unemployment-rate-of-32percent-fed-says.html
https://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/documents/standcomm/sclaw/CrimeandEconomy.pdf