Opinion: Lockdowns should not be seen as failure to contain virus that has proven beyond our ability to control, and rather than investing in an economy that must stay shut, the state must provide real and effective support to keep its citizens alive
The second wave of coronavirus hitting Europe and the closures of varying scopes now being imposed teach us that even in countries with leaderships unburdened by corruption and with populations that tend to be more disciplined than Israelis, the pathogen is a tough adversary to beat.
This of course does not diminish Israel’s responsibility for the mess in which we found ourselves in September, caused by the government’s hasty and reckless exit from the first lockdown; nor does it ease the blame that Israelis share in brushing off the danger.
But the rise in cases in countries like Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and even Sweden – all countries viewed as having a clear policy in place to fight the virus – is proof that COVID-19 remains rampant and may not be controllable at all.
The recent resurgence around the world and the rise in cases despite careful mitigation demands that we rethink the assumption that we can maintain a degree of normalcy while living alongside coronavirus.
In a reality in which any mundane activity – such as going to work or meeting family and friends – can cause contagion, it is hard to see how regular economic activity can be restored and how we ourselves can resume our normal lives.
As long as most of the population is not immune to the virus, we cannot allow hundreds of thousands of students back in school without mass contagion occurring.
Hotels cannot open their doors to guests, industry cannot return and commerce cannot expect to continue uninterrupted for any length of time when the spread is surging and hospitals are once again facing the threat of being overrun, the latter ultimately leading to an inevitable third lockdown.
In this global emergency, talk of reopening economies is unrealistic. It is time to stop fooling the public into believing we will all soon be back to normal.
We must all prepare to function under a different and painful reality, in which we must determine which services and economic activity are vital and therefore must be kept open at all costs.
We should incentivize businesses that allow employees to work remotely, and suspend all other functions until a vaccine is readily available for everyone.
We must all come to terms with the realization that lockdowns are not an indication of failure, but rather a necessary and effective measure to slow the spread of the virus.
Rather than investing money and efforts in the health of an economy that must remain shut, the government must provide funding and real and effective support to businesses and individuals.
The damage that would be caused to the economy is clear, but those in power should at least try to mitigate the danger to the very lives of their citizens.
As reported by Ynetnews