By ANDREW DELOREY
Los Alamos
This is in response to David Reagor’s recent letter (link).
Two statistics that Reagor mentions, that many people who are infected with COVID-19 do not show symptoms, and that most of the deaths associated with the virus are with people who have underlying conditions, are backed up by the media reports I’ve read.
However, he later recommends that people with COVID-19 should be quarantined as the rest of us get back to our normal activities. Unless everyone gets tested, there will be a lot of infected people that don’t know it, so I’m not sure this would work.
As far as I know, we don’t have the capacity to test everyone, or even a majority. The point of social distancing is to “flatten the curve” as we all know by now. What happens if we just open everything and then suddenly a lot of people are sick at the same time? The fact that there is slack in our health system right now is a good thing. It means being proactive has left us prepared.
Just because infected, but otherwise healthy people aren’t dying in large numbers doesn’t mean they don’t need medical care. If hospitals and clinics are laying off right now, as Reagor claims, it demonstrates how a healthcare system based solely on financial efficiency can easily break down.
People whose jobs can be done at home are already doing that. It is those that can’t, such as many of those who work in our local retail shops and small businesses, that would be at the highest risk for exposure on the job, and at the highest risk of unemployment if their places of employment go out of business or have to downsize.
At least anecdotally and in the media, it seems like very little financial support has made it down to local, small businesses. The right thing to do is help small business owners and their employees out of a position where they have to choose between their health or their paycheck.
It’s never a good idea to assume what other people are thinking, but if I had a job where I had a lot of close contact with others, I’d be concerned about going back to work right now. I might do it anyway if I was in financial distress. Is this what we want people to do?
If Reagor feels strongly that dispensing with social distancing is the right thing to do, then he should lead by example. Instead of driving down Central in separate cars, the rally should consist of everyone walking together down Central in a tight-knit group. This would be a show of solidarity with those that have similar social contacts while on the job.
