link to NYT article
On Monday April 20th, Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia (who has resisted statewide stay-at-home orders for a while) declared that he would allow some businesses to reopen on Friday April 24th. Kemp claims to have a plan for reopening the state in the hopes of bolstering the economy, which has indeed suffered a dramatic and devastating downturn. Kemp's plan includes allowing gyms, hair, nail salons, bowling alleys, and tattoo parlors to first open on Friday, then restaurants, movie theaters, and entertainment facilities to reopen on the following Monday. However, his decision was immediately faced with backlash from not only medical experts but also the mayors and business owners of Georgia themselves. Then, on Wednesday April 22nd, President Trump himself declared that he didn't agree with Gov. Kemp's decision and that he thought it was "too soon." Kemp insists that his decision is "driven by data and guided by state public health officials." Furthermore, social distancing is still in place and extra precautions such as masks for employees and monitoring for fevers are in place at the businesses which chose to reopen. At this point, Kemp is not the only governor to seriously consider reopening, as neither Tennessee, Ohio, or Colorado have chosen to renew stay-at-home orders which will expire in the week of April 26th.
Questions:
Given that jobless claims have shot up to over 25 million (the size of the total working population of 25 whole states) in the last 4 weeks, with over 5 million claims filed on just Thursday April 23rd, is reopening the country unavoidable in the near future even if Kemp is early?
Does Kemp's reopening procedure (which businesses open first, etc.) make sense? Should other states follow it or learn from it?
Should Trump and the Federal government step in to prevent other states from opening and/or shut down Georgia forcefully again?
Kemp's reopening procedure might look like a good idea right now, but in the long run, the effects of his terrible decision will be seen. Because of this, I do believe that the Federal government should step in to shut down Georgia, and other states that might also try to open. Although I totally understand the frustration that Governor Kemp is going through, he's wrong for putting the economy in front of human lives. We can recover the economy, but we can't resurrect people.
ReplyDeleteAs people are starting to get impatient and restless at home, people are probably excited for Georgia to reopen. This gives people false hope that the situation of COVID-19 is starting to be over but the negative effects will eventually be seen. For example, China had a dramatic decrease in cases but once they eased restrictions, they experienced a second wave. This is bound to happen for the United States as well. I think that the federal government should step in to prevent other states from opening. It is important to take all necessary precautions to flatten the curve so that everyone can resume normalcy again. If restrictions are eased now, it will take a lot longer for this pandemic to be resolved.
ReplyDeleteI agree that reopening the economy is important with the number of unemployment claims, but reopening the whole state and loosening restrictions so much seems like a terrible decision. I especially disagree with opening places like bowling allies first, as they are intended for large social gatherings and are the opposite of social distancing. Trump and the Federal government need to step in to create a more universal procedure and prevent other states from reopening. It is not worth risking lives in order to recover the economy and is unfair to people such as hospital workers who are working so hard to end the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that now is not a safe time to reopen businesses, even though the fact that the quarantine has lasted for a while has created the impression that it is time to reopen. Governor Kemp's plan to reopen crowded public venues such as bowling allies and movie theaters may only a lot more people at risk for infection. It is important to try to address the economic consequences of the quarantine, but we should do so in a way that does not involve putting many lives at risk. At this time, the government can try to distribute unemployment benefits and use fiscal and monetary policies to stabilize the economy. A "second wave" would overwhelm hospitals and cause many people to be put at risk. The federal government could use mandates to prevent states from reopening in a haphazard fashion, although it is unlikely that this will happen, given the fact that even coronavirus responses have become partisan.
ReplyDeleteThis is a now win situation. On one hand, we can't re-open without igniting a new wave of COVID-19. Wuhan recently tried to re-open their city and case numbers started going back up. Here in the US Americans don't have heard immunity, therefore the virus would spread like wildfire if we were to re-open (especially in places like NYC of California where there were a lot of cases). At the same time, not reopening creates serious economic damage which can also lead to lost lives. This is because unemployed people often lack insurance and therefore often end up receiving worse medical care. In the end, there are no good choices here.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we are in a situation that is nearly impossible to resolve. We want to open states and businesses to avoid an economic collapse that will leave many people jobless, but we also want to avoid a second wave of covid that can potentially take more lives the second time around. There is a debate whether or not closing states was the right thing to do during this pandemic. As I watched the news, there was a woman who believed it was completely wrong to force businesses to close because it should be the individual's responsibility to protect themselves from the virus. I understand where she is coming from from an economic standpoint, but there is a vulnerable population that would not be able to protect themselves. I believe it was right for states to shut down because that resulted in saving lives. I think the federal government should work with each state to create reopening plans that are the safest and insure the safety and health of the people. Each state should be looked at individually and just because one state opens, I do not believe all other states are in the clear.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to say when we will be able to reopen businesses because of this pandemic. In one sense, opening up businesses again will help stimulate the economy and prevent it from further collapse, but it could also help create a second wave of the pandemic throughout the US. Other countries who thought who could open because their numbers of infected were declining experienced a second wave of COVID-19 which from data has been worse than the previous. At the moment, I don't think that businesses should be reopened so quickly. The more pressing businesses should slowly open their doors back up, but the businesses have to be under strict regulation. I do think that his plans for reopening are smart, it just isn't the right time at the moment. It is too soon.
ReplyDeleteInstead of forcing people to go to work during a global pandemic I believe we ought to give them enough money to feed themselves and keep them at home until it is safe. If we open businesses, more people will die. Simple as that. I believe the federal government should step in to order a lock down in Georgia, and implement a universal basic income. It's hard to tell people to stay home and not to work when they can't pay the bills and feed their families.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I believe we are not nearly ready enough as a country to reopen for health's sake, it is simply unrealistic since unemployment rates are higher than that of the Great Depression and continue to climb. While Kemp is alarmingly early reopening the state, unless more reliefs bills are passed so the necessity to reopen businesses isn't as grave, this is inevitable with more states too early. Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and others have just proposed the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act to supply Americans making less than $120,000 with $2,000 per month, so we will see how that plays out even though a similar bill in April was pushed.
ReplyDeleteThe government should be able to give enough money for people to support themselves while still keeping some essential businesses open. The idea of opening up a state is not a good idea as many people have suggested a second wave of the virus. People should have enough money to support themselves for a good 6 months and if not then the government should support them. However, by reopening the state you are not essentially helping the people you are only helping the economy. Most people would still work from home and walk-in style businesses would have to exercise caution. Therefore, all states should be in lock down so that we keep the country safe.
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DeleteThe country is going to have to reopen eventually and it won't just be like flipping a switch and everything is back to normal, but rather a gradual process taken with caution. Even though it is detrimental to the economy and to people's financial stability, I don't think that any states should begin the reopening process. Quarantine is what is allowing our country to buy time to find a vaccine and lessen the ripple effect of the pandemic. All it takes is one person with the virus for it to spread and become an outbreak, and if/when that happens, we'll be back to square one and worse off. I recognize my own privilege when I say that it's difficult to be in quarantine but it's what we have to do. When we're in this much of a crisis, that's when the government should step in to mitigate as a source of leadership and support, especially financially.
ReplyDeleteI think reopening the economy is inevitable especially with how much the economy is being affected by the corona virus. However, I don't think that things will go back to what it was before the pandemic until a cure for the pandemic is found, which will not be in the near future. I think the sequence of Kemp's reopening plan makes sense in allowing the businesses to reopen first before other facilities, however I definitely think he is pushing his plan forward way too fast. Simply wearing masks and checking for fevers is not going to help practically at all when it comes to the large amount of people that will start to frequency the stores once they open. There needs to be more time in reopening businesses and other facilities in order to allow the public to adjust and not bombard the stores right when they reopen.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, I think it is about choosing the lesser of two evils. I respect the governor’s decisions to do what they think is the best for each state. I really like your first question; I think it is important to consider but hard to predict. Are our efforts worth the crashing of the economy and skyrocketing of unemployment? And at what point will it be damaged past the point of return within reasonable time? I think that a gradual reopening as he has done, while still having implementations for safety has its risks, but it can set a precedent, almost as a trial, for the other states. If it is effective, I think others will begin to follow suit, but if not, they may receive even more lashback.
ReplyDeleteAs of now, it is unclear when states would be able to safely reopen in the nearby future. Although it is inevitable that the economy will have to get back on its feet, I think that in the time we are in, the health of the citizens and the containment fo this virus should be rendered much more important. In term's of Kemp's reopening plan, although I believe he has the right intentions to get the economy going again, I do agree that it is too soon at this time to reopen such places like nail salons, restaurants and movie theaters as it will only worsen the situation and spread the virus.
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