Panther Prints | Issue 4 | May 2020

@PESHPRINTS Opinion • 19
Temporary sacrifice, permanent results
Full shelter-in-place policies needed to combat COVID-19
Staff Editorial
ov. Greg Abbott’s executive orders
Gallowed most businesses in the state
to reopen by May 8 at 25% capacity and
in accordance with CDC guidelines. This
came as the second part of a phased
plan to balance prevention measures
and economic well-being. However,
the state should reverse this decision
and return to a full stay-at-home policy
to be able to properly enforce social
distancing measures necessary
to slow the spread of the virus, the
benefits of which outweigh negative
economic effects.
A lack of effective and enforceable
prevention measures has drastic
consequences — the loss of life
resulting from ineffective policies is
much more detrimental to the economy
than temporary
closure of non-essential
businesses. Based
on White House projections
created April
1, the national death
toll would be between
100,000 to 240,000 if
containment measures
are followed perfectly.
Without effective social
distancing measures,
the model predicted between
1.5 and 2.2 million
deaths. Losing such a
large piece of the population
over the span
of a few months means
businesses lose hundreds
and thousands
of employees faster
than they can replace
them. In addition, the
indiscriminant nature of
COVID-19 means this
loss is not limited to
any particular type of
worker — both skilled
and unskilled workers
are equally likely to be
affected, regardless of
how difficult they may
be to replace.
Shelter-in-place
measures can mitigate
a loss of
workers and
would preserve
the functionality
of businesses
in the
long term, even
if they may
lose profits in
the short term.
This means the
overall time
spent experiencing
the economic
effects of the pandem-
Cartoon by Sevval Erenkol
ic would be much shorter than it would
be if non-essential businesses continue
to function. If workers stay home and
follow social distancing guidelines, they
can help “flatten the curve” or reduce the
peak number of cases and related demands
on hospitals, allowing more people
to recover fully from the virus. As a result,
the minimized effect on any business’s
workforce ensures that it can begin functioning
at the same capacity immediately
after shelter-in-place policies are lifted.
Temporarily halting economic activity
does still have a profound effect on the
financial health of the nation. However,
there are already structures in place to
navigate an economic downturn whereas
there is no vaccine or alternative solution
to combat the pandemic yet. As of now,
the most effective tool against the spread
of the virus is social distancing, which
can only be fully enforced through
shelter-in-place policies. By following
these policies, the nation can recover
from the current economic contraction
as it would through any other, using
means of monetary and fiscal policy
combined with more effective use
of security net programs, increased
government support
for businesses and a
shift in payment schedules,
according to the
Brookings Institution.
Opponents of a full
shelter-in-place policy
argue that widespread
unemployment will
make the policy unsustainable
for individual
workers because they
will not have the funds
to continue to buy essential
products nor any
more products to buy.
However, the way this
policy works in other
states allows essential
businesses and their
workers to remain at
work, meaning the
people necessary to
sustain the essential
needs of everyone
else are still doing
their jobs. In addition,
the federal
government’s
$2 trillion
stimulus
package will
help support
the newly
unemployed
through economic
impact
payments or
stimulus checks.
With the present
magnitude of this pandemic,
there must be
a sacrifice. The current
choices are a temporary
economic sacrifice
leading to a slow but
sure recovery, or the
permanent sacrifice of
millions.