Commentary: Why the U.S. should have opened up a long time ago
This graphic is meant to demonstrate the levels of risk for American employees, with most of them being, “likely (to) fall in the lower exposure risk” level according to the CDC.
Since Covid-19 started last March, it has left a lot of people without jobs, without a house and without a general livelihood.
This leaves the question; should we have opened the country up a long time ago?
When you look at how the U.S. economy was doing before the pandemic, we were seeing some of the best numbers recorded in recent history. The unemployment rate in 2019 was 3.5 percent, the lowest rate of unemployment in the U.S. since 1969.
But then, Covid-19 hit.
Just in the month of July 2020, 580,000 Californian businesses were a part of the payment protection program, which is where businesses with 500 or fewer employees can get a loan.
In California, the unemployment rate last July was 13.5 percent and 9 percent in December. The unemployment rate for the entire U.S. in 2020 was 6.9 percent.
Although the unemployment rate has seen decreases, it was still 3.5 percent higher than it was in February of 2020, before the pandemic had started.
Money was put towards small businesses and unemployment, but people still lost jobs and even more. California could’ve avoided high unemployment and having to support its jobless population if the state government had opened up the country way before the economy’s condition got worse.
I think this is another reason why people want to recall Governor Gavin Newsom, because of how bad of a job he did in helping California maintain its economy.
It’s not even just the small businesses and employees that are affected, it’s kids and adults, too. Especially the mental health of kids because they have to be stuck at home, unable to see their friends as much and just not getting enough social interaction.
It may seem like it’s not a big deal but it is because having social interaction and just being outside has a huge impact on mental health.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there is evidence from a study in Texas to suggest that 11 to 21 year-olds experienced higher rates of suicidal behavior in 2020 compared to 2019.
Another reason why we should’ve opened up a long time ago is the statistics related to Covid-19.
Even though it is difficult to calculate the exact case fatality rate (CSF) of Covid-19, or percentage of people infected with Covid-19 who end up dying as a result, due to a presumably lower amount of reported cases than actual cases and differentiations in CSF depending on the country, the U.S. is estimated to have a CSF of 1.79 percent. So if the numbers of survival are almost 100 and the likelihood of death is estimated to be at 1.79 percent, why is the country still in lock down?
Looking at the numbers and how we could’ve avoided losing jobs, money and so much more, it makes being in lock down seem useless in comparison.
It makes sense that when this pandemic first started we went into quarantine, but even when statistical figures of recovery and death came out, we still stayed in lock down for much longer than we should have.
Brendan is a senior and Sports Editor. This is his fourth year on the Gazette staff.
Ethan • Mar 5, 2021 at 10:37 am
I totally agree with this. California has had approximately 8,900 cases per 100,000 people, while Florida has had 8,700 cases per 100,000 people. California has shut down the state, requiring masks and online school while Florida has done next to nothing. Were these restrictions even necessary?
allison haughey • Mar 5, 2021 at 10:35 am
I do not agree with this article, but I do at the same time. In my opinion I felt the lockdown was really long, I lost contact with friends, I had a harder time learning in school because online was just not doing it for me. But, my mom is a nurse and she is the manager of the ICU. Everyday she sees up to 5 people die because of corona, sometimes more. At first it was hard to see those deaths, but now since she sees so many, she has become numb. Lockdown wasnt really lockdown because a lot of people were still having parties and not wearing masks. Lockdown is there for a reason, wearing a mask is being loving to others by protecting them and yourself.
Celia Do • Mar 5, 2021 at 10:35 am
This was a well written article and made valid points. However, I disagree and believe the US should have closed earlier, because even if the CSF was estimated to be around 1.79, those numbers could change depending on how many people stay outside and we would be risking the lives of other humans. As shown by other countries, if the US had closed earlier or faster, then the coronavirus might not have spread so much and we could have halted or slow the spread. And although I agree that because of the pandemic, the unemployment rate rose, putting human lives ahead of everything is better for the long term. And in some large cities like Los Angeles or New York City, there were constant confirmed cases increasing, even after the US closed down. So by opening up, the US might have less employment rate and the economy might not fall down, but most likely at the expense of people’s lives.
This is my opinion and I think your arguments are also valid. Overall, this was a great commentary (well written) and it was a nice topic to think about.
Delvin • Mar 5, 2021 at 10:31 am
I really like how the author chose a different perspective on Covid-19 and the article has some solid points on this ongoing situation.
cailee • Mar 5, 2021 at 10:30 am
I completely agree with this article. I think the U.S should have done a better job on preparing and working through Covid-19.
Chloe • Mar 5, 2021 at 10:29 am
I most definitely agree with some parts of the article! I loved it!
Bao Nguyen • Mar 5, 2021 at 10:28 am
I agree with the article, we need this country reopened.
Jacob Marchuk • Mar 5, 2021 at 7:57 am
I definitely agree that the country should have been reopened sooner. Great article!
William • Mar 5, 2021 at 7:56 am
I completely agree with this. People should have the freedom to go out as they please, while understanding the risks. For those who are uncomfortable, they may stay inside until they feel it is safe to come out. If a company wants someone to wear a mask inside of their establishment, then fine. That’s their decision. Newsom should not be able to dictate this upon private companies. This would be seen as an overreach of power, which he has been sued for in the past. There are also pictures of Newsom at dinner parties WITHOUT A MASK when his specific instructions were to not do such things. Also, the impact on mental health because of covid could cause a lot more deaths in suicide than covid ever could. All in all, people should have the right to choose whether or not they want to risk getting the disease by going outside and thus not deteriorating their mental health.
This was very well-written. Great job!
Kevin • Mar 5, 2021 at 7:54 am
I completely agree with this article. If we look at the overall statistics of how the pandemic is affecting people, then we would be able to see that the vast majority of people are safe enough to not be locked down for a year. The smaller group of people that need to stay at home can still do so and be in their own quarantine, but for all of the other Americans for which total lock down is not necessary, they should be able to go outside and get jobs again. If our Americans loose their jobs at this same rate, then the results will be much worse than the pandemic, so we need to start moving towards reopening things again and going back to normal and resuming our life. This was a very good article, and I appreciate someone taking the time to write about this topic.
Anthony • Mar 5, 2021 at 7:53 am
If you think that we should have opened up a long time ago, then why does it seem people are less serious about COVID now then a while ago.
Sam Jaeger • Mar 5, 2021 at 7:53 am
I agree that busisneses have been majorly effected by COVID. Everyone says if we just stayed home for a few weeks then this would all go away, but nobody can control what every person is doing. I think that we should have opened up already and just had safety guidelines. That means that the world can begin to move forward again.
andrew • Mar 5, 2021 at 7:50 am
Great article an totally agree. We NEED to open up the state ASAP.
Davis • Mar 5, 2021 at 7:49 am
i am kinda torn between if we should have stayed locked down are opened up but i def agree with sum of ur points
Bean • Mar 2, 2021 at 9:14 am
I disagree. I consistently hear of people who got COVID or who are largely impacted. People are losing parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents — everyone has been affected in some way. It frustrates me when I hear people go, “Oh it’s fine, it’s just 2 percent or whatever.” It’s not whatever, 1 person’s death is too much. Also, I know that the number I used is wrong, I just put a random number. That person meant a lot to their family and friends, and I personally believe that had we gone into lockdown sooner, and if people had been a bit more serious about COVID, we could’ve avoided more death and we might not have had so many spikes. I understand that people need to have social interaction because of mental health and all, but if we could just interact online via Zoom, or at least socially distanced, then it could prevent a lot. To be fair, GB is doing pretty well comparatively to other schools, but this topic still frustrates me and it angers me how some people can sometimes be dismissive of deaths. If that death was of a close family member or friend, they would be devastated. Again, one death is too many.
All in all, your article is well-written, good job!