New Jersey is in the process
of launching its most aggressive
strategy yet against the coronavirus, by deploying an army of health
officials known as contact
tracers. . . . [C]ontact,
test, and isolate when necessary — and if you stay with it long enough (as they
did in South Korea, Hong Kong, New Zealand, etc.), the virus is stopped in
its tracks. . . . [T]his state has no chance to eradicate COVID unless we
all buy into the most proven tool in public health and epidemiology.
Emphasis added. The Star-Ledger didn’t
acknowledge, or maybe didn’t connect to, the obvious conclusion.
Contact tracing is actually a good idea and in
my view a legitimate function of government in a pandemic. So my question is,
if contact tracing is “the most proven tool in public health and
epidemiology,” why is it only now being employed? Why didn’t the state have an
established CT program in place and ready to go? After all, NJ has a State Office of
Emergency Management that exists just for
the purpose of being prepared to respond to emergencies. Pandemics aren’t
exactly unforeseeable emergencies.
If this “most aggressive strategy” was put into
effect in January or February, the virus may have been “stopped in its tracks”
and thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs could have been
saved. We could have avoided the indignity of dividing the economy into
expendable and non-expendable businesses and workers. We could have avoided the
freedom-crushing lockdowns.
A government’s job is to keep us safe and free,
so pandemic response is a proper governmental job--not in the wide-ranging
dictatorial way of King Murphy, but through limited, established, common sense,
rights-respecting actions. As more info comes in, it’s becoming increasingly
clear to me that the months-long lockdown and economic carnage were
unnecessary. We have been witness to a catastrophic failure of
government.
Related Reading:
We Need
Economists, Civil Libertarians, and Epidemiologists in the COVID-19 Discussion The tradeoffs among considerations of health, prosperity, and
liberty are catching up with us even if we don't want to acknowledge them.
By J.D. Tuccille
Were
the COVID-19 Lockdowns a Mistake?
Many Americans are losing patience with statewide shelter-in-place orders. By
Zach Weissmueller for Reason.com
Democratic Leaders Praise George Floyd Protesters, Show Utter
Contempt for Everyone Else Still in Lockdown Bill de Blasio and Phil Murphy evince little sympathy for nail
salon owners or Jewish mourners. by Robby Soave for Reason.com
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