Sen. Johnson: As we learn more about the coronavirus, try to put things into perspective Imagine the potential psychological and human toll if this shutdown continues indefinitely: Another view

Ron Johnson | Opinion contributor

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I’m not aware of any public official, including President Donald Trump, who is calling for a complete opening of the U.S. economy.

What more people are saying is that as we learn more about COVID-19, we should evaluate the total societal cost of this awful disease and try to put things into perspective.

Each year, approximately 48,000 Americans commit suicide and an estimated 67,000 die of a drug overdose. That level of individual despair has occurred in a strong economy with near-record low levels of unemployment in virtually every demographic.

Imagine the potential psychological and human toll if this shutdown continues indefinitely, unemployment reaches 20% or higher, as some now predict, and we sink into a deep recession or depression.

The U.S. Senate just passed a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill in a less-than-perfect attempt to mitigate some of the economic fallout.

OUR VIEW: This is no time to relax the coronavirus guidelines

In addition to the current human toll, future generations will be required to pick up that tab.

Every premature death is a tragedy, but death is an unavoidable part of life. More than 2.8 million die each year — nearly 7,700 a day. The 2017-18 flu season was exceptionally bad, with 61,000 deaths attributed to it. Can you imagine the panic if those mortality statistics were attributed to a new virus and reported nonstop?

Social distancing polices make sense because no one wants to overwhelm our health care system to the point of failure. Social distancing should continue until this outbreak is under control.

Nonetheless, much of our economy must stay open to provide life’s basic necessities. Rather than announcing general shutdowns and drawing up lists of “essential” business that can remain open, let’s draw up lists of “nonessential” businesses that pose a risk for coronavirus spread.

A commonsense approach would be to keep those shut down and to provide financial support to their employees, and the businesses or organizations themselves, so they can reopen and rehire when the threat subsides.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., serves on the Commerce and Homeland Security committees.

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