No organization has shown a greater willingness to sacrifice human life for the sake of economic growth than the Chinese Communist Party. But, after initially trying to cover it up, even the CCP eventually realized that letting the novel coronavirus spread unchecked would be a disaster that had to be prevented at all costs.

Unfortunately, some Americans have yet to learn this lesson, with calls to “reopen” the U.S. economy growing louder every day. Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, has wondered “whether...