When Will We Be Free from Isolation?

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the simple fact that Americans love their freedom. After more than four weeks of hunkering down and staying home to “flatten the curve” of COVID-19, many are anxious for life to return to normal. President Donald Trump has most likely been more anxious to free Americans than anyone because he could see the damage that came as the result of shutting down the United States.


            Today President Trump announced a plan to start reopening the United States with three different phases. Of course, the plan depends on cooperation from the coronavirus. In outlining his plan, President Trump “gave the governors a road map” and told them, “You’re going to call your own shots.” Giving primary responsibility to the governors is how federalism works in the United States. Trump emphasized that “This is a gradual process,” but he is obviously relieved to be “starting rejuvenation of our economy again.”


            Trump’s guidelines reinforce many of the plans already made by governors, and the plan is to reopen the economy without spiking the coronavirus. The return to normal life will most likely take longer than Trump desires, but movement in the right direction is being made. The three phases of reopening businesses and schools will depend on infections continuing to decline and more testing.


            Many of the states are ready to start the process now because they were not hit as hard with the coronavirus as other states. Some states, such as New York, Illinois, Washington, and California will take longer to work into the phases. 


            Phase one continues the sheltering in place of vulnerable individuals and social distancing. Americans should avoid non-essential travel and gathering in groups larger than 10 people. Restaurants, churches, and sports venues “can operate under strict physical distancing protocols.”


            If there is no evidence that the coronavirus is surging again, phase two allows non-essential travel to resume, gatherings of no more than 50 people, schools to reopen, and bars to operate “with diminished standing-room occupancy.”


            If there is a continued downward trend of coronavirus cases, phase three allows “public interactions” with proper physical distancing and return to worksites. People can visit long-term care facilities and hospitals, and bars can increase their standing room capacity. The focus in this stage is identifying and isolating any new coronavirus infections.


            In addition to the three phases, the guidelines advise the states to set checkpoints. The checkpoints would include number of new cases and “testing and surveillance data over the prior 14 days.” With these recommendations, states are free to move at their own pace from one phase to the next.


            There is some fear about coming out of isolation too soon and causing COVID-19 to spike once again. The fact is that Americans must come out of isolation some time. It is impossible to keep the economy going if we are all hunkered down in our homes. If governors and their advisors move slowly and pay attention to the number of new cases and the data from testing and surveillance, they should be able to keep it under control. If the number of new cases start increasing too rapidly, states will be forced to backtrack on their phases until they regain control. However, it looks like isolation will be ending sometime soon.