Coronavirus Made It Clear: Our Health System Needs More Compassion

‘A fairer, healthier system can emerge from this crisis,’ according to the dean at the Boston University School of Public Health

Members from the Lighthouse Fellowship Church gather on a Sunday night outside the Bloomington Hospital to pray for doctors, nursing staff, and other workers. Photo: Jeremy Hogan/Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media/Getty Images

As the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds, the world has taken dramatic steps to slow the spread of the disease. Physical distancing has kept large segments of the population indoors, closing schools and workplaces and effectively pausing the global economy. These disruptions have sparked a debate over how long they should remain in place. Already in the U.S., there have been calls to “reopen” the economy and return to the pre-Covid-19 status quo. President Donald Trump originally wanted the country “opened up and just raring to go by Easter.” Thankfully he’s changed his intentions and says distancing measures will remain until at least the end of April. Critics of moving too quickly back to normal functioning have cited the risk such a move may pose to public health. There have even been claims that callousness is behind the calls for resumed productivity, with the suggestion that some people would rather let others die than threaten the country’s bottom line.

This debate is about something more fundamental. It’s about what a return to normal will look like after Covid-19.

It is worth noting that, while the science is fairly clear that an abrupt end to physical distancing would interfere with slowing this disease, the debate we are seeing has little to do with the science of this pandemic. If it did, it would be a conversation less about whether to end physical distancing and more about how to do it properly. And if the argument for resumed functioning was really all about the economy, advocates for an Easter revival would be less concerned about stock prices and more focused on the low-wage, often marginalized workers that this crisis has revealed to be the backbone of our collective fiscal health.

No, this debate is about something more fundamental. It’s about what a return to normal will look like after Covid-19. Will we return to the same state of affairs that left us open to the present crisis? Or will we build a healthier world out of the mistakes and…