Judging by the proliferation of videos showing angry confrontations over the use of masks in public, it appears our ongoing culture wars are making a serious dent in sound public health policy and may delay or even derail our effort to restart the economy. The twin problems of public health and economic life require a calmer consideration of the benefits of masking as an easy yet effective contribution to reducing and containing the spread of COVID-19.
It’s important to remember it was the virus, not the government, that shut down American commerce, and it is fear of the virus that is largely keeping it closed. OpenTable, a leading restaurant reservation website, recently released data showing that the vast majority of the 73 percent decline in reservations took place several days before the stay at home orders were issued. In other words, it wasn’t stay-at-home orders but a voluntary, precipitous withdrawal from work (supply) and consumption (demand) that sent the economy into a tailspin. Government efforts at reopening have only modestly shifted public sentiment. According to the same OpenTable data, Georgia, which allowed restaurants to reopen in late April, still has 86 percent fewer restaurant reservations on May 19th compared to this time last year. Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma came in at 77, 77, and 76 percent, respectively. As of May 14, over 20 percent of restaurants in most early openers still chose to remain closed. The condition of the restaurant trade appears to track what’s happening in other sectors in early-opening states with data showing only slowly rising rates of economic activity.
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