“It is no use saying ‘we are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.”

– Sir Winston Churchill

If you’re like me, you hope that “wear a mask,” “social distancing,” and “flatten the curve” are phrases that disappear from our vernacular sooner rather than later. I’m going to give you my take on this year’s shutdown, but with one disclaimer and one caveat before I begin. First, I am a physician, but I am not a virologist or an epidemiologist, so my opinion is informed (I hope!), but not expert. Second, I urge you to beware of anyone who believes he or she has all the answers, because no one does. Even the experts in epidemiology and infectious diseases, as well as other advisors to our government officials, sometimes got it wrong. And now, heaven help us, it has become political. In an election year, why are we surprised? The Trump administration was too slow to test; the Obama administration depleted our supply of PPE and ventilators during the swine flu threat and never restored them. Pointless finger pointing, when our elected officials should be working in unison to solve this mess.

We know much more now than we did in February and March–masks help, distancing helps, it is generally not a pediatric illness–and we are much closer to effective therapeutics and a vaccine now. Millions have been infected by Covid 19 and now over 175,000 Americans have succumbed to it. How much worse it could have been, we will never know.

In addition to the morbidity and mortality of the virus, there are other things to consider. As a result of the shutdown, millions of our citizens have been hurt financially or, even worse, have lost their businesses and livelihoods. A government handout only goes so far. These people need to be allowed to go back to work to regain the pride and income it affords them.

Our houses of worship have been closed. The online fellowship of believers of all faiths is no substitute for in-person attendance. The religious manna our clergy give us and we, in turn, give them, is sorely missed. While initially many thought the pandemic would turn more people to faith, its prolonged duration may result in people deciding they can do just fine without organized religion’s brick and mortar.

I suspect all of us have been touched by friends and loved ones who have died at a time when we cannot reach out to them as we normally would Sadly, many people quarantined on their deathbeds had no personal contact or comfort in their final hours. To me, that is reprehensible.

With the stress of the quarantine, reports of domestic incidents are on the rise. Depression and other mental health diseases go without detection, much less counseling and treatment. The health of individuals was jeopardized when needed surgery was postponed, and the diagnosis of new disorders, including potential killers like cancer and heart disease, has been delayed. In fact, the Journal of the AMA just reported that new cancer diagnoses from March through mid-April were down almost 50%, and that wasn’t because cancer had suddenly been cured. So, for those who “follow the science,” this too has to be factored in.

Finally, a few words about our children’s education. As the father of an educational professional and the grandfather of a grade school student, this is near and dear to my heart. Parents, grandparents, and others did the best they could to educate their children at home, but most kids need to be taught by teachers–in a classroom with other kids, where technology is equally available to all, and children can interact with peers and develop appropriate social skills. Healthcare and educational experts suspect that problems like learning disabilities and ADHD have gone undetected and, hence, unaddressed. Again, more science.

Those in charge deserve the benefit of the doubt, so I will neither guess at nor impugn the motives behind decisions which have been made. I will guess, however, that the final chapter on the shutdown, with the acute and chronic problems our response to it has caused, is yet to be written. I fear it will be devastating.

While there is no easy solution, my answer is that it’s time we go back to living again–time to go back to America as we know it. Take appropriate precautions? Yes! Those most vulnerable protect themselves, even if they must stay home? By all means, yes! But, businesses must re-open, people must return to work, houses of worship must re-open, and children must go back to school. Only then will we succeed–not by doing the best we can, but by doing what is necessary.

(This post is dedicated to all the people hurt so badly by the virus, and to the loved ones of those who lost their lives. For the rest of us, our problems pale in comparison.)