Reopening the economy is preferable to preventing a new wave of coronavirus deaths, an Indiana congressman said Tuesday.
“It is policymakers’ decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils,” U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, R-Indiana, told radio station WIBC-FM. “It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils and we intend to move forward that direction.”
His push for the end of isolation for much of the country aligns with President Donald Trump’s desire to get the nation back to work. But medical experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have said ending stay-at-home orders too soon could spark a new wave of COVID-19.
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Fauci suggested Tuesday that the nation’s lack of robust testing means that hot spots could crop up off-the-radar and the virus could quickly mushroom without containment. “I’ll guarantee you, once you start pulling back there will be infections,” he said.
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Hollingsworth’s sentiment has been expressed before. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested last month that American seniors should be willing to risk their lives to the virus in order to preserve the economy.
“No one reached out to me and said, ‘As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for its children and grandchildren?’ he said on Fox News March 23. “And if that is the exchange, I’m all in.”
The lieutenant governor’s remarks drew rebukes from Democrats, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said the next day, “My mother is not expendable.”
Hollingsworth, the Indiana lawmaker, said Tuesday he’s also willing to push the good life over a longer life.
“We are going to have to look Americans in the eye and say, ‘We are making the best decisions for the most Americans possible,’ and the answer to that to get Americans back to work, to get Americans back to their businesses,” he said.
The congressman argued looming economic losses are far too severe to continue with sheltering-in-place orders designed to limit the person-to-person spread of coronavirus.
“It is always the American government’s position to say, in the choice between the loss of our way of life as Americans and the loss of life, of American lives, we have to always choose the latter,” he said.
