Editorial Staff

Time to follow the science, not fear

/in , , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

With Governor Baker set to announce the details of his phase one re-opening plan, Pioneer Institute shares the following principles to frame state action on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Background

On March 15th, Governor Baker announced the closure of Massachusetts’ public schools. On March 23rd, he issued an advisory order for residents, and an emergency order to close nonessential businesses. At the time, our state and country faced unprecedented uncertainty. Many government actions were based less on science and more on reasonable and prudent defensive postures given the dearth of information about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Without reliable data on fatality and contagion rates, and long-term impact, we could not set parameters around risks. Absent such information, erring on the side of caution was justified. Given the rapid emergence of the virus, we understand that the initial phase of responses was necessarily messy.

Since then, state and local governments, business owners and employees, and the general public have behaved admirably. While there have been mistakes and missed opportunities, Massachusetts’ response has exhibited discipline and care for others, putting public safety above all. In 1798, John Adams noted in an address to the Massachusetts Militiamen that “our constitution was made only for a moral” people. On that score we have lived up to our founders’ hopes.

Over the past two months, we have all learned a great deal about COVID-19 and the efficacy of – and the new challenges created by – our policy responses. We have learned from the countries and states that were hit earliest.  We read obsessively about potential new cures, the relevance of masks and heightened hygienic practices, and related physical and mental health and economic impacts.

Because of the discipline of our people and increased knowledge, we understand the risks and opportunities ahead. As a result, Pioneer Institute believes it is time to move to a more thoughtful, science-based footing.

Principles for re-opening
The following are principles for state and local public policymakers to guide future state action on COVID-19:

1.     At a time of pandemic, reasonable accommodations to protect the public can be justifiable and do not necessarily contradict commitment to respect individual liberty.

2.     State governments are empowered to protect residents’ health and safety. Those powers, whenever possible, are meant to be applied on the basis of science and historical experience, not through the exercise of arbitrary power.

3.     Policymakers must clearly articulate science-based recommendations for personal covering, hygiene, social distancing, and actions needed to protect individuals with higher risk profiles but they must refrain from arbitrarily and subjectively defining what is and isn’t “essential.”

4.     Policymakers should provide guidance and educate residents but refrain from giving unwarranted or arbitrary orders. A more productive and effective approach is to leverage social norms and pressure to promote science-based, counter-pandemic behaviors.

5.     When governments get into the business of controlling aspects of residents’ lives, they lose focus on aspects of the fight against the pandemic that need most attention, like the state’s uneven efforts to protect the high-risk elderly population in long-term care facilities.

The following are principles related to private and public institutions that serve the public:

6.     Private institutions engaging in retail and direct service of customers have the right and moral duty to protect their employees and customers, and therefore must be able to deny service to individuals who do not practice social distancing and other pandemic health measures.

7.     Public institutions that accommodate customers in close quarters — e.g., the MBTA, swimming pools, beaches and parks, etc. —must have the power to require customers to adopt protective measures. That said, agencies managing public services and spaces must default to staying open for the mental health and well-being of residents.

The following are principles related to education:

8.     K-12 education is an essential service and a constitutionally protected right. Closing schools without a clear set of plans and actions to ensure the continuation of learning in our public schools violates students’ constitutional rights.

About Pioneer

Mission
Pioneer Institute develops and communicates dynamic ideas that advance prosperity and a vibrant civic life in Massachusetts and beyond.

Vision
Success for Pioneer is when the citizens of our state and nation prosper and our society thrives because we enjoy world-class options in education, healthcare, transportation and economic opportunity, and when our government is limited, accountable and transparent.

Values
Pioneer believes that America is at its best when our citizenry is well-educated, committed to liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise, and both willing and able to test their beliefs based on facts and the free exchange of ideas.

Get Our COVID-19 News, Tips & Resources!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Posts

UVA Law Professor Kimberly Robinson On Legal Debate About Education As Federal Right

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Kimberly Robinson, Professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and the Curry School of Education, about her new book, "A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy," and the need for states to establish a “floor of opportunity” to ensure educational equity.

The past seven weeks of Massachusetts unemployment claims total 25.8 percent of the civilian workforce.

0 Comments
/
The U.S. Department of Labor released its weekly report on jobless claims Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m., reporting that Massachusetts received 55,448 initial unemployment insurance (UI) claims during the week ended May 2. This brings the total of regular UI claims filed in Massachusetts since March 14, the beginning of the unemployment surge, to 781,110. 

National Study Finds Most States Lack Healthcare Price Transparency Laws

At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has caused massive shifts in state policies on telehealth and scope of practice in healthcare, a new Pioneer Institute study underscores that most of the 50 states continue to suffer from weak laws regarding price transparency.  The study identified states that have laws that require carriers, providers or both to provide personalized cost information to consumers before obtaining healthcare services.  Fully 33 states placed in the lowest of the three broad analytic tiers on the strength of their state healthcare transparency laws. 

Explosion in ESL enrollment creates new opportunities, challenges

0 Comments
/
  The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that, between 2010…

COVID-19 will likely lead to a recession. Can Massachusetts municipal budgets handle one?

0 Comments
/
Using municipalities' experiences during the Great Recession, a new policy brief examines the likely impact of COVID-19 on local property taxes, as well as political implications for state aid. We list the municipal revenues by category among the least tax-reliant communities in Massachusetts, show the trajectory of tax revenue growth rate in Massachusetts state and local governments, and rank stabilization fund assets per capita among Massachusetts Gateway Cities.

Conquering COVID-19: When and From Where Will Vaccines and Therapies Emerge?

0 Comments
/
This week on Hubwonk, Host Joe Selvaggi is joined by Pioneer’s Bill Smith, Visiting Fellow in Life Sciences, and Dr. Peter Kolchinsky, Harvard-trained virologist, biotech investor and author of the new book, The Great American Drug Deal, to learn how the SARS-CoV2 works, what a vaccine may look like, and how we might produce it to scale.

COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: Human testing of a vaccine; NYT best-selling author John Barry on COVID-19 & warmer weather; Just who’s getting stimulus $?; Latest unemployment #s; What will reopening look like?; Tipping point for Telehealth & more!

0 Comments
/
Pioneer staff share their top picks for COVID-19 stories highlighting useful resources, best practices, and questions we should be asking our public and private sector leaders.

New York Times #1 best-selling author John M. Barry on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic & lessons for COVID-19

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by John M. Barry, author of the #1 New York Times best seller, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.

The past six weeks of Massachusetts unemployment claims total 24.0 percent of civilian workforce

0 Comments
/
The U.S. Department of Labor released its weekly report on jobless claims this morning at 8:30 a.m., reporting that Massachusetts received 70,714 initial unemployment insurance (UI) claims during the week ended April 25. This brings the total of unemployment claims filed in Massachusetts since March 14, the beginning of the unemployment surge, to 725,018. 

Re-opening for business: What should employers and commercial real estate managers do to prepare?

0 Comments
/
Weeks away from re-opening, now is a time when employers and real estate managers must act. To assist our community in doing a great job of preparing, Pioneer Institute, in partnership with the law firm of Verrill, is sharing two checklists that will help you keep your employees safe, anticipate challenges, and develop feasible and useful methods to successfully deal with those challenges when they do.

Report Finds “Reopening Day” in the Commonwealth Will Likely Include Phasing in Businesses and Contact Tracing

New study compares the reopening of three European countries – Austria, Denmark, and Germany – to highlight approaches that could inform the Commonwealth’s reopening strategy.

To Read or Not to Read Shakespeare? 12 Great Ways to Get to Know The Bard During COVID-19

0 Comments
/
With school closures impacting 50 million children across America, and a challenging transition to remote learning,  many parents are seeking supplementary material to enrich their children's academic experience during COVID-19.  Fortunately, there is a wealth of information available to introduce children of all ages to, arguably, the greatest literary figure in the English-speaking world, William Shakespeare.