America has been a tinderbox after months of confinement, joblessness, and economic ruin. Last week people broke out of their homes to peacefully protest the brutal death of George Floyd, but rioters are taking advantage of the demonstrations to destroy cities across the country.
Now governors and mayors are threatening to continue the shutdowns and extend curfews “indefinitely.”
Authorities need to stop the riots, safely open their economies to avoid a new round of tensions, and follow the evidence in targeting public health measures to contain the virus.
Deaths from COVID-19 are concentrated in just 1% of counties that have more than 53% of COVID-19 deaths, according to a new paper by Galen Senior Fellow Doug Badger and Heritage scholar Norbert Michel, published by Heritage. Further, 24 of these counties are geographically concentrated in the congested Northeast corridor, and most are in nursing homes.
Testing must continue and accelerate, especially in inner cities where thousands of people have hit the streets in riots and demonstrations. But continuing the shutdowns would throw more fuel on the fires of unrest…
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