comment ,pick,state
"Doesn't the targeted approach require massive testing? Yes, it does. And we're not there yet. Until we are this advice seems premature.",NYT Picks,Utah
"I?m at a loss. I made it through 9/11, Super Storm Sandy and the Great Recession. Under Obama, I recovered. Trump?s tax laws brought my profession down again. Working 3 jobs now, an employer who promised to stick with us, sent this today on Sunday afternoon. ?I hope that you and your family are staying healthy and safe during this unprecedented time. Given the current circumstances due to COVID-19, I?m going to have to suspend all my business activities indefinitely, including all employment. I sincerely hope, as I?m sure everyone does, that this terrible situation is over quickly and we can resume our work.? If you?re a business owner, have enough compassion to make a phone call....on a Monday.",NYT Picks,NY
"I'm 76 years old. How incredibly selfish it would be to wish for a nationwide shut down for the next 6 months to increase my chances of living. My life, at this age, means nothing compared with the tragic economic suffering of millions of my fellow Americans.",NYT Picks,NC
"I have zero faith that anyone even remotely attached to the Trump administration has even the faintest idea of what to do. We're well past the initial, highly important, testing phase that could have lessened the impact of this crisis because of Trump's ineptitude and ignorance. This health threat isn't going away in two weeks and it's just wishful thinking that we as a country will be back on track anytime soon. Closing down the economy for a month, sheltering in place for a month, and testing huge swaths of the urban population is not overreaction, it just makes sense. In the best case scenario only thousands will die, in the worst case hundreds of thousands, perhaps more, will die. The cost to the economy is whatever it will take to beat this.",NYT Picks,SC 
"The Katz/ vertical plan has a serious flaw: Many American households are multi-generational (especially lower income ones and minorities) with seniors living under the same roof, or have family members with underlying medical issus that make them vulnerable. What happens after two weeks when mom and dad, along with the kids, are symptom free and return to work and school but grandmother or a family member on chemotherapy still are at home? What happens to this populartion?",NYT Picks,Utah
"No need to alter the approach except to protect known at risk individuals. Americans are incapable of following a directive, especially if it is mostly to benefit someone else. The bulk of the American people have voted selfishly for 40 years and they will act selfishly now. The best you can do is lockdown and then let what happens happen. It will pass fairly fast because Americans will continue to spread it fast. It will also kill a lot of people, but that is the American way, rugged and careless individuals that they are. Just kidding about the rugged part. No way you don't have 6-18 months of dire case loads and economic issues. The economy is not coming back anyway, because it was always fake and built on baby-brained consumers.",NYT Picks,PA
"The best hope for rescuing our economy is through testing. Yes, we need to be manufacturing masks and ventilators, mobilizing health care teams toward a surge in intensive care needs and preparing new beds in make-shift hospitals, but even more importantly we should have all hands on deck to ramp up our ability to test - now. When we can test almost anyone for active infection, and then when we can test health care workers and others at risk for immunity (much later, if ever), then we can start to isolate intelligently. Only then can we move away from the blind indiscriminate quarantine we have now. Later, when we identify some antivirals, or other meds that might rescue the infected from the most severe illness, and then even later when we have a vaccine, life will return to normal. But the best way to move society back to a more normal economic footing is to test, test, test.",NYT Picks,CA
"This is brilliant and important, but also obvious, and it?s shocking to see so-called leaders taking such a blunt and overkill approach currently, with no clear plan, which will do so much more harm to society than the virus over time. True leaders make difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions for the overall good, which of course is challenging in this environment, but is rarely more important than it is now ? to accept that some people will (unavoidably and unfortunately) die but those with a high chance of survival should be able to return to work after two weeks and support the system and others (assuming that proper testing and tracking are available) for the long term benefit of society. It?s frustrating that this debate hasn?t received more attention but I agree it is desperately and urgently needed.",NYT Picks,NY
"Once this virus is contained, let us pressure our elected officials to pass a Green New Deal. That would put a lot of people back to work in good-paying jobs and address this climate crisis: installing solar panel, wind turbines and green roofs, insulating buildings, expanding mass transit, building bike trails, planting trees and growing food with restorative agriculture. Let this coronavirus crisis awaken more to that other great existential threat called climate change, which if unaddressed with the urgency it requires will devastate us even more.",NYT Picks,US
"A society that cared about all of its members equally would ensure that those who are forced to stay home and lose their incomes/jobs are compensated for their bearing the brunt of protecting all of the rest of us. It is a flaw in our dog-eat-dog capitalism model that we are willing to tolerate so much suffering (and such negative health outcomes) for those who lose their jobs. This should be a wakeup call for us as a society: those whose jobs are displaced by superior technology, whether coal miners, auto manufacturers, truck drivers, or data analysts have similarly done us all a service by continuing to do work that needs to be done up until such time as it obsolesces. Unemployment (for whatever reason) should not mean that one's children starve or lack for opportunity.",NYT Picks,NY
"I like the general theme proposed, but like many others, question it's feasibility, given the present shortages of key equipment: testing, ventilators, masks, testing, etc. Which doesn't take away from the validity of the proposal, that it's very worth considering, but that perhaps we must wait another week or two (or more) until it can be put in effect.",NYT Picks,WI 
"As a nation, we have blindly walked into wet cement by insisting upon maintaining a system in which many have no heath insurance, many others are covered only as long as they stay employed, and tens of millions of working Americans live only a few dollars from bankruptcy. Like catching a disease, these disasters come about through little or no fault of the victims; they are the inevitable consequences of the system we have built. It?s a catastrophe of our own making, mainly because we have been indoctrinated into having a greater fear of the mythical dangers of Socialism (falsely sold as a synonym for Communist Stalinism) than of the real life consequences of winner-take-all capitalism. No amount of social planning can completely protect us from catching something virulent, but as it stands we have made one of life?s risks much worse than it needs to be. Once the pandemic passes, and before the next one sweeps the globe, perhaps it is time for the survivors to grow up.",NYT Picks,
"At a time when hospitals are desperate for basic supplies like masks, gowns, and swabs - not to mention ventilators - to treat those who already are seriously ill or dying, your suggestion that we ""let many of us get the coronavirus"" sounds like a prescription for ""dying in place."" Yes, a targeted approach to mitigating the spread of COVID-19 would be desirable in an ideal world. But we do not - at least not now - enjoy that luxury. We might have had better options weeks back, had our leaders not sat on their hands. Instead of calling for swift action, they called their stock brokers. Relaxing the practice of social distance will surely overwhelm an already dismal situation in our health care system.",NYT Picks,Missouri
"Talk about pie in the sky. As stated, the opportunity for a more targeted approach has already passed, thanks largely to the federal government's failure to sound the alarm sooner. The idea that we can quickly figure out why some young people sicken and die from Covid-19 is another nonstarter. It's a new virus and we won't have answers to questions like that for months or more. Having people continue to work in hotels, restaurants, etc. is not going to accomplish anything. People are scared and demand for most things, including hospitality and dining, has collapsed. Workers need customers to service. Without customers, employers can't pay to keep workers on the job. That's economics 101. Meanwhile the virus will spread further while people are at work with no customers (or not enough of them) coming through the door. The only solution, given the failure to respond earlier, is to shut down the country and print money for a couple of months, or even longer if necessary. Not a good solution, but the only one now available. Trying now what might have been workable two months ago is a recipe for disaster.",NYT Picks,VT
"My wife is a nurse in San Francisco- can't even get a straight answer about how many N95 masks are available. Different hospitals have different ideas if its even airborn or not.... How are you going to organize the whole country to ""follow the rules"" and get back to work. When the most vulnerable first responders aren't even being properly protected?",NYT Picks,CA
"Set aside whether you agree or disagree with the plan espoused in this column. We can agree that it is complex and requires leadership and intelligence. Now remember who is president of the US and ask yourself if he and his team are capable of leadership and intelligence. Having read a lot of these ""contrarian"" takes on the crisis over the past week, my conclusion is that the first thing the contrarians such as Friedman need to do is to call for Donald Trump to resign. There's absolutely no possibility of achieving Friedman's ""smart"" virus plan while Trump is in charge. As long as they don't call for his resignation, and as long as he doesn't resign, we're stuck with the state by state shutdown strategy.",NYT Picks,CA
"I appreciate Mr. Friedman's attempt to broaden the conversation but, speaking as a Harvard trained epidemiologist, there are so many problems with what he wrote that I found this more misleading than helpful. Just one (of many) puzzling comments in this editorial: Dr. Steven Woolf, director emeritus of the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University, shared with me some thoughts he was hammering into an essay: ?Society?s response to Covid-19, such as closing businesses and locking down communities, may be necessary to curb community spread but could harm health in other ways, costing lives. Imagine a patient with chest pain or a developing stroke, where speed is essential to save lives, hesitating to call 911 for fear of catching the coronavirus. Or a cancer patient having to delay chemotherapy because the facility is closed. Or a patient with advanced emphysema who dies for lack of a facility with a ventilator.?? How would NOT closing businesses and trying to limit community spread result in seriously ill individuals feeling safer about calling 911? Where is the evidence that chemotherapy is being delayed due to facilities being closed? That's like saying hospitals are part of the mandated business closings. Ah, I don't think so. Individuals with advanced emphysema are MORE likely not to have a ventilator if we don't slow down infections and take the burden off the health care system. Very disappointing article.",Reader Picks,MA
"But, we did not have testing available when it was most needed because the administration decided not to accept testing from WHO. We do not have adequate testing now. 40% or more of infections are in those under 50 and some of these die, so it is not the flu. Herd immunity requires about 70% of the population to have contacted the virus or been immunized with a vaccine. Natural herd immunity has a steep curve that will kill hundreds of thousands. Vaccination is at least 12 months away. Yes, we should have had testing available so we could have isolated those at serious risk of dying (nursing homes, retirement communities, elderly workers , etc) but we did not and now we have vectors all over the US with little or no testing available to determine which of the high risk people are infected or which of the low risk people can go back to work in a non-infected work place. We lost the chance to contain the economic disaster we are now entering because of incompetent, intentional, poor governance from a republican party that has wanted to shrink the government until it could be drowned in a bathtub for the past 40 years. The republican party is now killing the US population instead. We will get through this, but the republican party needs to pay a high price. They need to go the way of the Whigs.",Reader Picks,montana
I make $14/hr. No benefits. Really not hurrying back to that...for the economy's sake or mine.,Reader Picks,IL 
@mitchell Exactly this. Until we have wide spread testing everywhere available to literally everyone we can't just go back to business as usual. We need to test people as frequently as needed to isolate infected asymptomatic cases as soon as possible to decrease the infection rate. Then and only then life can go back. Otherwise this disease will keep coming and hitting in waves.,Reader Picks,IL 
"You are not paying attention. The only way we could have gone back to work quickly would have been massive testing as soon as the corona virus arrived in America. We missed that opportunity. Of course people want to go back to work, but be realistic. Don't you have some responsibility as a columnist to promote a realistic assessment of the facts? Based on what is happening in other countries, we may not be at 'peak corona' until early- to mid-May. If everyone leaves self-isolation without testing, then asymptomatic people who have the virus will give it to others, and the process will start again. This whole mess could have been avoided by massive early testing. But the president said it wasn't serious.",Reader Picks,CO
"This crisis is striking at the frailest part of America: Our identity. For two centuries, we?ve been fed a diet of propaganda that we?ve all frontiersmen and rugged individualists, and nothing can abrogate that. Whatever threatens our ?I?m going my way? ethos is the enemy, from Native Americans to terrorists. We?ll draw our trusty six-shooters, saddle up, and yee-haw our way to victory. Except that the terrorists this time require that we think as a collective, that we drop our cherished pretense as one of 300,000,000 people going our own way, and start going the same way together, or else. We?re not cowboys or frontiersmen. We?re neighbors and coworkers who need to think like a Union, not a loose collection of states. That?s the primary failing of Trump; he?s spinning a romantic trope -me first, I?m an American ? that is counterproductive at least, and deadly at worst. We?re not cowboys, and our individual actions affect everyone else.",Reader Picks,CA
"Not a word here or anywhere about taxing all billionaires out of existence, as we should?ve done long ago, to pay for all this? Humanity can no longer afford billionaires. Put an immediate 90% tax on everything over 1 billion, and if they no longer feel they have incentive, they can go work at a hospital where they might actually do some good. Ownership is productive of nothing on its own. A person making 50 K a year could survive for 20,000 years on just 1 billion. Tough luck if they can?t be comfortable for the rest of their life with just that amount. Shameful that they all aren?t offering to pay for as much as they can right now.",Reader Picks,Wisconsin
Wasn't this an argument made by Boris Johnson for a while - until it was calculated that this approach would lead to 500k deaths?,Reader Picks,Dusseldorf
"This is an imaginary prescription. It accounts for a perfect sequesterstion of vulnerable populations. Dangerously, it confuses the message to the public. Please hold off any solutions for now.",Reader Picks,NY
"No, the cure is not worse than the disease. Dead people cannot spend money. It's that simple. Only a 1% fatality rate? There's no such thing as ""only"" 1% of human beings. 1% of 7.7 billion is 77 million. That's 77 MILLION human lives. Consider the following: 1. COVID-19 is not the flu. It is at least 5 times as deadly, it is more transmissible, it has a higher incubation period, and it randomly kills healthy individuals. 2. Because of the high incubation period, self-isolating after symptoms develop is simply too late. 3. Allowing it to spread will allow more strains of COVID-19 to develop, potentially making it impossible to vaccinate against. 4. If COVID-19 becomes a seasonal illlness like the flu, the mortality will be largely additive ? every year, some people would die from the flu, and others from COVID-19 (or some strain of it). Let's talk about the economic impact of an additional 150,000 annual deaths! 5. Our economy isn't actually grinding to a comple halt. Many people ? Friedman included ? are able to work remotely. 6. Without drastic action, virtually everyone will get this illness. 7. If we can't flatten the curve, our health care system will be overwhelmed and the death toll will be much worse than 1%. 8. It's impossible to fully isolate the most vulnerable because they are cared for by the less vulnerable. Friedman may think some humans can be sacrificied for the good of the economy, but the economy IS human beings, and we're all in this together.",Reader Picks,NY
"It is always questionable to form a strategy based on one or two opinions, even if those are expert opinions. Criticism of Ioannidis from others, including epideiologists, is all over the web and may be for Katz, though I haven?t checked. Science works by concensus, not lone mavericks, in spite of a great deal of fiction that passes for science. The bottom line is that we have missed the testing, testing, testing boat so badly that all we can do now is flail around in a rather haphazard effort to contain.",Reader Picks,Canada
"We are united as an industry and speaking with one voice,? the chief executives of major airlines, UPS and FedEx said in a letter to congressional leaders on Saturday. ?We urge you to swiftly pass a bipartisan bill with worker payroll protections to ensure that we can save the jobs of our 750,000 airline professionals,? wrote the group, which included the heads of Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines. If Congress approves at least $29 billion in grants for the industry, the executives said they would commit to no furloughs or layoffs through August. If an equal amount in loans is passed, they would commit to limiting executive compensation and freezing stock buybacks and dividends for the life of the loan."" The above is from another article. What galls me is the airlines WERE PREVIOUSLY BAILED OUT. They were irresponsible and didn't save for a rainy day. They were fiscal TODDLERS. Living in the short term. Now it looks to me that they are attempting to wield their influence in the POLICY REALM. They are unelected. They squandered reserves with executive pay, stock buy backs and shareholder dividends. Now, I don't care if they fail. Let them. Unless, they change to less carbon intensive practices, they are still polluters and we still ultimately pay the price of their greed and recklessness as citizens of a global society.",Reader Picks,NM
"These are the musings of someone with first-rate health insurance and the affluence and social prominence to obtain the best of medical care on top of that. There is simply no practical means to ""sequester"" the most vulnerable, especially with a rapidly moving virus that will doubtless itself be the best determiner of who is and who is not the most vulnerable. That would entail ripping apart families and communities. We don't all live in separate nuclear-family homes, our kids and parents in homes of their own, or age-sorted, gated communities. Even if we did manage to sequester many of the vulnerable, that would still leave the poor bearing the brunt of the consequences of this basically cruel and indifferent herd inoculation scheme. It's not so much a plan as an argument for immediate capitulation to what ""nature"" will do if left alone, in order to save the grotesquely unequal structure of our current economy from any more disruption or the challenge that might arise from too long having to provide support to the general populace that looks an awful lot like Andrew Yang's Universal Basic Income and Bernie Sander's Medicare For All. In short, this is Tom Friedman sinking to a low I previously did not imagine him capable of reaching. Crisis truly brings out the worst in some people as it brings out the best in others.",Reader Picks,CA
"So easy to say when you can bloviate from home. Other people don't want to put themselves at risk. 1% is merely a statistical value to you, but that represents millions of lives killed needlessly (in the U.S. alone, potentially more Americans killed than in WWII). This is not a war where civilians should be drafted to die for the sake of your 401k; for the sake of Capitalism. We should take the unprecedented wealth of this country, stop pretending our jobs matter (those non-essential jobs which have been shuttered because of the virus), and use that excess wealth to give everyone healthcare, housing, and a universal basic income. It's time to shift this economy to the 21st century. Mother nature sent us to our room to think about what we've done. Trying to ""get back to normal"" misses the point entirely. We have to radically change our behavior as humans, and our economy. Now is the time.",Reader Picks,MO  
There isn't enough money? Great Britain is looking at paying people up to 80% of their salaries to stay at home. And here in the good ole USA we always seem to have enough money to fund war after war. We always seem to find enough money to cut taxes for the already filthy rich. After already previously cutting them again and again since Saint Ronnie. There is plenty of money. There is simply way too much of it concentrated in far too few hands.,Reader Picks,US
"Thanks, Mr. President, for refusing to act when first told in January of the virus being here. Thanks for calling it a 'democratic' hoax' and 'fake news' while the virus was starting to spread. Thanks for refusing the World Health Organization's testing kits, while the virus was spreading at an increasing rate. We are dead last in testing per capita, thanks to that 'decision'. Thanks for refusing to deploy our military to build hospitals, and refusing to act on the defense powers act to get critical medical supplies and equipment to our health care providers. Counties like South Korea, Japan and Singapore did the complete opposite. They acted right away, didn't lie to their citizens, and starting widespread testing quickly. They had their first cases on the exact day as we did, or within a few days, and today have the virus completely contained, with virtually no new cases, without shutting down their economies. We, on the other hand, have to go on complete lock down, and given how out of control the virus is spreading, will go on for months, if not the rest of the year. Your inaction's, stupid decisions, and constant lies are the reason. What's even more sickening and depressing is that almost 50% of Americans believe all your lies, and think you are doing a good job at handling this crisis.",Reader Picks,Colorado
Now they're holding their employees hostage and threatening mass layoffs if they don't get taxpayer's money. Never mind the billions they earned over the last 10 years; that's theirs to keep.,Reader Picks,
"No need to alter the approach except to protect known at risk individuals. Americans are incapable of following a directive, especially if it is mostly to benefit someone else. The bulk of the American people have voted selfishly for 40 years and they will act selfishly now. The best you can do is lockdown and then let what happens happen. It will pass fairly fast because Americans will continue to spread it fast. It will also kill a lot of people, but that is the American way, rugged and careless individuals that they are. Just kidding about the rugged part. No way you don't have 6-18 months of dire case loads and economic issues. The economy is not coming back anyway, because it was always fake and built on baby-brained consumers.",Reader Picks,PA
"I think I had the coronavirus, but it was mild -- heavy chest, some cough, congestion, deep fatigue. I know what it feels like to be getting sick, and I was getting sick, and it was centered in my respiratory system. No fever. I dosed myself with massive Vitamin D, Vitamin C, oscilloconcsinum, and a homeopathic concoction and got better. Nobody had anything better to suggest. Now I want to 1) sign up as a statistic so the state of Vermont and the country knows I had it, and 2) help out where I can, because I'm probably immune now. I'm staying in for another week, but after that, I should be able to circulate without restrictions. It's silly for me to stay home if I'm immune. But am I? Nobody can tell me. I could be volunteering to be a waitress in a restaurant or a sales person at a local store, or in a hospital or doctor's office. I am a retired professor, and I could begin to teach again until all the other teachers are back in circulation. But I can't find out 1) did I have the virus or was it something else, and 2) where I might be able to volunteer, now that I'm not going to give it to someone else and am immune myself.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Maybe this is a way of restructuring the economy so that it isn?t based on continuous growth? Constant high levels of consumption, usually of temporary and disposable goods that sit in landfills for hundreds if not thousands of years is destroying our entire planet. Maybe this virus, horrible though it is, is a chance for us to discover it?s okay to skip the foreign vacations and associated carbon generation, skip the needless phone and laptop upgrades, run in a park instead of shopping in a mall, cook simple meals with seasonal, low impact ingredients at home rather than drive to a restaurant. A change had to be made. Why not now? The status quo might not have killed us as quick as illness. It doesn?t mean it wasn?t as deadly.",Reader Picks,
"10%-20% of people who get this need to go to the hospital. This an incredibly irresponsible piece, a real low point.",Reader Picks,AZ
"This column rests on six (as I count them) ?if? propositions and other assumptions. We can shorten the quarantine period to a just a few more weeks: 1. If we can achieve universal, or near universal testing in a few weeks. 2. If we can establish that the fatality rate is lower than 1 percent (Ionnadis). And why is 1% an acceptable threshold if seasonal flu is .1%? Please explain. www.statnews.com/2020/03/16/lower-coronavirus-death-rate-estimates/. 3. If we can count on a large enough population to self-quarantine for roughly the same 14 day period. How big would that group need to be? Do we have a way to count them? 4. If, after a return to normal work patterns, people will monitor their interactions and personal habits (handshakes, handwashing, etc.). 5. If immunity is, in fact, acquired after an infection has run its course. When will we have an answer to this? 6. If we can establish the reasons why some young people have been killed by the virus. Again, when will we have an answer? It seems premature to raise hopes that the quarantine period will be over in a few weeks. Let?s get a few more answers and establish the facts. Then please write a column that does not add to the confusion.",Reader Picks,NY
"When a virus with relative low fatality rate causes a global economic breakdown, maybe we should question the system itself. A system, where the lack of growth leads to a crisis. Where just-in-time-production forces a chain reaction and entire industries to halt. Epidemics will come time and again, so maybe we should gear our economy to cope with exceptional situations.",Reader Picks,Austria
"If the government had started in January to ramp up production of the WHO test, we could have enough tests now to test everyone and sequestered only those who need to. But they wasted a lot of time trying to come up with their own test which wasn't any good.",Reader Picks,Colorado
"Mr. Friedman, as us of us in the medical world would say, you have reached ""grief"" level called ""bargaining"". The ""flu"" issue was flawed from the beginning. The real ""flu"", Influenza A, is a killer. But 1. Essentially all elderly and frail people get the vaccine. 2. Essentially all medical and related fields, right down to the receptionist 3. We have some cross immunity from previous infections of it 4. Their is wide-spread rapidish testing for it. 5. we have anti-viral medications for it. Nevertheless, each year ""the flu"" causes the hospitals and medical system to near collapse each January/February (ask your medical colleagues) and 10s of thousands of deaths. And with no vaccine and no antivirals, if this gets out generally, not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands in the medical field with die. It is a near certainty: kiss your economy goodbye.",Reader Picks,MA
"This solution presupposes that the low fatality rate among lower-risk people would remain low without intensive medical interventions (hospitalization, use of ventilators, etc.). If otherwise young/healthy people who get COVID-19 require hospitalization (which they appear to do, according to the NYT), then our medical system would still be overwhelmed with this approach, and the 1% or 0.5% fatality rate could increase substantially.",Reader Picks,NY 
"Irresponsible column from someone who is not a doctor, not a scientist -- in a country without enough test kits to test its citizens, so who knows how horrible the problem is right now and how terrible it will become in the next few weeks. This column is, what's the word, Trumpian.",Reader Picks,Texas
"I suggest that maybe for once, let's try something new and look to other countries who have gone, and still are going through the same exact thing. The US and South Korea had their first case on the exact same day. Look at where they are today, thanks to rational decision making and preparedness, and where we are. If South Korea restarts their economy, that would be one thing. But the US is on the curve to become like Italy in about 10 days or so. Italy, mind you, is on total shutdown. I am sick of hearing people obsessed with the economy how awful everything is. Cry me a river. Other countries don't have economies? Their citizens and businesses don't suffer? Is this another kind of American Exceptionalism, that the beast that is our economy, can't be restrained any longer or it will just give up the ghost and die? I just listened to a podcast ""Sundial"" from WLRN in South Florida talking about the shutdown, hotels and beaches being closed, and not one single word was wasted on the damage done by allowing mass gatherings to proceed, with those college kids now back in their communities spreading the coronavirus. All they talked about was the suffering hospitality industry. Typical. Greed Over People.",Reader Picks,Florida
"It?s utter monstrous think people will voluntarily self-isolate ?just like they do with the flu.? Have you ever worked... anywhere!? People come to work sick all the time, and every ad on TV for daytime flu medicine tells them to. Only highly privileged employees can take sick leave. Others will lose their jobs if they don?t show up.",Reader Picks,CT 
"This is what happens when there?s no leadership at the top?when you?ve created such ill will among half the population that no one really believes anything you say. As a result, we now have 50 governors trying to wade through everything by themselves, making decisions they believe right for their state. Imagine a different leader, marshaling the ?best and brightest? and who the nation believed was smart enough to know he ?alone CAN?T fix it?, and I believe we?d be in a very different place. We?d have begun testing earlier, heeded the warnings, while talking to other world leaders and our own scientists (not just the wonderful Dr. Fauci) on the best approach. The Dr. Katz?s of the world would have had a seat at the table long before panic set in. Instead, we have Trump sending North Korea an offer of assistance.",Reader Picks,NC
"I just don't understand: If we needed a million bombs, we'd make a million bombs, If we needed a hundred planes we'd make a hundred planes. It is apparent we need a million hospital beds and that attendant supplies. It is the curve they are all talking about, if we had the supplies to treat people, then are economy would not have shut down?! How come the Chinese did it? and we can't?",Reader Picks,NY
"There a few lessons already visible. I doubt America will draw the right inferences however. A coordinated federal response is the only rational way to deal with a pandemic, not state-by-state and Governor-by-Governor. A two week work Holiday should have been ordered for the whole country, with two weeks paid leave guaranteed. That should have been passed a month ago, and started a week ago. The Republicans in the Senate and the White House should all be thrown out of office, or forced to resign for incompetence and malfeasance. The NIH budget should be raised 25% and the CDC budget should be raised 75%. Last but not least: Anthony Fauci should be installed as temporary head of the Government until the next election.",Reader Picks,Texas
"I agree. This crisis is a wake-up call to transform our lives and economy to deal with the viruses of climate change, war, violence, inequality, lack of a public health care system. Investing in green jobs is a great starting point.",Reader Picks,CA
"""Either we let many of us get the coronavirus, recover and get back to work..."" Ok, you go first. Data show that up to one-fifth of infected people ages 20-44 have been hospitalized, including 2%-4% who required treatment in an intensive care unit. If we do that all at once, there will not be enough beds and ventilators, and people will die. But no problem as long as it's not you, right?",Reader Picks,Arizonia
"I think what you are saying--let some people die--is different from what the article is saying--isolate only the most vulnerable. Your idea: let them die, might lead to the death of up to 2 million Americans which is morally bankrupt and definitely not in the ""long term benefit of society"".",Reader Picks,CA
"Couldn?t agree more. There is an unspoken but ever present value placed on the economic system but not on the many souls who work without healthcare so that others can be paid more and the businesses themselves retain more in profit. In a pandemic the societal/community value of all that ?under work? suddenly rises to the surface and we see how all our lives are actually interconnected and none is left out, however small. It then becomes a question of saving the society and the individual workers not just the schema of business. Friedman et al. seem to have missed this lesson and operate in their own silos. Trump isn?t operational at all, which is how we got to this point. In a manner of speaking we are about to become the next Trump bankruptcy.",Reader Picks,NY
"What every country needs - especially the slow kid kid in the class, Trump's America - is a bumper crop of face masks, fever thermometers, personal protective equipment, ventilators, test kits and 14-day quarantine....none of it is rocket science. Trump-Pence's two-month ""Chinese virus' spiteful sleepwalking incompetence in January-February needs to be corrected today and on November 3 2020.",Reader Picks,NJ
"As I posted in my comment. Letting the virus run wild within the general pop does not help the hospitals that are/will be dealing with too many sick people at any one time. See Italy, Spain, etc. for further evidence. Not sure what's so hard to understand about rebooting the economy when more masks and ventilators and healthy helpers are on hand. Why is Friedman and others at this time talking about the economy as if it can't be changed? After all, the economic structure of this country has led to some of the issues we're dealing with right now. So why back to business as usual? Odd.",Reader Picks,Norway
We have evidently reached the point in history where we confuse money?a construct?with human value. We have collectively devolved in sociopathy.,Reader Picks,CA
"First we blew mass testing. Then we did the same with masks, and PPEs. Now we?re down to trying to get ahead of the final stage, with ventilators. Without a war-time type effort to respond, we?ve been consistently late on all fronts. The economic recovery will have to wait. Mass testing and tracing would still make a big difference if we got in the game in a timely manner. That does not appear to be occurring.",Reader Picks,IL 
"And as to the arguments that Friedman, Ioannidis, and Katz have espoused--arguments that I think do have merit, inasmuch as it is likely, according to the recent Columbia model and others, that there may be ten to twelve unknown COVID-19 infections for each one that is known, but the overwhelming majority of these are not severe or even asymptomatic, meaning the actual mortality rate is much lower than the most common figures currently mentioned--we could discuss them a lot more seriously in a better resourced health system that had testing, ventilators, and personal protective equipment more readily available. It's certainly true that the dithering incompetence of our current administration has led us into a bigger hole than was necessary--especially when we contrast with South Korea or Taiwan's responses. But given where we are, we will need at least four weeks of pretty good global isolation to slow transmission. At that point, we may be able to go with just isolating the most vulnerable--and, of course, we do need to determine just what the characteristics of the most vulnerable are. Still, this should not be a wasted opportunity. Our situation radically demonstrates the need for a much augmented safety net. Everyone should have sick time. Everyone should have access to health care paid mostly through progressive taxation, not income ability. And Yang's idea of UBI to mitigate these kinds of shocks makes more and more sense every day.",Reader Picks,NY
The testing is NOT available in meaningful volumes yet.,Reader Picks,CA
"""I'm 76 years old. How incredibly selfish it would be to wish for a nationwide shut down for the next 6 months to increase my chances of living..."" As an over-70, I agree there's a time to step aside. But there's enough wealth in this country, that surely we can establish an economic system in which a significant part of the population is worth more than the almighty dollar. This isn't just for you and me, but for many others as well.",Reader Picks,NC
"Thank you, thank you, thank you for such a thoughtful piece. Since we really have no idea what the denominator is in terms of infections, keeping everybody quarantined is the only reasonable course for now. That way, the first wave of really ill people can hopefully be managed her the next couple of weeks. But keeping everybody locked down for an indefinite period of time seems like overkill. Businesses are already laying off massive numbers of people, which only increases hardships. We've heard the doomsday scenario, with some calling for a soft lockdown for everybody until we have a vaccine. Most experts think this will take at least another 15 months or so, and even with a vaccine, creating tens of millions of doses will take time. But what if a vaccine isn't found? Would we then live in a limited contact environment for 2 years? 3 years?? 5 years??? We will eventually need to have herd immunity, and one way or another we will get it. But it doesn't seem reasonable that every scenario needs to lead to economic ruin that will bankrupt big companies and small ones alike, and wipe out a large chunk of the entrepreneurial class. Retirement plans will be destroyed and local governments will go broke. We need to move towards a strategy of risk mitigation instead of risk elimination. Because risk elimination strategies never work completely; there are always ancillary effects.",Reader Picks,NY
"I am deeply troubled by this piece. It has so many weaknesses! One, there is way too much uncertainty about who will get seriously ill or die to even begin a serious attempt to develop criteria to identify the most vulnerable. Two, the unconscionable lack of testing and medical supplies to address the imminent tsunami of hospitalizations is the strongest argument for a full shutdown to flatten the curve. Three, this column does not offer even one specific suggestion re how we would ?do our utmost? to protect the most vulnerable. How would they be identified? How would the family members they live with be dealt with? The level of intervention needed to successfully carry out such a scheme boggles the mind. Or will we create ghettos? At worst, this is just a flimsy argument to provide moral cover to those who would let the virus run its course and let the vulnerable and the health care professionals who care for them die. At best, this ?cure? is even more unworkable than the one we are trying now. The current cure at least offers a way for everyone to help one another ? we are all in this together. The most dangerous thing about Mr. Friedman?s line of thinking is that it will endanger the fragile solidarity that true heroes, like Dr. Fauci, Governor Cuomo and most epidemiologists have fought for this week. Speculate all you want, but please do nothing to weaken the current response, which is our only hope right now.",Reader Picks,NY
"I am so grateful that someone finally said this! This feels sensible, realistic and so much more intelligent than the heavy-handed unsupervised economic experiment we are currently taking with so many people's lives. We've over-focused on those who can be harmed by coronovirus and not those who will be harmed by losing their jobs, their retirement savings and their financial security. There is a middle way - a way to slow down the spread and impact of the virus on the most vulnerable while not slamming shut the ability of many of us to work and support ourselves in the meantime. Thank you for having the courage to publish this article and share these opinions - I've been waiting for someone to do so!",Reader Picks,CA
"No one wants a depression, but alas, it may be the only thing that awakens hard headed, spoiled, and self centered Americans to the need for a change of our inequitable system. Forty years of monied interest's political control, the crush of workers unions, a lack of compassion for all to have health care, the rise of the Republican right to the level of fascism, ignorance to the threat to our planet and existence, and the dumbing down of America has led us to the election of Donald Trump. Amazingly, even in the face of gross irresponsibility and demagoguery, his reelection is possible, if not probable. Trying to save or keep our current economy for the sake of expediency and convenience may be the alternative reality. The reality is that none of this will change without a shock to the system as happened with the Great Depression. Unfortunately, if our youth do not respond immediately to their power at the ballot box, a reset may be in order. Our economy was headed in that direction anyway. The virus just exacerbated the inevitable. The pain will be great, but if we once again stand together as unselfish and compassionate Americans, innovate our economy, government, and social systems, we will survive and thrive as a society.",Reader Picks,CA
"If we choose to both resume activities and not test, this will definitlely be over soon. People can take jobs from those who have died. It will all be very fun and pose no moral and ethical questions.",Reader Picks,UK
"Let them die. Got it. That sounds harsh, but hey- it?s in the service of protecting our dog-eat-dog system. 2 million dead? Tough luck. The Market needs input.",Reader Picks,
"All well and good, except that without the tools to conduct widespread testing it is impossible to target responses. We're suffering from the failures of Trump and his administration, filled as it is with liars and sychphants, headed by a self-interested narcisist. And let's not forget, the Republican and possibly Democratic Senators whose blind trusts magically sold off stock days after they were warned of what was to come. Go after those people, Friedman, and don't preach about the value of business over people, which is at bottom how I read this piece.",Reader Picks,MA
IT isn't about the economy stupid - it is about the health of the population. I am sure many did not want commerce to stop during the Black Plaque either. You are thinking like the Monor in Chief - MONEY _ MONEY _ MONEY!!!!!!!,Reader Picks,Colorado
"Testing is a momentary snapshot. Yes, it will detect active cases for whom self-isolation is indicated to prevent further transmissions. But ten minutes after getting a negative result, you can become infected by someone who is asymptomatic and contagious. As you continue with your life, a negative test result provides no assurance that you will remain uninfected.",Reader Picks,
This was a bad idea when Boris Johnson proposed it and is still a bad idea. Sheesh.,Reader Picks,Washington
"After a couple of weeks of shutdown and scrambling, it will be clearer if our casualties have followed the path of Italy or South Korea. At present, it makes sense for South Korea to relax isolation and attempt a rerun to normalcy, as you suggest, but not for Italy. In the next 2 or 3 weeks, will we be a South Korea or an Italy? Or something in between? Or worse? The sensible path forward beyond 3 weeks from now depends on what we face in the next 3 weeks. Meanwhile, we need to (1) Test (2) Isolate (3) Treat Each needs its strategy. Each needs facilities, supplies, personnel. Leaders need to plan the above operations, coordinate and sustain for several weeks ahead. The public needs to understand and support. I don?t see it happening yet.",Reader Picks,MD
"This is not an ""either/or"" situation of medical science versus the economy (which involves real human beings with real lives) - it is - and MUST be - ""both/and"" - or we are going to create a far worse situation than the coronavirus currently presents. We CANNOT sustain several weeks or months of unemployment with our society already in disarray. Children need to be in school. Workers need their employment. Most people cannot live like celebrities making videos and singing songs. We CAN do this with a more targeted - and sane - strategy that Dr. Katz presents. We have to do it for the entire health and well-being of this country.",Reader Picks,Connecticut
"Who's suggesting shutting down for six months.?!? Also, being sixty- five, I don't much care for the attitude that lives at some set age are defined as being over and of little or no utility. My grandmother worked, literally, till she was 100. I've known/ know many people active and vital well into their 80s and 90s. All lives, at any age, are of equal value. And it is nobody's duty to step aside and wait to die. And it is nobody's right to suggest such a thing. Let's stick with compasion, love, and mutual concern",Reader Picks,
"One expert I talk to below believes that could happen in as early as a few weeks ? ? No Tom, not unless mass testing and tracing were rolled out. With no sign that by weeks end those procedures will be deployed nationally, we are left with only shelter in place and social distancing in the extreme to slow this pandemic. Why do I just know that the measures won?t be rolled out until it?s too late? It?s as if a mortal enemy were in control of the White House.",Reader Picks,IL 
Looks like I picked the wrong pandemic to quit drinking !,Reader Picks,NJ
"I?m looking at what?s happening in Italy and wondering whether anyone really understands the dynamics of this virus yet. This article is based on the assumption that those infected will acquire immunity, but we don?t know that. It is also based on being able to separate the vulnerable from the robust. I see these suggestions as a dangerous gamble offered by those in the elite who are more worried about their stock portfolios than about the public health. Why doesn?t Mr. Friedman and Dr. Katz just volunteer to join the herd and get immune? We don?t have to destroy our economy to save public health. We can backstop our salaries and business costs at public expense for a while to see if we can limit the damage this virus does to our citizens and to our health workers.",Reader Picks,CA 
"you say we can ""insist that Trump listen to the smart people"". Trump listening to such advice is a fond wish. Do you have any practical advice that will actually work?",Reader Picks,MA
"Part of what we are seeing now is the result of 40 years of gutting the basics of our government. Another part of it is that Trump, even prior to taking office, has consistently given misleading statements about nearly every topic he's discussed. And the GOP has gone along with him. Ergo the hysteria about a virus that may not be a dangerous as we're being told it is. But, and it's a big but, even if Trump started to tell the truth now, no one would believe him or the GOP. This is what we get when we put incompetent liars in charge of government. Dithering, fake news, and worse.",Reader Picks,NY 
"I'm 36 years old with a compromised immune system. There are many other people who are not in their 70s, or even old, that are at tremendous risk. What about them? This is not an issue for just the elderly, there are millions of people with immune system disorders. I'm not ready to call it quits yet, so this ""well, we can afford more deaths for the small possibility of a slightly smoother economic recovery"" seems like a death cult to me.",Reader Picks,
"Great idea but I have to point out that the current administration is more likely to commit to a ""moonshot"" type effort to develop a coal fired car.",Reader Picks,US
"True, but the economic pressure is unbearable even here in MA. I stopped yesterday at a barebones still running business yesterday to get supplies for two individuals who need food. 85 percent of the staff was let go, now without money, medicine, and insurance. This included management too. Only two managers were in fact left, them doing all the work, which really consisted in locking the doors and turning off the lights. How is that rational? What will those people do? As the two person left told me, these workers (and managers) now without a living have an emergency now and not tomorrow. The can?t wait for a government program to save them. The company told them they will not be able to bring them all back.",Reader Picks,MA
"Yep. It's all becoming clear: Old people are expendable and they should be ""sequestered"" and let the rest of us go about our business. It used to be said that long ago, the people of the far north put their elderly on an ice floe and pushed them gently to oblivion. It appears to me a rising chorus of voices are advocating for a new national ice floe. Money and jobs are far more important than any stupid old folks (especially baby boomers).",Reader Picks,IL 
Couldn?t agree more. I have tried for over ten years to change my Republican/Libertarian friend?s thinking about this. To no avail. I ended communication with him just before the impeachment trial. Don?t know how he?s doing in LA but I assume he?s learning how actually connected he is to others as he is forced to stay at home. I understand that Rand Paul was just diagnosed with the virus. How soon will others in the Senate also get it? Will they be legislating for us while trying to breathe without respirators? Perhaps. But they?ve been legislating without hearts or brains for years so the absence of good lung function shouldn?t be much of a problem.,Reader Picks,NYC
"We don't need perfect assurance any individual is free of infection. For public health purposes, to flatten the curve, a picture in time will be good enough to lift most need for quarantine. Its just math. I am an Urgent Care doc who now spends his days outdoors dressed like an astronaut. Only in the last two weeks have we been able to do any real testing. We still have to ration whom we test so that we don't overwhelm the lab. Currently, it takes 9-10 days to get back a result. Most of my patients sick with symptoms that could very well be due to COVID 19 are told to go home to isolate themselves - without testing. Despite not knowing for sure, they are asked to behave like they have the virus. This causes all kinds of complications. What if they live with a health care provider? What if they care for a very elderly relative? What if they are barely sick at all and would ordinarily be keeping your grocery store open? Our biggest failing in this pandemic is our inability to test effectively. The sooner we address this properly, the sooner our country can get back to work.",Reader Picks,CA
Healthcare workers will become overwhelmed and younger people who aren't ready to step aside will die. Healthcare workers whose immune systems become overwhelmed will die.,Reader Picks,NC
"I welcome Mr. Friedman's thoughtful essay on alternatives to the current crisis. I'd add that, going forward, the majority of Americans -- even if it's 51 percent -- vote intelligently and in so doing consider the future. To actually be a great nation, we need access to affordable health care. It ain't rocket science. We need to address the ""forgotten"" areas of the country with economic development plans, which must include broadband for all. And we need to purge our national, state and local governments of representatives who care about power, money and reelection more than the will of the people. (Not to mention purging those who divide rather than unite.) In short, we've got to reinvent America. Starting yesterday.",Reader Picks,Colorado
"I believe the suggestions of Dr. Katz are the best I?ve read thus far. Is the cure worse than the disease ? We don?t know. We?ve forever lost the chance to get ahead of the Contagion, thanks to Dr. Trump. The best we can do NOW: Listen to the Advice Of the Medical Experts. Do as some Governors, and ignore the orange man behind the podium. As usual, he?s more hindrance than help. For the Economy, we must use this chance for Stimulus, and quickly. The abject Failure Of trickle-Down, over Decades, is paramount. It?s time for TRICKLE UP. CASH, as in Treasury Checks for each and every American Adult. Enough of the deduction, credits and loopholes. I absolutely trust Speaker Pelosi to fight for WE the People. The GOP will surrender, as their ? Jobs? are truly at risk. CASH, NOW.",Reader Picks,Kansas
"This is just ghoulish. Medical experts - including those cited in articles posted by the Times itself - are actually signaling that if we want to contain the virus we need harsher measures than what we're currently undertaking. Friedman, a wealthy man who is the last person who should be giving advice on the matter, wants the proles back to work lest his portfolio take an even deeper plunge. Never mind the millions of Americans who use public transportation, who work in restaurants and big box stores and as janitors and tellers, who would be put at risk. It's the height of irony that the writer known for relying on the tired ""I was talking to a cab driver"" cliche has zero regard for working people. It's also worth noting that the USA is the only country where the idea of going back to work prematurely is being taken seriously. It speaks volumes about the state of our nation, and nothing good.",Reader Picks,NYC
"This approach would require the shutdown of Fox and other misinformation sources, and Trump?s Twitter account. The approach?s complexity would require clear and relentless education of the population to succeed.",Reader Picks,Michigan
1% of 330 million is 3.3 million - glad to know that you and the professors are good with that. Glad to know that you are out here spinning 2 week fantasies when the country still has not established delivery mechanisms for needed widespread testing and absolutely no plan for paying for the poor and marginalized to get tested or receive treatment. This is a seriously irresponsible argument to make when so many are looking for excuses to not socially distance and we have no way of knowing who is infectious. Asymptomatic people can still transmit the virus.,Reader Picks,Washington
Well said. I hope this line of thought gets MUCH more attention.,Reader Picks,CT 
"This seems a prudent way - but only after we know more about just how low the threat to the younger and healthier population really is. When the coronavirus was ravaging China, we kept reading that it spares young people unless they were already very ill. But now we see reports that many more young people have bad outcomes in the States. And in France, reportedly half of patients in ICU's are under 60. In Italy, the bodies pile up faster than they can be cremated. I've not seen an explanation for this yet. What if people with asthma or just allergies have a high risk? Such conditions are rare in developing countries but very widespread in Western countries, and it appears very plausible that these conditions that affect the respiratory tract, would increase the risk from Covid-19. Another point, while 80% of cases reportedly recover without any medical intervention, what about the 15% that require hospitalization but not intensive care? 15% is a large number. These people recover, but only after having severe symptoms. That could mean they suffer irreversible lung damage. We need to know more before we deliberately allow the supposedly 'low-risk' population to be exposed to infection.",Reader Picks,Berlin
"Please recall, Friedman was equally optimistic about the Bush Cheney Rumsfeld invasion of Iraq quickly accomplishing its mission.",Reader Picks,Maine
Thoughtful contrarian piece The downside consequences of shutting down the economy and asking people to self isolate have gotten somewhat lost in the current coverage of the crisis. I certainly don?t have the answers but these consequences will serious and need to be discussed,Reader Picks,
"As others have mentioned, such a plan would require a very competent administration to carry it out - and a public who trusts that administration. We have neither.",Reader Picks,Wisconsin
"You could move to England where they started to implement your plan but couldn't face casualties on the scale of World War I and altered course. Unfortunately their false start, though eventually corrected, appears to be on the way to producing horrible consequences, on a scale even worse than the situation in Italy and here. It is a shame that you don't even consider what's going on there, before making this ridiculous proposal.",Reader Picks,NY
"This isn't about whether or not a 76 year old is or is not being selfish. It is about flattening the curve not about trying to save every single life on the planet. (As for older people, who are hospitals asking to volunteer to come in and help in NYC? Older retired people with experience -- not random young people.) Social distancing is not about protecting you or any other group, it is about keeping our hospitals and societies from collapsing as in Italy.",Reader Picks,NY
"No. Self isolate if you are old, can afford it, or are at risk. Everyone else go on with their lives.",Reader Picks,NY
38% of those hospitalized are under 55. Who exactly are the young and medically strong?,Reader Picks,CA
"I haven?t heard anyone talking about a national shutdown of six months. The current shutdown is for everyone?s sake, not just yours. Millions could die without action now, including people in their thirties, forties, fifties?and yes, younger, too. Your understanding of the case is just wrong, simplistic and even dangerously wrong. I can?t imagine why it?s a pick.",Reader Picks,OK
This is not the time for ridiculous suggestions. Trump is not going to resign. Ever. You could start a petition and get 330 million signatures that all requested him to resign. He won't resign. Please deal in reality. Trump will be the President until he is voted out of office.,Reader Picks,USA
"Public health professor here. With all due respect to the experts mentioned in the article, the best simulation studies suggest that the mortality rate is higher than 1%. But even those high quality simulations are difficult to interpret because we don't have adequate data on incidence or prevalence. And we don't have adequate data because we don't have adequate testing equipment. And we don't have adequate testing equipment because our health care ""system"" is in tatters, in part because various industries (pharmaceutical, medical device, insurance) have bribed our lawmakers and handcuffed our clinicians (physicians, nurses, etc). As a result of third party intrusions, our clinicians can no longer deliver high quality care and have unprecedented rates of burn out and moral distress. If this unmitigated COVID 19 disaster is not sufficient to move this country toward universal health care, nothing will (at least in my lifetime). Tom, if you want to use your pulpit to jumpstart the economy, start writing about the need for universal health care access and coverage, the abolition of fee for service procedures, and the unfortunate relationships that exist between industry, professional organizations (AMA, AHA) and politicians.",Reader Picks,NJ
"The fatality rate is NOT the right metric to look at. For Christ's sake, Mr. Friedman, I expect better from you. 15 to 20% of people who get this become ill enough to require hospitilization. Half of those who do NOT require hospitilization still develop some form of pneumonia. How long do you think that the things that allow our society to run - food harvesting, production, distribution, utlities, law enforcement, and healthcare can continue under a situation where 40 to 80% of the population is going to get this virus? Honestly, this kind of idiocy is exactly the kind of idiocy that is going to result in the worst case outcome for our society rather than the best.",Reader Picks,OR
"1. The virus is spread by people who are not symptomatic. 2. There is therefore no way, short of daily testing, to know if your co-workers have contracted it. 3. I live with a person who is over 80. Can you guarantee me that, if my employer decides that it?s ?safe? for me to be at work with my co-workers who are asymptomatic, that I won?t bring the virus into our home? Particularly since I can do my work at home without a problem. There are a lot of questions we need answered before we start talking about getting people back to work and school.",Reader Picks,NJ
My wife was to have a procedure checking on the status of a stent inserted into an aneurysm as well as checking on the growth of another aneurysm. This was cancelled due to the virus. I?ve heard of chemo Being curtailed due to the virus as well.,Reader Picks,Texas
"As much as I respect Mr. Friedman, neither he or Dr. Katz is an expert in infectious diseases or the epidemiology of pandemics. The proposed approach is complicated, untested, unsupported by adequate testing data, and potentially much worse than our current direction. Great Britain considered and rejected this approach for these reasons. At this critical juncture, our country needs a unified, universal response, guided by the ongoing analysis and direction of real experts at the CDC and the NIH. Speculation by non-experts will inevitably encourage deniers and other obstructionists, delaying and impeding the effective implementation of our best chance to minimize mortality and preserve the effectiveness of our health care system.",Reader Picks,IL 
Completely agree. Testing is the only way forward. Massive testing that tests everyone.,Reader Picks,VA
"I think this is the topic that policy makers need to be thinking about now. I am a senior, supposedly ""high risk"" although my health is very good and I don't have any of the underlying conditions. I agree, however, that at some point we need to stop destroying the economy and restore economic activity, even if it means I have to remain ""shut-in"". Much more COVID testing is needed, however, to make informed decisions. In a short time we will have many COVID survivors who are no longer positive. Maybe they could staff grocery stores dedicated to use by high risk people since they could not possibly spread the virus. We need to think ""outside the box"" in attacking this threat.",Reader Picks,CA
"I get where Katz is coming from, a plan to manage the outbreak of Covid-19 by compartmentalizing people by their vulnerability to the virus, focusing on the most vulnerable to receive medical care while encouraging the rest of us to go about business as usual so as not to severely damage our economy and the normality of life. An idea worth exploring. However, Katz's idea, like any other aspect of our response to the virus requires competent leadership, which we do not have at the top of our government. Trump is 100 percent guilty of an inadequate response to this crises, including his failure to act in a timely manner, continuing lies and insults and his refusal to employ the Defense Production Act. We are the wealthiest and most powerful nation headed by a dangerously deeply flawed man. I am at present only concerned with the fact that our medical care providers are desperately begging for supplies for protective clothing and medical equipment, and their pleas are falling on deaf ears in the White House, including a leader who lives in his own construct of reality along with his adoring sycophants praising his ineptness. This is where the crises is and any theories will be unlikely to penetrate this level of our government.",Reader Picks,CA
"That fiat money would replace the money idled workers and shuttered businesses would circulate through the economy absent the response to the virus. Given that, how could it be a debt we?d pass into our children as Republicans complain? What they really want is a controlled deflation that would increase the value of the wealth they already hold to an extent greater than their potential losses from economic contract due to the illness. Let them have their cake and eat it, too. Yes, ,et them eat cake and choke on it.",Reader Picks,CA
"Why the need to reinvent the wheel? China, Hong Kong, Singapore, S. Korea and Japan have given us an excellent example of isolate, test, track the carriers, which has vastly limited, and in some cases halted new cases. The critical element missing in American is testing: we have so few kits, we have no idea the true number of infected. Our Federal response has been woefully slow, and inadequate, to say the least, criminally negligent at worst. In short, isolate long enough to test throughly, and then release those who are negative back into the general population. You don't have to be a pandemic expert, of which we have painfully few, to see mass scale examples that are already working. To re-engage otherwise, risks collapse of an under-personed, and appointed health care system. In Italy 20% of all hospital workers are infected. If 1-4% die, it makes the situation far worse. That result we don't need. Proven methodologies, over 6 weeks, can see us through the panic. In the meantime, we can print all the money we need to replace incomes. The UK has guaranteed 80% of all Britain's incomes for 90 days. We should follow suit. $1K per person is simply inadequate. Once again the Republicans cheapen out when they should, for once, be humanely lavish. The long term consequences of not doing so are far more expensive than short term replacement compensation.",Reader Picks,NYC
"The idea of sending people out to get the virus so they can recover and get back to work is cavalier. Health experts have all stated that the virus will do long-term damage to a person's lungs if the person recovers from the virus. Comparing this virus to the flu is a logical fallacy. This virus is not anything like the flu because this virus is a mutation from animals (presumably bats), not humans as the flu is, so we have no built in immunity for it. It's dangerous and deadly and we should treat it as such.",Reader Picks,MO
"The most sobering point in your article is that nearly 40% of hospitalizations are in people aged 20-55. We really need to slow the spread until we have a good treatment for the respiriatory distress (ARDS) that is leading to all those who seek medical care. Until then, we risk overwhelming our medical system and we are on lockdown.",Reader Picks,Colorado
"There are a number of ""ifs"" in Katz's approach but let us assume for the moment he is correct and it is a viable approach. There are many steps and many variables in his outline requiring intelligent effective execution, timing and a concentrated effort. Does anyone see that happening under trump and the cadre of fifth rate cabinet members and advisers that he has. There isn't anyone in the current administration I want to trust my life to or that of my friends, relatives and co-workers with this aggressive surgical-vertical approach. This administration hasn't even been able to see that there is an adequate supply of PPE let alone test kits. I think that we would all wind up dead in several months time victims of trumps health bankruptcy.",Reader Picks,Washington
"To me, I worry about actual production. Are we actually producing tests? That, to me, is still an unanswered question. We cannot lock down our entire society for an indefinite period of time. We have to move to this total lockdown, which we have to do right now, to a process where we test people, we test everybody.?And the people who have the infection are isolated, and the rest go on with their lives. And so, to me, it's the actual production of stuff.?When Dwight Eisenhower was running U.S. forces in World War II, he spent an enormous amount of time on landing craft. It was like the dull logistical things that you need to get a process and institution to work in response to a crisis.?And I, frankly, don't have confidence that we're doing those dull logistical things right now.",Reader Picks,
"Quite right. For now. Just because it isn't time for this sort of thing to begin, does not mean it never will be time. Who knows how different the picture will look on May 1st?",Reader Picks,VA
"Usually I agree with most of what Thomas Friedman writes, and what John Ioannidis writes usually makes sense, but the argument here is flawed on a number of grounds. Absolutely we need to avoid herd mentality, and to be nimble and adaptable in our response, but we have also to think things through before changing course. We don't know the mortality rate because we don't know the denominator - the number of people infected. We do know that for people who have been identified as infected, the mortality rate is about 5%. The only way a mortality rate of 1% would arise is if the disease is five times more prevalent than we appreciate. The critical issue is not the rate, but the absolute number of cases. A mortality rate of 1% for a disease affecting half the American population would mean close to 2 million deaths, not to mention a much larger number of people needing hospitalization and ICU care. That vastly exceeds the capacity of any health care system. Moreover we do not know that 2 weeks is an adequate period of isolation; there are Chinese reports of the virus persisting as long as 5 weeks, and the risk of second and third waves is very high. The best hope is to limit spread, to keep the absolute numbers low, and within our capacity to respond. This may not be possible, but magical thinking based on unsupported speculation is dangerous.",Reader Picks,Canada
"Young people would fall sick in such numbers that the more severe cases among them would overwhelm the medical system. Triage would take over. Older and more-vulnerable patients would suffer mass death. Instead of that, flatten the curve. Hold on until a vaccine is developed. Pay what it takes to make it happen.",Reader Picks,MA
"Several critical flaws in this opinion: 1) 40 percent of hospitalizations are under 55. 2) The vertical approach will continue to result in overburdened hospital capacity. 3) The risk of death for under 55 is not trivial. People will not return to normal economic activity, even if the government pivots to the vertical approach. 4) Asymptomatic cases continue to spread disease.",Reader Picks,
"On the money Tom as usual. ?I am certain that we need less herd mentality and more herd immunity? ...and much, much more Drs. Katz, Fausi, Birx and less of ALL pols.",Reader Picks,NJ
"It's not just about you. There are young people in need of life saving intervention with this fast spreading illness-- and we have a shortage of supplies. The pause in our activities makes everyone safer, especially those who are fighting on the front lines, our doctors and nurses.",Reader Picks,NY
"Why should we risk our lives for this ramshackle economic system that forces social workers to drive for Uber at the ""best"" of times while a man like Tom Friedman has the job security of a Supreme Court Justice?",Reader Picks,IL 
"No the benchmark is caring for all generations, regardless of age. And the essential benchmark is how we care for those we call 'elderly', those who 'generate' all of us. To suggest that those older and busy living are engaging in selfishness is not healthy or good. When we were young we were taken care of, nurtured, trained, taught. When those who did this for us are older, we take care of them and ensure that they have lives with dignity and meaning. We don't even suggest that they ought to 'step aside' or 'get out of the way'. The only worthy measure for us is how we care for those vulnerable and in need, regardless of age. A society without true compassion and love, that values only perceived utility, is a society hardly worth living in, and is barely worthy of being honored as civilization.",Reader Picks,Colorado
"I have been arguing for pretty much what is proposed by Katz for the past few days. I am seventy-five, and have a mild version of COPD, so I am in the vulnerable group. I am also retired and unproductive economically, and enjoy spending time on my own, pursuing my interests. Being forced to stay home and talk to my friends on FaceTime is no hardship for me (though I dread the possibility of my computer breaking down and not being able to get it fixed). The point is that there are millions of people like me. We need to be protected but we are not needed for our economic productivity, which is zero. Some of us have been contributing childcare, and that would have to stop, but here the government can step in with grants to families to hire help, and some parents will have to reduce their working hours. The workforce is almost all under 70?leaving aside tenured professors and others who should have retired?and they should go back to work. Many will get sick and a small fraction of them will die, but many more lives will be saved and?this is a crucial point?tens of millions of lives will be spared ruin.",Reader Picks,Canada
"I fear that you and Dr. Katz are subjecting yourselves to your own form of happy group think. The economy of the world, which is more interconnceted than ever, simply cannot be put back together as it was. This global shut down is going to have world wide impacts, country wide impacts and local impacts. Humpty Dumpty has already fallen off the wall. I heard an interview today with the CEO of ATT who said the network was holding up very well and that was despite 80% of employees working from home. If the implication of what he was saying is that the age of telecommuting has finally arrived, that would be bad news for restaurants, retailers, car manufacturers and car suppliers, operators of mass transit, owners of office space, lenders to and investors in, all of the above. The airline and hotel industries will be in a downsizing mode for decades. This pandemic is going to have huge affects on humanity no matter how it is dealt with. It may even shift consumer spending v savings habits which could have either beneficial or negative affects. Let's learn something from Nassim Taleb (author of ""The Black Swan). The world is an environment that cannot be effectively modeled.",Reader Picks,"Panama,ÿ"
Dude is a conservative. They always think about money more than people. Always. That's why the Party of Trump is the cancer that it is.,Reader Picks,VA
"Americans are already used to ""massive government intervention"" - it's called Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, Environmental Protection Administration, Federal Emergency Management Administration, National Institutes of Health... As a matter of fact, they depend on it It's collective solutions to shared problems. It's why the Founders gave us a federal government.",Reader Picks,Maine
"If we follow Dr. Katz's advice and 'save' the economy by just socially isolating the vulnerable we would quarantine the 16% of the population over 65 and the medically compromised. Then we would let the coronavirus run its course over the remaining 220 million 'healthy' younger component of the population. There would likely be a relatively rapid spike in the number of infected that could easily reach 100 million. Even though these are younger, healthier individuals, data from China indicated that the young are not as resistant to serious disease as one initially speculated. Dr Katz's guess that the mortality rate is 'only 1%' suggests over a million 'healthy' people will die. What if the mortality rate is higher, especially when this spike in infections will overwhelm the healthcare system. I think I'll go with Dr. Fauci's advice.",Reader Picks,Indiana
"I am a healthy, socially engaged, and thoughtful individual in my mid 70s who does not see any clear or compelling reason to sacrifice my life for a hypothetical six month economic shutdown. I have been against the failings of American society -- its lack of health care for all, its massive inequality, its disregard of climate change, its willingness to elect ignorant, anti-government bigots to the highest offices -- my entire adult life. Instead of seniors volunteering to die, perhaps we should use our experience, knowledge, and collective wisdom to insist of a rational, empathetic approach to solving our society's failings. Let's all focus on living and what we can do with whatever time we have left to improve the world rather than on death.",Reader Picks,Delaware
"When it comes to type of life or death situations our world is now facing, the adage of erring on the side of caution should be our guiding light. We should be doing everything we can to prevent more infections and save lives. If that hurts the economy so be it. I am all for helping those who have been put out of work. But dead people cannot work, spend money, buy products, or invent new products or ways of doing business. If and when we recover from the public health portion of this crisis we will be able to crawl out of the hole",Reader Picks,Washington
"If they do all fail, then other companies will form to fill in the gap. None of the companies that took their tax savings to buy back stock should receive any help from the government.",Reader Picks,Colorado
"Good column, Thomas, and I share your concern with both our health as well as our economy. But we in the medical profession (I am a retired ICU and Acute Rehab RN) understand that we must err on the side of caution and safety. That means that it is more important first and foremost to protect all of us, most importantly those most vulnerable as the aged and chronically ill. But - still - those who are healthier and younger must follow strict guidelines, too. That is imperative. They are potentially placing all others at risk by: A. being possible carriers; and B. getting the coronavirus in such a mild form that they are almost asymptomatic, emphasis on ""almost."" What I am saying is that I agree with our governors who are sheltering their whole states in place. Now, the economy. Katz has the right idea. At some point, sooner rather than later our small businesses must be reopened. Just averaging what other epidemiologists are recommending, however, I think three weeks rather than two is safer. Again, we must err on the side of safety. Yes, we must not panic when it comes to this devastating and killing virus. Yet, we also must not panic when it comes to our economy, not now.",Reader Picks,CA
"Yeah, this stupidity doesn?t bode well. I wonder if people during the Spanish Flu said ?Hey, I?m bored! I want to go back to work!? Millions of dead people later....",Reader Picks,South Carolina
"This argument about Saving life versus saving economy, is a very legitimate subject. However , the problem is not thinking these two options and we can find an optimal solutions. Today we have one thing faster than thsi pandemic is communication and computer technology. China at this moment stopped or reduced deaths near zero. Thsi success in China, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan didn't happen for no reason. Governments used all brain power and adjustments and precision. I am very sorry Mr. Friedmann I do not see anything like that exist in Trump White house. US level of talent, scientific knowledge , and technological might wasted by thsi administration , we will se how this goes but once pandemic passes , I believe we will se that we are behind of those countries.",Reader Picks,NY
"This article doesn?t convince me that the author understands covids dynamics of transmission, and thus seems like a premature argument with a questionable knowledge base. The broad question of how to keep the economy going is valuable, but I don?t have any confidence in Friedman?s claim to knowledge or authority as expressed here. It seems hubristic, and maybe irresponsible, to start complaining about economic shutdowns and advocate for sending the young back to work before public health specialists detail the effectiveness of our current efforts. I can?t help but read here that mr Friedman doesn?t care if my parents become badly ill, in the same way that his pop-economics of globalization never cared about anyone except wealthy members of the global elite.",Reader Picks,CA
"There is no way to ""insist Trump listen."" The only answer is to replace him. The cabinet should already have used the 25th Amendment process, but there is no chance of that. Frankly, I have begun to wonder if the military is our best hope in the short term.",Reader Picks,Cincinnati
"As if on cue, Bret Stephens, Lloyd Blankfein, and Tom Friedman are more concerned about capitalism than anything else. In a series of hemming and hawing posts and articles, each of them quotes the article by John Ioannidis saying basically wait let's not go too far here until we have better data, which was predictably like catnip to conservatives like these three. Many have now pointed out the absurdity of Ioannidis's thesis, which is that since we don't have all the data we might possibly have months from now, we should hold off on taking the drastic measures that we're taking to combat or even slow down this pandemic. No, we don't have all the data we will have but everyone with actual expertise in the medical and epidemiological data that we do have, very much not including Ioannidis who has none, say that if anything we're not being drastic enough. To be quite honest, this reaction from people like Stephens and Friedman, more concerned about the health of the patient known as unfettered capitalism than actual patients, has convinced me once and for all that it's our entire system that needs to be reworked. Forget half measures, forget trying to ""expand"" Obamacare, fighting Republicans the whole way who will defeat any expansion. Leaving people's healthcare and ability to have jobs and food to the chances of a casino was exciting, for the casino winners, but it's no way to run a railroad, and certainly not a country. This absurd greed is what got us here.",Reader Picks,CA
"I was intrigued by the concept, but this quote gave me pause: ""People of color and the poor... will be hurt the most and probably helped the least. They are the housekeepers in the closed hotels and the families without options when public transit closes."" Let's be honest here. They're the nameless, faceless engine of the still thriving gig economy. They're still out here delivering your groceries and takeout and Amazon packages. Or ringing up customers in supermarkets and drug stores; essential today, unskilled tomorrow. They're independent contractors entirely dependent on the scraps they make. They're ""part-time"" employees working full time job, minus the few hours that would qualify them for benefits. A premature return to the status quo isn't about helping the millions of people who make up the lower class strata. It won't help. It will, at best, hastily obscure the ugly truths this situation has brought to light ? that their hard work, sacrifice, and desperation props up frivolous industries, padded salaries, and comfortable lifestyles. At worst, it will also make them the ""canary in the coal mine"" of a potentially disastrous miscalculation about the risks of a barely understood viral outbreak.",Reader Picks,CA
"This opinion piece is crucial. I am tired of hearing that anyone who is concerned about his/her life savings is a crass jerk who only cares about money. I just retired, at age 73, and after saving diligently all my life--now have almost nothing. Who will hire a 73-year-old woman? Please, try to look beyond the usual knee-jerk reaction about what a jerk Trump is. He is, but there is much more involved here. I say, let the low-risk people go back to work. Monitor older people like me.",Reader Picks,Florida
"This is at least the second time that I have seen this VCU emeritus professor quoted. I am puzzled by a columnist such as this one -- who I would have thought to be a rational person -- advancing irrational arguments. Thomas Friedman quotes the professor as follows: ""Society's response to Covid-19, such as closing businesses and locking down communities, may be necessary to curb community spread but could harm health in other ways, costing lives. Imagine a patient with chest pain, or a developing stroke, where speed is essential to save lives, hesitating to call 911 for fear of catching the coronavirus."" Hello! That would have nothing to do with non-essential businesses being closed -- that fear would be of the coronavirus itself. And that fear will be worse, not better, if hospitals become overwhelmed. ""Or a cancer patient having to delay chemotherapy because the facility is closed."" Why would such a facility be closed?? And again, if it were closed because of medical doctors handling the coronavirus, then that situation will be worse, not better, if hospitals become overwhelmed. ""Or a patient with advanced emphysema who dies for lack of a facility with a ventilator"". Again -- if there is a shortage of ventilators, that would have absolutely nothing to do with non-essential businesses being closed. Zero. It would have to do with the ventilators being used for patients with Covid-19.",Reader Picks,Atlantic
"?You are just a reporter ? yes you are - and this essay sounds like a slightly more literate version of ?its ok if people die so long as my stock portfolio is ok? - if you want to save the economy write everyone a check, as many have proposed- since the economy is just the speed of paper moving around - and wealth is just a number in your brokerage account - but lives and the virus are real things and we need to do real things to stop it",Reader Picks,NY
"The phrase that occurs to me is not one often used these days so I'll rephrase it as ""too many generals, not enough soldiers."" One of the obstacles to the formation of a coherent plan to deal with the Coronavirus is the fact that technology itself is a kind of double-edged sword. Literally everyone with a computer or a smart phone (including me here and now) is capable of getting up on our digital soapbox and offering an opinion (possibly informed, but more likely not), or comment/criticism of another opinion coming from another soapbox. Of all the voices I've heard these last few weeks, there are roughly two that have consistently made me sit up and listen. One is Dr. Fauci and the other is Governor Cuomo. My stress level would be exponentially lower if every time I turned on the TV I was hearing from one of them, or a very small handful of others, instead of the cacophony of atonal, nattering nabobs that fill the airwaves.",Reader Picks,NY
"So many solutions assume people know whether they have underlying conditions. We?d first have to establish everyone?s baseline health right now and then plan from there. How many people without insurance do you suppose have had a physical in the past 5 years, when exams cost $150 and labs up to 3 times that much? How many people *with* insurance, for that matter?",Reader Picks,Texas
"Who exactly are we deciding to call ""elderly"" here? The most accurate death rates we know right now are: 1.3% for people aged 50-59; 3.6% for those aged 60-69; 8.0% for 70-79 year olds; and 21.9% for those over age 80. Are those in their 50's and 60's considered to be elderly? Because these death rates are extremely serious for them. It would be deeply unwise to expose them to COVID19. Who, then, do you think teaches all of those college students you want back in their classes? Isn't it mostly 50 and 60 year olds who are running businesses? Is everything just supposed to start back up with no senior managers, no supervisors, none of the most experienced and knowledgeable people in many fields and industries? Maybe younger people imagine they could do everything by themselves, but I think they would soon find otherwise.",Reader Picks,Los Angeles
"Regrettably, all of the individuals in 45's administration, including their Dear Leader, who got us into this mess through his denial of facts and reality, will neither read the comments by Mr. Friedman and Dr. Katz (assuming they have the ability to read) nor would they heed the suggestions posited.",Reader Picks,Arizona
"I am 78 and my wife is 77. We were in San Francisco on Feb. 13. After returning, my wife showed signs of COVD19 but not severe. She went to our local hospital and they said you have all the signs of it but we don't have enough test kits...after 40 days, she still is on ""slow burn"". One day she is fine the next day it spikes. I haven't had any sign of infection yet--although I have type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure and pace maker. We are on self quarantine. So, the idea that you get over it in 14 days...does not seem applicable on every case...",Reader Picks,Scotland
"Yes, this. If we thought deaths of despair were bad before this .... the current course will make it ten-fold.",Reader Picks,CA
We will know so much more in just 10 days as this plays out not only in Italy and Europe but also New York and Washington State. I think we will soon look back and be glad we shut down the country for 2 weeks. I am a doctor and know first hand most hospitals do not have enough protective equipment or ventilators when this thing peaks in hot bed areas.,Reader Picks,
"My wife and I are going through this exact same experience. Based on our experiences, I really suspect the current number of infected Americans with mild symptoms but able to spread the disease is much higher than understood. Although we just don?t know yet, this sort of opinion piece (appearing everywhere in the last few days) strikes me as dangerously naive given that uncertainty. I think the trajectory of the nation will become much more clear over the next few weeks. Let?s see and then revisit these questions. Until then, talk of relaxed measures seems to me profound folly.",Reader Picks,Alaska
"The proposals here are recklessly irresponsible given the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We simply don?t have enough test kits and equipment to know who is infected. That means that asymptomatic young people are and will continue to pass the virus to older people, a trend that would rapidly accelerate if we open up our economy soon. Additionally, we don?t have enough ventilators to treat all the people who are already infected and will show symptoms in the next week. We need even more of a lockdown than we already have. If we took the approach of Korea, testing all contacts of an infected person and texting all residents of a given area that someone around them is infected (including which places they visited) then we could largely return to normalcy. But given the deficiencies in our testing strategy, and above all the lack of presidential leadership, this is not a realistic proposal anytime soon. So the lockdown must continue for severus more months or we will be in a worse position than we starting in.",Reader Picks,NY
"The key difference between what would happen here and what has happened in Italy is that vulnerable populations would be shielded. Their death rate is around 8% because so many vulnerable people (grandparents caring for kids home from school) were exposed. With Friedman's plan, only low risk populations would be exposed, thus not over taxing the health care system. This would lead to the development of herd immunity, which is the next best thing from a vaccine in the interim, and would allow vulnerable groups to be reintroduced to society sooner.",Reader Picks,NY
"I honestly can't even believe an article suggesting this exists. Oh wait, yes, I can believe it. In a society that prioritizes money, capital, consumerism, above all else, why am I not surprised that some are advocating getting back to work as soon as possible in the middle of a public health crisis that could potentially cause death, severe illness, unknown and long-term complications, etc.",Reader Picks,NY
Ever heard the expression ? the surgery was a success but the patient died?. That?s the current protocol . I welcome the second opinion of Katz and Friedman; I also happen to agree with it.,Reader Picks,CA
"except that we still do not really know who or how many will require hospitalization and/or die. This is the problem with ""herd immunity"" - it's the opposite of flattening the curve, and may lead to many more deaths than would happen with a ""flatter curve"", simply due to the system being overloaded. Or it might not, because maybe the true mortality rate is lower than current predictions. Do you want to gamble on that?",Reader Picks,NM
"This is basically the British plan. Quarantine those you think are at the highest risk and encourage everybody else to get sick as soon as possible. Boris Johnson's science-averse government pushed it through but had to retreat as the public realized what would likely happen. Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore reduced transmission to near zero with active surveillance and quarantines. We can, too. Rebuild the economy with a green new deal.",Reader Picks,Georgia
Without data as to who is affected and to what extent and the amount of medical care each requires we are in no position to make these choices. This initial lock down is vital and necessary to buy time so that better informed decisions can be made. Also how are the vulnerable to be sequestered and where? The challenges are great ?? the leadership (at the Federal level) weak. Yes we need an economy but life is more than a great economy. Most will be able to struggle through without their annual iPhone upgrade despite their beliefs to the contrary.,Reader Picks,CA
"So what exactly are you proposing? Wait until 1 million people die of COVID-19 to collect a statistically significant enough sample that enables us to determine the correct mortality rate? While we're at it, why don't we also settle the dispute between Irish Spring and Dove. Let's find out which one kills more coronaviruses. Think of the marketing potential. I am very happy to learn that Dr. Ioannidis and Dr. Katz favor this wait-and-see approach. I will ignore everything they say from now on.",Reader Picks,NY
"Without a sick leave package the economic damage of sequestering people exposed for weeks will still be significant. Besides, the economy is probably already going to not be able to recover - the bubble is popped.",Reader Picks,Delaware
"Perhaps you should reread the column. Friedman typifies the ""progressive Dem"" you so obviously detest but he's advocating a smaller, vertical response. As far as FDR and the New Deal are concerned, I guess you can renounce your Social Security benefits in retirement. Please let us know when you make that decision. Actually I enjoy mine.",Reader Picks,USA
"Exactly. You might assume that 1% of healthy people die, if everyone gets top of the line treatment, but if everyone who isn't immunocompromised is getting sick at once, sick people aren't getting treated in hospitals. In such a situation, you're probably looking like a 3% death rate. And we're trying to get to herd immunity, which means 200 million Americans have to get the disease quickly. If 200 million people get sick with a 3% death rate, you're talking about 6 million people dead over the next 3-4 months. That can't possibly be our best chance of recovery.",Reader Picks,PA 
Win-win? I'd love to know where you got that idea. For example: The owners of Walmart are billionaires. They pay healthcare for anyone working 30 hours or more. The workers on the floor work less than 30 hours. They earn near poverty wages and. The owners outsource their workers medical care to the emergency room. One side is winning. The other isn't.,Reader Picks,Washington
"Mr. Friedman is a great thinker. I applaud him for starting this important discussion. But he is overly optimistic about a targeted isolation approach and he grossly underestimates the virulence of the SARS CoV2 virus. Several other readers have addressed the epidemiological problems with his proposal. I will just add that death is a lagging indicator in COVID-19. South Korea?s mortality rate is now >1% as deaths catch up to diagnoses. Let?s move on to the virus itself. I am an emergency physician and have cared for thousands of patients, including hundreds with respiratory infections. Viral pneumonias, including those due to influenza, rarely cause illness severe enough to require hospitalization for anyone but very young children, the very elderly, or the chronically ill. SARS CoV2 is different. It can cause healthy young and middle-aged people to become dangerously sick. It aggressively invades the lungs, sometimes seriously damaging them. The majority of Americans hospitalized with this virus are under age 65, as are half of patients admitted to ICUs - i.e. on ventilators! That is extremely alarming. Yes, the elderly are the ones dying, but the young who get severely ill will take months to recover and we don?t yet know the long-term effects of CoV2 lung injury. So no, you cannot just go to work, get the virus, and make your contribution to herd immunity. Our ICUs would burst at the seams and many young people might be left with permanently impaired lung function.",Reader Picks,CA
"The analysis presented by Thomas Friedman on behalf of a Yale scholar ignores the brutal fact that Covid19 patients fall into three camps, not two as assumed in the analysis. Based on fairly large scale experience across countries now, some 10-15% of newly infected patients will need supplemental oxygen, some high flow oxygen or a ventilator in a hospital. Though most all of these patients could survive with appropriate care. At the moment, some 1-3% in addition are destined to succumb to the infection despite good care. No thoughtful person proposes letting 10-15% of the infected population who could be saved with medical care die. If for no other reason than the math: if 50% of Americans get infected (likely will be higher) then 15-20% of those infected will need medical care and many more than 3% will die without it. 15% of 150 million Americans, or ~22 million Americans could die or undergo prolonged suffering........does Thomas Friedman or anyone else think that is an ok price to pay to maintain our economy ?",Reader Picks,CA
"I work in a Whole Foods and I believe every grocery and drug store worker needs to be tested. Now. Many workers are working (as usual) through a cold or a cough for the extra money at a time when even a cold is potentially dangerous, having no idea if this is a regular cold or COVID-19. Some cough responsibly into their elbows, some cough into a gloved hand. Sanitation efforts are poor. Grocery stores are petri dishes. Shop carefully. Wear gloves, don't touch your face. Throw your reusable bag in the washing machine. Those employees testing positive should shelter in place and be given financial security for as long as it takes for them to get better -- or they will continue to work, even if they know they are sick. Once an employees is testing disease free, she's immune can do her job with little to fear. Everyone entering a grocery store needs to be told how to behave since, apparently, shoppers are oblivious-- stop licking your hand to open plastic bags and then touch an apple, be respectful of the workers' space, and if you're wearing a mask, stop adjusting it with your hands in front of your mouth before grabbing produce. Grocery stores are handing out gloves to employees, but without instruction and reminders, it's pointless to wear gloves if your going to rub your nose and scratch your face. In Italy, when you shop, you have to stand six feet away from the person in front of you when you enter the store. It's annoying, time consuming, and life saving.",Reader Picks,
"I distrusted advice from Tom Friedman for years because of his views on our invasion of Iraq, even if I always admired his gift for stating complicated ideas in easily understandable terms, so that we could readily grasp very complicated concepts. But this article and Dr. Katz's op-ed piece are must-read articles that speak sense in a time of general danger for everyone. I for one fully favor using a targeted approach that emphasizes sequestering the vulnerable while permitting society to function as normally as possible under the circumstances.",Reader Picks,CA
"Mr. Friedman fails to understand the meaning of a crisis and battling an entity of unknown parameters. Our globalized and populous world has no corollary with conditions of the past. From a biological point of view, we don't yet know the strength or duration of immunity conferred by having had COVID-19. Researchers in Japan have already reported there are at least two strains, meaning that the virus has mutated (nucleotide replication errors are to be expected). The world is ramping up to minimize the potential impacts of so many hospitalized patients, and in the U.S. it appears that more than half are under 50 years old. For now, please help people focus on settling in to a protective mode. This is good for the health of people, the medical system on which we depend, and in the long-term, return to a stable and wiser economy.",Reader Picks,MA
"Thanks, Thomas Friedman for this piece. This is exactly the debate we should be having right now. We need to strike a balance and, while there is no easy answer, we need to be having this conversation and the best minds weighing in with ideas (like Dr. Katz). As dire as things seem now, we're only a week or two into this abyss, and we can quickly adjust and course-correct. The longer this goes on, the harder that course-correcting will become. We're already seeing hate crime, class division and all-out hostility, and I fear this will only get worse unless we deploy a more balanced approach at the right time (again, no easy answer here, but we shouldn't be shutting down this line of thinking).",Reader Picks,NY
"For the last several years the tone in The NY Times has been sour. It is a pleasure to read a thoughtful, well resourced piece that admits that it does nor know the answers. For me , a 74 year old living with a stage 4 metastatic cancer patient, it sounds like a reasonable plan to get the economy and peoples? salaries back moving while protecting me and mine. Wisely, no says they have the answer or that there are not trade offs. Life is choices. Societies make choices. We need to have a quick comprehensive debate , decide on a course and implement. The current response feels like a battleship firing its? 16? guns in every which directions. Kudos to Tom for writing this piece.",Reader Picks,PA
"It's premature to adopt the strategy. The article is not suggesting that. ""During this time, we would want to set up mobile testing and temperature-check systems..."" It's not premature to consider, research, debate, or plan for the strategy. Thank you Thomas Friedman and David Katz.",Reader Picks,CT 
"Yes, it is foolhardy at this stage to make definitive statements about the length of this virus' lethal aspects. 'Experts' are not even sure whether infected survivors retain permanent immunity. It is too early in the game for anyone to declare that we are not today's dinosaurs in the event this illness does not dissipate with the warmer weather as wishful thinkers such as Trump seem to be believe.",Reader Picks,France
I'm afraid Mr. Friedman's plan is at best an over-simplification like much of his general approach to problems. He obviously feels the need to prescribe his generalized solutions no matter where or how complex the actual problem. Proposing these solutions is not bad per se. I just wish Mr. Friedman would more directly admit that he does not necessarily have answers to every problem and that he could be wrong and that in any event his solutions will necessarily create new problems. I also wish Mr. Friedman would stop trying to return us to some imaginary center that complies with neo liberal economic theory.,Reader Picks,CA
"I live in Spain. As of 10:10 GMT March 23, 2020 the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in Spain is 29,909 and the number of deaths is 1,813. That?s 6 percent! I read that in Italy the numbers are 59,138 confirmed cases and 5,476 deaths, over 9 percent! We?re in Spain?s government imposed Lockdown, not simply a polite request to self-isolate or to reduce social interaction. It?s a national quarantine. The streets where I live are mostly empty. We are permitted to make necessary trips to get groceries, medicine, or medical care, with only a few other reasons. Taking our dog out on short walks is permitted. My perception is that the Lockdown here is respected by the people as necessary to limit the Pandemic?s rapid spread of disease and death. I fully support the Lockdown. My wife is at high-risk, and I guess my age puts me in that category as well. I think the situation in my home country in the US will get much worse before a vaccine is developed. In the meantime, a quarantine there would slow the spread of disease and death. Life is precious, and more critical than the damage to the economy, which can be rebuilt.",Reader Picks,Spain
"Mr. Friedman, your opinion piece smacks of ""the serfs are not propping up the value of my 401k!"" Why should people be so earger to get back to an economy that--by and large--works for wealthy bloviatiors, but not for the masses? Only 1% of them will die, after all...and my second home has a mortgage that needs paying!",Reader Picks,Ohio
"Let's say we begin with the President and Congress, who are mostly older. Maybe if it started with them, they wouldn't be so cavalier in disposing of stay-at-home policies.",Reader Picks,PA
"Of course it isn't rational. The flaws in our society are being exposed by this crisis. Our healthcare system will be tested to the breaking point, and will radically change over the next few years. But the crisis is now, so we need to send checks to everybody now, and figure out how to rebuild society tomorrow. I will tell you one thing: next pandemic, we better have enough ventilators and masks.",Reader Picks,Washington
"Community physician (i.e. not an academic) here. Dr. Katz, and hence Friedman, have glossed over some important points. Protect the most vulnerable, they say. How will that be possible in the midst and an uncontrolled epidemic? Will there be a single nursing home that's avoids having an infected caregiver come to work? Not in the let everybody just get infected and be done with it scenario they propose. And how can the old or sick get groceries or medications? Have them delivered by the young and sick? We know that while mortality is low in those under 50 or 60 a significant number will require hospital care. If even 1% of a hundred million cases require admission, much less ICU care, the system will overwhelmed. What happens then to those vulnerable people who have a heart attack or need emergency surgery? Friedman, who is normally sober and well informed has fallen under the sway of academics too far removed from the reality of American life and healthcare to be of much use.",Reader Picks,Michigan
"Thank you Mr Friedman for the article. With due respect, everybody does appreciate a need to broaden the discussion, but we should not arbitrarily broaden it. (1) We do not have comprehensive testing (2) The virus spreads asymptomatically (3) We cannot identify and sequester the vulnerable (4) 20% of identified cases seem to require hospitalization (5) We must not gamble with an assumed 1% fatality rate. And it IS assumed at this time. We've seen anything ranging from 0.6% to 5% or even higher, with WHO estimating 3.4% the last time I checked. In the face of unprecented economic calamity and unthinkable hardship, as you rightly point out, we absolutely DO need sober balance. We need alternatives. But please do not put forward a logically inconsistent and unworkable appeal to restart the ecomony -- at the cost of many millions of American's lives and subsequent collapse of healthcare infrastructure -- that is NOT balance. It's madness. It is incumbant on the 'thoughtful backlash' to provide a credible proposal that isn't at odds with the advice of our best medical professionals, epidemiologists and disaster response specialists -- and indeed the consensus of the rest of the world so far. Can we instead study what certain other countries seem to be doing so well (SK, Japan, Norway)? Perhaps writers such as yourself can turn in that direction rather than this ""Plan to Get Americal Back to Work"" that amounts to little more than the sacrifice of many millions of lives.",Reader Picks,MA
"With good leadership from the federal government, the economic suffering of millions would be minimal. Why are there not good unemployment benefits? Why do vast numbers of Americans not have health insurance and those that do are forced sometimes to pay over 1000 dollars a month for minimal coverage. The United States is the richest country of the world. If it cannot handle this crisis, and people have to die to prevent the economic suffering of millions, it is the fault of poor leadership at the top.",Reader Picks,Texas
"You cannot in any way solve Covid19 with a targeted ""surgical"" approach. That's what Rumsfeld tried in the second Iraq war- remember?- and tens of thousands of Iraqi women and children were killed in the process. Our national leadership is a shambles. What we really need is future thinking. We need the beginning of a moderated UBI - Universal Basic Income. We need Universal Health Care and a massive immediate push to build bigger and better hospitals and have a National ventilator and medical supply permanent storage facility. We need a housing revolution, pulling down rents and mortgages nationally and we need to immediately house the homeless. That's where the money should go. Its a tragedy that Bernie or Liz Warren won't make it to the Presidency quite frankly. But the Pandemic can certainly help move Biden leftward towards reasonable solutions after we rid ourselves of the pestilence currently destroying our country. I think it goes by the name ""Republican Party"".",Reader Picks,CA
For this to work you will need the federal government to lead.i don?t see trump leading us anywhere. He is simply not capable of leadership.,Reader Picks,Michigan
"My 72-year-old mother lives with us. She said the economic cost, and the cost to her grandchildren?s future is not worth it. I think many of her generation would agree",Reader Picks,CA
Sorry I don?t agree. Too many instances of young healthy people. Go gamble with your own kids...,Reader Picks,NY
"Do we know for a fact yet if someone who recovers becomes immune? Regardless, what is missing in this whole approach is that we have a bunch of morons and bozos running the govt, with the greatest criminal in the history of the United States spending weeks talking about a hoax.",Reader Picks,
"No, Romy, you are needed, and are as valuable and precious as anyone. This is a moment where it is appropriate to say ""all lives matter"". You are only seventy. You have much to share and give; much to do. Peace and blessings.",Reader Picks,
"Moving along with the suggestion from Dr. Katz, a research group at Mt Sinai in NYC has published a preliminary report on convalescent serum testing for coronavirus infection. This is necessary: We need to know who has had asymptomatic infection and is now virus free. These people can circulate freely and do their jobs, because they have virtually no known risk to infect others given their immunity, and they seem likely to have low risk of recurrent infection. I am not seeing any discussion of development of such a convalescent serum test, but it is a very standard item in medicine. It should become a priority along with primary coronavirus testing. We know that approximately 80% of coronavirus infections are minimally or asymptomatic, so identifying those who are through the crisis will be helpful to get people back on the job. For those who are demonstrated to be immune, we need some form of ID so they can demonstrate to others that contact with them is safe. This is particularly important for healthcare workers, so we can know who can go back to work after quarantine or infection. We also need to identify these people as potential blood donors. Studies are pending on the concept of the use of hyperimmune serum to bolster immunity in seriously ill people with COVID. Knowing who has an immune response may prove lifesaving through serum donation, until we can have commercial production of cell-culture-produced antibodies.",Reader Picks,MA
"The targeted approach has one missing ingredient. Leadership and resources at the Federal level. Governors are literally competing against one another for medical supplies, i.e. masks, etc. FEMA is woefully unprepared for this magnitude of disaster. HHS and the CDC are irrelevant, all we hear is nonsense at the daily White House briefings. The only voice that makes sense is Dr. Fauci, and he is one individual. Not a chance with the current Administration of implementing a plan as recommended in this article",Reader Picks,GA
"This is confirmation bias. You've designated the economy as a top concern, and you've sought out opinions that support that as a priority. My analytical brain is terrified by the ripple effects?economic and otherwise?of the shutdown, but I'm also keenly aware of the ignorance that a significant portion of the population is proud to demonstrate at this point. Just tell everyone to stay home.",Reader Picks,VT
"Mr. Friedman, what we need is a widely available serology test that tells us who has already developed antibodies to the virus and selectively allow them to resume regular activities such as returning to work. We are currently, unnecessarily, asking such individuals to remain distanced/isolated because we are flying blind. Such tests already exist and need to be rolled out in massive quantities across the US and the globe.",Reader Picks,MA
"Totally agree. The narrative of ""stopping"" the virus is unhelpful and likely impossible. As a nation we've accepted that an annual cost of nearly 40,000 deaths and 4.4 million injuries is worth the benefit to society of having motor vehicles: https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/safety-topics/fatality-estimates A similar cost / benefit analysis should apply to corona virus mitigations.",Reader Picks,Georgia
"While Mr. Friedman is carrying out a theoretical discussion, I am astounded by the sheer cavalier-ness of this kind of statement - ""A look at some of the best available evidence today, though, indicates it may be 1 percent and could even be lower"". 1 % of the country is 3 million people ! It seems that many of these commenters are suggesting that we simply let 3 million people die, so that we can all eat out in restaurants or go to the gym, or fly in planes since its all about the economy !",Reader Picks,
About 40% of those requiring hospitalization are under 55 years old - they may not die but they still take up beds and resources. And they are not unlikely to have long-term and costly health problems. We simply do not know enough yet to take this approach. How about for once leaving it to the actual experts?,Reader Picks,Ohio
"I make $10.50/hr. No benefits. I should risk my life and those of my family, who are all high risk? For a measly $10.50/hr with paid sick leave or insurance? No thank you! Maybe if society actually valued the low wage workers who keep this country running we wouldn?t be in such dire straits today.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"Why ""cherry pick"" Italy for their healthcare systems when South Korea, Singapore, Australia are much the same? Getting out in front as some nations did is the real issue here and, that, is what determines ""the truth"" of the matter.",Reader Picks,NY
"We don't know enough to pursue any of these plans. First, we don't know enough about the virus. A colleague who was older with some health issues was diagnosed with the virus and admitted to the hospital. The next day he died. We also know a family of four in which everybody caught the virus. The parents are doctors. Their younger daughter who is ten months old with no health issues almost died. Second, we know next to nothing about the actual real-time distribution of the virus. We've done virtually no testing out here. Moreover, and more importantly, we have not done any random testing here",Reader Picks,Washington
I agree plus add Trump's greed. When all is examined I think we'll see all decisions were weighted by his own ability to make more money for himself and family.,Reader Picks,MA
"I really appreciate this column and in principle I buy it 100%. But there are three major wrinkles: First, for this to work there has to be access to widespread testing with rapid results?preferably available over the counter?so that people can rapidly self quarantine. The so-called surgical approach doesn?t work otherwise. Second, we?ve got to ensure that those lower on the economic ladder are equally protected. As long as the whole population is being squeezed by this, there?s motivation to protect everyone because we all sink or swim together. Everyone wants this to be over so they can get back to normalcy. Alas as soon as we reinstate a free market approach, nimbyism and dishonorable partisan politics will return overnight. Not to mention racism, which at the moment is sanctioned if not encouraged at the highest level. (Q.v., Chinese virus) Third: The drug companies constitute an oligarchy far more motivated by profits than by the public good. Few in DC seem to have the backbone to force them to be an effective partner. Perhaps all of this can be summed up thusly: We need strong administrative and moral leadership at the Federal level for this strategy to work. Yet most in the executive branch and many in both Congress and the courts are neither moral nor leaders. Politics, ideology, and a love of power trump ethics and competence. How can we execute this strategy in such a climate?",Reader Picks,NM
"Our government can act on behalf of the public good, it?s legally empowered to do that. We the people can force capitalists to be good citizens. We sometimes talk about economics and politics as if they are independent of our social activities, they are not.",Reader Picks,CA
"We would have been able to do the vertical approach by isolating sick workers, and massive testing, and have a competent President who didn?t fire the very people he needs to have prevented this. Do do this vertically the US needs a healthcare system that is socialized from the start and allows equal access to testing and care, instead of a fleecing for-profit (for a while) healthcare system.",Reader Picks,Wisconsin
"Given that 38% of the people who have had to be hospitalized are under the age of 55, exactly who are these unicorns roaming among us who can be deemed to be safe from coming down with the more serious, even life threatening version of the coronavirus?",Reader Picks,CA
"""This is brilliant and important, but also obvious, and it?s shocking to see so-called leaders taking such a blunt and overkill approach currently, with no clear plan,"".... What blunt and overkill reaction? We are currently in the first week (in NY anyway) of exactly the plan described in this article. Meanwhile we are waiting for the testing and other medical supplied to implement the next stage. The ""debate"" you refer to has ""all"" of our attention.",Reader Picks,NY
Anyone with some knowledge (PhD usually in molecular biology) can do this test. We are stopped from doing so by bureacracy. I have many friends who can run this test themselves and it doesn't require that big a knowledge but it does require being able to handle a tiny amount of potentially infected blood. The US government's philosophy has been to outsource everything that could be commercialized to private companies. This is the problem here,Reader Picks,NY
Explain to me what is sad about a country protecting its citizens. I missed that part.,Reader Picks,CO
"I hear Thomas Friedman's observations from virtually every one of the many business owners I speak with as a commercial attorney. The approach of Dr. Fauci, a deserving icon, will lead, within 2-3 months, to catastrophic damage to the American economy that will take decades, if ever, to repair. A depression that will make the 1930's look like a Sunday afternoon tea party will be in the offing. It is patently amoral to destroy the lives of an entire population to lessen mortality for 15% who are overwhelming very old with other contributing severe maladies. The fairer approach is a total lockdown for 2 weeks, then turn the American economy back on fully. Billions (not trillions) would then be expended to aid the 15%, including a vast increase in research to upgrade immunity. This shift must be implemented immediately so the world can get off the road to total collapse.",Reader Picks,NY
"My dad is 74, has COPD and diabetes. We don't need the entire economy to shutter, keep kids out of school, and lay off millions of vulnerable wage earners to protect him. We want you and my dad to be safe, but this seems like overkill.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Someone needs to get the news of what is happening to the American public to the Democratic party. They do not appear to be too concerned on timing of any of this. Saving people's lives? They are more concerned with carbon footprints of the airlines or even more important for Union Collective Bargaining for unions that the workers are working. Hard to take anyone serious of this is their agenda. It is certainly not the well being and safety of the people of this country. Maybe we need to eliminate their compensation until this bill gets settled. Testing? ok, then what? Assume you have the virus, does the medical community or government have a cure for the virus? They tell you to go home. No medication, just go home.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Another very thoughtful piece by Thomas Friedman. As for testing, here is a prediction: Widespread testing for the active coronavirus will reveal many cases where the person will have had no idea that they are infected. They will self-sequester and reduce the spread of the virus. This may happen in a matter of weeks. Widespread testing for the antibodies to the coronavirus will reveal that there are many people who had it, who overcame it without knowing they were infected (and thus now test negative for the virus itself), and who are not going to get it again. When both testing for the virus, and testing for the antibodies to the virus, are in widespread use, the survivors will breathe a sigh of relief.",Reader Picks,CA
"Excellent article. It should be obvious not only that the current ?horizontal? strategy is going to fall apart in a few weeks, but that it will generate a nasty backlash against groups who are at higher risk or who are better off and can withstand prolonged isolation. A significant part of the population will simply defy the current strategy, and it will be not only about college students looking for fun, but mostly hungry people looking for food. What is the governor of California going to do, ask the National Guard to shoot them, so they will follow the example of disciplined Apple and Google workers ?",Reader Picks,Texas
"I like Dr. Katz's approach to this crisis as you've outlined it. If two weeks to thirty days of sequestration doesn't stem the problem, then it's not going to be solved by another month or two months after that. Indefinite self isolation is not a viable solution, and at the end we are going to have to bite the bullet and take what's coming from this virus. It's possible that this virus might never completely go away, and if that's the case ""hiding"" from it forever is not a viable or effective option. Yes, this is a serious health emergency, but it is not the plague or smallpox, either.",Reader Picks,CT 
What about those who are infected but asymptomatic? The WHO and CDC say the most important step is testing and isolating.,Reader Picks,MA
"Check out the reports eg. Nigeria, 2 overdose deaths on Trump's Magic Cure.....consequences for everybody else, but never for Trump.",Reader Picks,Canada
"""Expansive thinking""? The problem is rather that it is narrow thinking. It imagines a rather immediate ""solution"" where none exists except for a certain privileged class that can sequester themselves and their loved ones, with relative certainty of their receiving the best medical care if that fails. And in doing so, it overlooks or does a poor job weighing the costs to others, except as they align with the interests of those espousing such solutions. That sort of vulnerability to class myopia pertains to Dr. Katz at Yale as much as Mr. Friedman at the New York Times. True, the poor and less affluent are disproportionately harmed by an economic downturn, by being out of work, but it is rather cavalier to be trading off their health versus economic risks as if a new day were about to dawn ""in weeks"" if only we all saw the light, when they'd be taking the brunt of the health risks as well. It's a bit much when the interests of the affluent so clearly align with putting workers back to work asap and stopping the stock market bleed, even with a high mortality rate among those least prepared to face and weather a medical crisis. It is not dismissing ideas to call them into question. And challenges to fairly obvious class myopia are only going to get more frequent in these times. Get used to it.",Reader Picks,CA
"Each year 2 million Americans over 60 die, overwhelmingly from various final stage diseases. The COVID virus will not kill an additional 2 million, but contribute to the demise of those already morbidly ill, who would otherwise die at home, in a nursing home or hospice. In any other year and without the attention given to COVID, we would not even notice these deaths.",Reader Picks,NC
"The entire economy is nowhere near shutdown. People are still buying food, medicine, paying rent or mortgages, making insurance and car payments, paying for utilities, paying property taxes, etc. There is still a massive need for cash flow in households. If that is cut off, payments will not be made triggering other cash flow issues for those who are expecting to receive those payments. The economy is interdependent and timely, so missed payments have a domino effect. We need to break that domino chain.",Reader Picks,CA
"David Katz?s ideas amount to less a plan and more a wish for a make believe world where testing is available to all and the ?vulnerable? are easily distinguished from the people who will only have mild symptoms. Then the ?vulnerable? are perfectly isolated from a mass of productive young?uns who go about smiling turning the great wheels of capitalism for all, if only with a slight cough. I?m in favor of a national lockdown for non-essential workers, but even then there?d be a ton of essential workers going about spreading the virus. There?s no way that in a two week timeframe we?ll have enough testing to cover all these non-isolating essential workers. There?s no way to tell definitively who will become gravely ill with lung damage or even die. It?s not just a problem for the old. In the U.S. 40% of those hospitalized are between 20 and 54. Any real epidemiologist- not just a nutrition writer for Oprah magazine - will tell you the ?let the working age population get sick? strategy will quickly overrun the capacity of our hospital system many times over. A surgical strategy is only possible when the situation is under control, i.e. testing is widespread, community spread is not growing exponentially. To get there we should look at the success of some asian countries. There is no other real ?strategy?, only delays that make things worse. People are simply incapable of stepping over their dying grandmother on the sidewalk outside the hospital on their way to work.",Reader Picks,CA
unfortunately this is the most correct analysis.,Reader Picks,PA
"When this pandemic recedes and there are effective treatments and a vaccine... Maybe, our society will have learned the difference between want and NEED. Maybe we will begin to have a more human centered healthcare system, medicare for all. Maybe the American economy will change in ways that make the economy more ethical, realizing that the economy's purpose is to serve the society, and not expecting society to serve the economy with the humans seen only as consumers to be manipulated into buying more and more, always and forever. Valuing the economy over the lives of older Americans is a treacherous slope to a less ethical society. Already, we know and. too readily accept that the poor get mediocre health care, if they get healthcare. I'm not sure the economy could change. It would take courageous leadership. I remember that Bernie Sanders was invited to give a speech at the Vatican on ""The Moral Economy"", a concept he has not talked much about lately. To the Establishment, the idea of a moral economy is unAmerican. The pandemic could be a turning point. For the future of America, the World and our small planet, I hope for a more moral economy. This pandemic is highlighting the relevance and value of Sanders ideas and policies, especially medicare for all. Democracy demands that the promised April debate be scheduled! Primaries can all be vote by mail! The fat lady hasn't sung. We could still have a more moral, thriving economy, and A Future To Believe In!",Reader Picks,CA
"If we don't come together to fight this, then who do you think will be the winners and losers? The 1% will be taken care of while for profit health insurers raise rates. Employers fire people suspected of having the virus and the are on the street to fend for themselves. Does anyone trust this winner take all capitalist system besides the 1% who own it?",Reader Picks,
"Ah, Yes. More pearls of Wisdom from: Let's Take out Saddam, Globalization is the ticket, The World is Flat, etc, etc. A broken Clock has you beat, it's right twice a day.",Reader Picks,MI
"While you may want to make that decision for yourself, this virus kills the young as well. Are you willing to make the same decision for younger Americans? I am not. We are in this mess because (1) corporate greed will not allow for universal healthcare; (2) an ignorant President refused to hear the sirens blaring the warnings for two months; and (3) corporate greed, which allowed a tax cut for companies and the wealthy, while forcing a large segment of the population to work non-salaried, lower-paying jobs, with few benefits and no sick leave.",Reader Picks,PA
"Nice modest proposal. This is one of the most heartless editorials I've ever read. So much unemployment relief could come from taxing the obscenely wealthy--a lot. And the corporations like Apple and Amazon that are making a fortune now. This crisis isn't about thinning our herd. It's about Food Banks, rental assistance and reduction, student debt forgiveness, free medical care, and meeting people's needs.",Reader Picks,CT 
"Katz's idea sounds good but he and freidman both gloss over the fact that while that approach might save money, it would lead to many many more Americans dying, probably measured in the hundreds of thousands. I don't think we are at the point yet where we should trade lives for money. Also it's known that the elderly and imuno compromised are in danger, it is totally unknown what other groups might be. For example I read recently that like 40 % of those hospitalized for Corona are in the 20 to 40 age range. Men seem to be in more danger than women, etc etc. This approach reminds me of Shirley Jackson's story ""The Lottery"" Is that what our society has come to? Ultimately Katz's approach comes down to trading human lives now for lower future taxes on the rich. As, lets face it ultimately the people with money are going to have to pay for this thing. It aint gonna come from us poor folk.",Reader Picks,RI
"Mr. Friedman is hoping we will forget that he is partially responsible - through his decades long cheerleading for ""free trade"" deals - for the fact that the domestic production of masks, ventilators, gowns, etc. is inadequate. Half of global production of these items is in China, and they are not permitting exports. Perhaps Mr. Friedman could take at least partial responsibility for the US citizens that are going die or become critically ill due to his ""free trade"" successes.",Reader Picks,MA
"First: make testing available to everyone and free. Second: quarantine everyone sick and his/hers contacts. Third: do it for 2 -4 weeks. Fourth: let everyone asymptomatic go to work. Otherwise we are going to have situation and mortality known from a number of past epidemics, as e.g. smallpox, cholera, typhoid fever, plague.",Reader Picks,NJ
"This is along the lines of the successful approach taken in Singapore, South Korea, Japan. The difference - they all had early national leadership with abundant testing and other public health protocols. We had Trump and Fox News caling it a Democratic hoax, and as a result far too many people didn?t take it seriously and spread the virus. That?s still happening. Now unfortunately we need a national lockdown to flatten the curve, or we?ll be overwhelming the medical system just like Italy. When we get to the downside of the bell curve, this targeted approach to reboot our lives makes sense.",Reader Picks,CA
"Perhaps the main reason the progressive Dems are all-in on the massive horizontal plan is because it will require an even more massive government intervention to try to stabilize or resuscitate the economy. Once US voters get used to omnipresent New Deal-style government intervention, the pump is primed. Now the progressive Dems can bring forward a similar massive state interventionist program to ""solve"" climate change. And then ""solve"" inequality. And racism and all other ""isms"". A sad path we've chosen...",Reader Picks,MA
"But poverty also kills. Health and life expectancy are tightly bound to income. Casting millions into the ranks of the unemployed, and probable penury, will also cost us many millions of shortened lives in the form of deaths of despair, higher rates of stroke and heart disease, and higher rates of divorce (which leads to lower prospects in the next generation). The work of saving (and lengthening) lives floats on economic vitality and meaningful employment.",Reader Picks,NJ
"obviously didn't mean shutting down things like grocery stores, not to mention essential services. People have to buy food, they have pay their rent or mortgage, utility bills, they may have medical expenses not covered by insurance. In the absence of wages and salaries, they need a cash inflow from the government to get by. Otherwise you face the prospect of homelessness, hunger, possibly unrest on a mass scale. That's the point I was trying to make.",Reader Picks,VT
"your fuller context is much appreciated, as is the frontline work you're doing. Totally agree that clinicians need to rule in/out COVID 19 reliably as part of differential diagnosis, without having to ration the process, and quickly, without waiting days for results. The public, on the other hand, needs to understand that even increased test availability is not a license to discontinue relevant precautions. Even with unlimited test access, we are not a drive-through nasopharyngeal swab away from life as we knew it.",Reader Picks,
"Exactly--here are my back of the envelop numbers if we allow the virus to spread. Fatality rates are going to be much higher if patients who need help breathing cannot get that help. Even a modest surge in patients will overwhelm our hospital facility, significantly increasing deaths. Before we get to herd immunity, about 200 million more cases are needed in the US with a 1 to 3.4 % death rate assuming a functioning medical system. That is 2 to 7 million additional deaths from the virus. Going full ""free-range"". With a rate of doubling of 3 days, we achieve ""herd immunity"" in less than 40 days from today without social separation--and in addition to the 2 to 7 million deaths, there would be 10 to 20 percent (20 to 40 million) still needing medical attention--with no medical care to help them. Plan on nearly 50 million of us dying if we drop social separation, assuming it causes no social upheaval. Our president has preferred to let the epidemic increase exponentially for about 80 days of the 120 needed for herd immunity before acting seriously. Only a massive effort to prevent transmission can help us now(as it did in China and S. Korea).",Reader Picks,CA
"I'm afraid your ideas, such as ""built up resistance . . . through repeated contact with strains of colds and flu"" has no support scientifically. As far as people going back to work is concerned, you seem unaware that demand for many goods and services has collapsed. The US economy is approximately 70 percent consumer driven; it cannot function in the absence of demand, or with demand sharply reduced. Companies can't make payroll if there's no money coming in.",Reader Picks,VT
"I don't know where you are getting your numbers, but from teh countries from which we have good data because widespread testing is being done (South Korea, Germany), experts estimate a fatality rate between 0.4 and 0.7 percent. 1 to 2 percent might be reached if not everybody gets medical help. At a rate of 200 million infected, that would be 2-4 million on the high end, not 50 million. But let's take a step back for a second: nobody is saying to let it run its course -- Friedman and Katz are advocating to isolate and shelter in place the most vulnerable people (old and people with medical conditions making them especially vulnerable). If we do that efficiently, we're looking at a death toll well below one million. We will likely reach the same death toll anyway in the next 12-18 months of flattening the curve. In addition, a hundred million people will be homeless and unemployed, living in hoovervilles. Only somebody who is financially comfortable would suggest staying the current course.",Reader Picks,NY
"After watching two press events on television today, one featuring Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and another featuring the President of the United States, guess which one featured an intelligent, articulate and compassionate leader, who spoke without notes, fielding questions like a true professional?",Reader Picks,MO
"Tom Friedman and Dr. Katz are both misguided on this issue: 1) It's risible to think that Trump would be able to guide the country through this sophisticated ""vertical plan."" This is a non-starter; 2) Friedman's statement that we should all give up and get the virus is madness--just surrender--hundreds of thousands will be sick, but maybe someone will stagger into a store. A much better solution is to expand the shelter in place to the entire country for 40-60 days and at the same time adopt Robert Kuttner's plan for a WPA type program for recovery that immediately puts money into people's pockets and gets them re-employed while they help re-build America (see his current Times column). The stimulus proposed by Trump gives away hundreds of billions to the total discretion of Fortune 100 companies who may ultimately use it for stock buybacks & bonuses when it needs to go to workers.",Reader Picks,CA
"This time Tom, I totally disagree. There is one basic tool that would make this economy get back on its feet: More expansive COVID-19 testing along with personal protective equipment needed to administer the tests. People that have been quarantined for 14 days can be tested and go back to work without risk of infecting others. People still working like our brave health care professionals can be tested and be assured that they won't infect other people. Without testing, we are fighting blind: If you can't find the enemy, you can't defeat it. And after over 2 months of seeing this train coming toward us, why aren't there more tests?",Reader Picks,CA
"You do not understand the issue you are facing. This is EXACTLY what Europe is trying to achieve: contain a virus, protect the weak, and get a herd immunity. But this is only possible in months, maybe a year or two. It does not mean everything has to stop for that period of time. First we contain initial wave and then we go back to normal life just everyone keep physical distance, using face masks and washing hands frequently. Trying to achieve herd immunity in weeks will result in genocide. I really hope that human life is valued more in the USA. While growing up we were always told to look up to the USA as you were always ahead of everyone in technology and science. Why are Americans trying to avoid being leaders now? What happened? Why are we hearing these insane opinions when many about to die just in order to save a couple of months economy until the initial wave passes and life could go back to normal besides personal precautions that might be new to Americans but is normal in Japan?",Reader Picks,Lithuania
"This is a deeply irresponsible column. If you read into the epidemiology discussions that are underway, you realize that the folks that Friedman has highlighted are far outside the consensus view of others in the field. Credible modeling of the approach that Friedman puts forth, by a group at Imperial College, indicates that the consequence would be 2.2 million deaths in the US between now and the end of July, peaking at 51,000 deaths a day in mid-June. The UK government considered this approach, saw the consequences, and did an immediate about-face.",Reader Picks,NY
"I value everyone's life equally. If we stop believing this, we have moved away from a completely morally basic view. It would be barbaric. The fact that anyone is discussing this seriously makes me despair for our society. Every life matters. Every life is valuable.",Reader Picks,MA
Key will be guarantying all Americans will have paid sick leave without getting laid off. Employers can no longer get away without it.,Reader Picks,VT
"This is why pushing the federal government to expand testing as broadly and quickly as possible is so important."" No, Thomas, not ""important""...absolutely CRITICAL! But that's the problem you see, we have a President, supported by Republicans, who did not take any of this seriously, and still don't. Because if they did, and do, we would see a massive effort put to securing, creating, and distributing tests so that we could actually identify the riskiest people and not have to resort to this highly ineffective, but absolutely necessary, general lock down. That Trump and his toadies have actually prevented this from happening is criminal. His is the very antithesis of what even an average leader would do, and as a result he and his Republican enablers are sowing more confusion, more fear, and more suffering and death - this is all on their hands. Given this complete lack of leadership, state and local governments, as well as other leaders in the private sector, ought to simply ignore the directions from Trump and do what they think is best. If he has a problem with that, they can tell him to ""Sue me! Take me to court"", just like he's done his whole life. In the meantime, Americans can work at doing what needs to get done.",Reader Picks,
"In 1946 Europe was beginning to recover from a catastrophe which caused tens of millions of death and massive destruction of property and assets. Yet somehow society didn't collapse and Europe didn't devolve into the Stone Age. They just rebuilt. It is not apparent that shutting down bars, restaurants and other economic activity even for many months is going to mean the end of civilization as opposed to say a deep recession followed by a rapid recovery. Friedman and Katz are exaggerating the negative economic consequences and assuming an optimistic scenario of ""surgical"" epidemiological control, which may not work. No nation has, at least so far, been willing to risk widespread coronavirus contagion. How fearsome could it be? Maybe the US is going to find out.",Reader Picks,Canada
"Mr. Friedman, with all due respect to you and to Dr. Katz, MUCH OF WHAT HE RECENTLY WROTE was already out of date. Likewise, he FAILED TO COMMUNICATE one (1) of the key Lessons Learned from the Spanish Flu pandemic of 100 years ago. The comparison is Philadelphia's response vs. St. Louis' response. The City Fathers in Philadelphia WAITED ONE (1) WEEK to lock down the City, whereas the City Fathers in St. Louis did so almost immediately. Approximately 12,000 people perished in Philadelphia and, thankfully, just a small fraction of that total in St. Louis. Here in Ohio, the St. Louis model was applied early on by Gov. DeWine. It appears that Ohio is the process of ""weathering this storm."" And I hasten to add, what many of Mr. DeWine's peers (e.g., Cuomo, Murphy, Pritzker, Newsom, et al.) are doing is based on what appears to be working here. In ca. three (3) weeks, we have seen the battleship turned around and many good things are now happening that will save lives. Having done investigations over the past forty (40) years, I am always reminded that if we knew all of the answers at the start, we'd have gotten done sooner. The reality is that mistakes will always be made, mistakes will be corrected, and the Lessons Learned will enable us to better handle the next like crisis.",Reader Picks,Ohio
Very much agree with the suggested approach. We cannot afford to have a cure that is worse than the disease. My otherwise ultra liberal friends are considering buying guns to protect their family and property in the event of a total law and order break down which may well happen if this lock down goes on very long with massive unemployment and company bankruptcies. Desperate humans may resort to very desperate measures.,Reader Picks,CA
"This is a complex problem with a complex set of circumstances that is extremely difficult to navigate. In order for the writer?s idea to work, a large testing of the entire population would have to take place , then separating those infected from those who are not infected . We do not have enough of those required tests . As a nation, there should have been a complete system already in place to fight a worldwide pandemic . This should include having billions of protective gear federally stockpiled for health workers , an organized and well thought out plan for massive testing and areas identified in each state where mobile hospitals can be built . But now since there was no real plan in place , we are flying by the seat of our pants and headed towards both an economic and public health catastrophe. If Trump had not disbanded the pandemic task force , I feel they would have started preparations in December as soon as they heard of what was happening . They could have begun enacting some of these measures but there was not a team in place to do that. Nice work, Mr. President .",Reader Picks,NJ
"Yes, we are all very busy (or not) dealing with the current crisis, but could we give some thought to the next one? There will be another pandemic, and we have found out the hard way what some of the things we need to deal with it are. We found out because we don't have those things. So, let's start preparing for the next one, like we were not prepared for this one.",Reader Picks,
"Yes, we are all very busy (or not) dealing with the current crisis, but could we give some thought to the next one? There will be another pandemic, and we have found out the hard way what some of the things we need to deal with it are. We found out because we don't have those things. So, let's start preparing for the next one, like we were not prepared for this one.",Reader Picks,Ohio
"Hold on a moment. The black death being visited by this virus on Italy, and which I fear is headed our way, should be the message to all of us that the way we organize our globalized economy and our civilization is fatally flawed. It should signal the end of the era of multinational corporations overruling national sovereignty. It should be the last straw that tells us it's time to decouple ourselves from an authoritarian Chinese regime that wishes to play by a different set of rules than the rest of us. It should say to us that it is long past time to retire the principle of ""privatize the profits and socialize the costs."" And what is Tom Friedman's response to this crisis? It is to let our economy go back to business as usual, as if there were no lessons to learn, and effectively let the weaker and less fortunate among us get out the way, no matter by how many multitudes we may be compounding their risk, and look at their horrible deaths as their taking one for the team or thinning the herd. Tom Friedman's response apparently is to double down on ""privatize the profits and socialize the costs."" I heard the same nonsense last week from the renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs, and my thought then was that it's time to retire this old guard of an intellectual elite whose conventional wisdom has been exposed for its emptiness at a time when the world no longer works the way they expect it to.",Reader Picks,Washington
"I think your column is irresponsible. Today we are in DANGER and the best way is to self-isolate. The economy will come back. If we had tests enough for everyone, the healthy could go out. What you are suggesting is that we become a society that encourages death over prudence.",Reader Picks,
"I'll tell you what's so dangerous and insidious about Tom Friedman's argument here. This argument plants the seed for shifting the blame and changing the narrative. Our economy can't go back to normal until we've tested the heck out of this virus the way Iceland and South Korea have, and then locked down our borders to nations that haven't. Getting to this state of affairs is going to take months longer than it should have, and the fault for that lies largely with the Trump administration and in particular its failure to ramp up the testing, including rejecting the German test that was successfully being used elsewhere. But what if we didn't have to wait until it was safe to go back to normal? What if there was a shortcut that required us to put millions at many times greater risk but offered the plausible deniability that it was their fault for not isolating themselves better? Then all this wouldn't have to be Trump's fault. It could be the nanny-state liberals and the know-it-alls coastal elitists who were holding back our economy and our lives from getting back to normal. If I were serving up the talking points for Fox News, I would be making this THE narrative. The only question is when.",Reader Picks,Washington
"There are plenty of smart people. We can insist that Trump listen to them..."" Unfortunately, Our President already addressed that, when he told Bloomberg that there wasn't anyone else smarter than himself.",Reader Picks,NC
"Careful there. The Spanish flu had two waves: The first, in early spring, killed mainly the elderly and sick (like the one we're dealing with now). It receded and many public officials believed it was over. The second wave, in the fall of 1918 killed millions, mostly young adults.",Reader Picks,USA
"With the best of intentions, Tom Friedman gets it wrong, again. The best solution is to ""flatten the curve"" to prevent overwhelming medical resources -- which has been show to increase mortality (see Italy; see China). The idea of providing ""herd immunity"" for the population by exposing the vast majority of them to a potentially fatal disease is simple insanity based on the idea that money is more important than people. You know the best way to provide ""herd immunity""? Keep as many people virus-free for as long as possible until a vaccine is available. Vaccination ALSO provides ""herd immunity"".",Reader Picks,Australia
"We shut down much of the economy precisely because we are unable to answer the key questions: exactly who is vulnerable to death or serious illness from covid-19 (which may do lasting damage to one?s lungs); and can people be reinfected? Along the lines of ?you go to war with the army you?ve got?, we need to face this epidemic without adequate testing, personal protective equipment, hospital capacity or ventilators. And that?s why we shut down a huge part of the economy. Our winner take all economy left too many vulnerable and now we?re all going to find out what that means. I hope we learn the right lessons. The people do not exist to service the economy. The economy exists to provide for the people.",Reader Picks,MA
"I am an old guy--but in Italy, most over 90 (far older than I am) do fine. Many relative youngsters, with risk factors or not get exceedingly sick also. (I read a tale of two hospital workers recently in the Wuhan area, both young women, both healthy who caught coronavirus. One died of Coronavirus, the other did not.) People with pre-existing conditions--especially lung damage, are very much at risk. Smokers may be a bigger risk factor than age. The Chinese quarantine worked! They are getting about 44 new cases a day--and it is holding constant. The South Koreans have also stabilized with far less coercive tactics, but are seeing a pretty steady new caseload, well within their medical establishment's ability to care for. As their caseloads stabilize and their ability to handle patients increases, both can further reduce restrictions. No restrictions means in 40 days, you have about 15 million sick people (minus a couple of million of the aged). How well will the 10% who need medical attention be treated when they arrive at hospitals all n the same week? (as they will) BTW, the science behind the COVID-19 virus and the first tests were all developed by the Chinese who immediately released it to the world. Had our government used that information (or just used the test developed by the Germans and given to the WHO), our testing would be 80 days ahead of where we are now.",Reader Picks,CA
"All true--but about 1%--3% of you would be dead from the virus, and another 5% or so would be dead because the millions who would all get sick the same week would swamp the system in about 40 days. Using social distancing for long enough to knock down the exponential growth should take a few weeks (3 or 4)(as it did in China and S. Korea). Then, with milder social distancing, keep the rate at a manageable level for the hospitals and medical teams until we get a vaccine or effective drug therapy. A few weeks of inconvenience could easily save a few million lives. What do you think of the trade-off.",Reader Picks,CA
"To those thinking a ""few"" deaths to the old is immaterial: Every 5 days the population of infected people doubles with a death rate of about 0.9%. With some 400 dead the US is somewhere between the 9th and 10th doubling. This means the virus has been around for about a month and a half coinciding with about the beginning of February. On the 11th doubling, about 8 or 9 days hence, you are looking at around 2,000 deaths. On the 17th doubling, some one and a bit months out, the number of deaths is around 350,000. The under 60 death rate is around 20% so you've got around 70,000 deaths of people under 60 one a bit months out. So the real issue with this contagion is that although the rates of death are small, the large population coupled with fast transmission means the number of deaths is large. In addition the need for ICU beds, respirators, and hospitalization could not cope. Is that your idea of a ""few""?",Reader Picks,CA
"This piece is interesting. I believe that saving the economy also saves lifes. But there is flaw in the general argument that shows near the end of the text: ""we shut down for months to try to save everyone everywhere from this virus ? no matter their risk profile ? and kill many people by other means, kill our economy and maybe kill our future."". Shutting down for weeks or months is NOT intended to ""save everyone, everywhere"". That would be unrealistic and naive. It is implicitly admmited in that approach that almost everyone will get the virus. It aims to avoid that too many people get it AT THE SAME TIME. Because if they do, the small percentage that would need treatment would nevertheless be too much for the health system to cope. And therefore lots of people would unneccessarily fue. As tempting as the ""two weeks isolation only"" sounds and even if it's undelying principle is correct, the logistics and challenges behind implementing any such approach are immense. It would demand high quality information being properly and quickly processed. We don't have either of those right now. Acquiring that information takes time. Unfortunately it also takes that more cases happen. However, if most of us do isolate right now and in honest, then we will have bought the time needed to ponder about the solutions to be adopted afterwards. So please, stay home untill it is safe for you to go out again. That will be decided in due time for those who are experts on the matter.",Reader Picks,Brazil
"Of course, Americans will rail against the socialist principles needed to take care of their weakest, physically and economically speaking, even in terrifying times likes these. But for goodness sake try to, even for a little while. While initially advocating ""herd immunity"" here in the UK, the British Government is now paying 80% of workers' salaries up to œ2500 per month for the foreseeable so that people can afford to do the right thing, stay at home, to avoid overburdening our hospitals. If a safety net like that could be put in place temporarily (I know, I can hear all those go-getting, Just-Do-It, everyman-for-himself Americans shouting me down) because these are extraordinary times, not because people are lazy and want to be paid to be stuck at home. If it could be done until an antibody test is widely available THEN...THEN you can start to get businesses up and running again, staffed with people who've had the virus and have come out the other side. Don't put people needlessly at risk in the meantime because they starve, or can't afford their medications, or they commit suicide from the stress and worry of wondering how they'll live on thin air. Your country has more than enough wealth to go around. It would be immoral not to share resources now. This is not the time for tough love.",Reader Picks,Scotland
"I am a pulmonary and critical care physician in Minneapolis. The problem with the approach mentioned is that, inevitably, there are overlapped rates of people becoming carriers as they are exposed to family, friends, or coworkers in the ""vertical"" approach. As that occurs, they will inevitably spread it to those who are vulnerable, who cannot remain completely isolated (they need caregivers, health provider, people to deliver them food, etc). Under the vertical approach, spread will more likely occur to the entire population. And yes, that would allow for economic activity to continue, but would also lead to nearly everyone being exposed. That would eventually cause ""herd immunity"" prior to a vaccine being developed. Do you realized what that ""herd immunity"" means? It means that everyone is exposed and recovers...and 3 million people (1% of the population) die. Herd immunity works when you have a harmless vaccine...but you do not want herd immunity through exposing everyone to an active virus with 1% mortality and 20% severe illness! Likely more than 1% would die because the healthcare system would be overwhelmed and collapse. Until we have an effective vaccine, allowing everyone except ""the vulnerable"" to be exposed is a terrible idea.",Reader Picks,Minneapolis
"As usual Tom,you are trying to have it both ways.If we did this..if we did that.We haven't done this or that.Everyone agrees there needs to be more testing.Our healthcare industry,in this country,has not given us this ability.Privatization of necessary government functions has been a dismal failure.Healthcare for profit may have worked in the past but in the future it will lead to even greater disasters.This country should not only be about profits and dividends, it should also be about business leaders feeling an obligation to protect their citizens..their employees...without trying to make money off of it. I suggest you continue your reading. Also in the NYT opinion section this morning is and piece by Romer and Garber(economists).Something in the article caught my eye. They say that ""(firms) are reluctant to buy machinery that would be idle when the shortage is eliminated and the pandemic subsides.""Well guess what....there will be other pandemics;there will be other health crises brought on by climate change and.. gross income inequality will greatly exacerbate these problems. I have a wealthy friend who thinks she can just move to Switzerland for awhile. I know you're probably worried about your investments ,and I mine, but...taking the moral and responsible high road is more important.. if my grandchildren are to have a future.",Reader Picks,CA
"Trump has now embraced this idea and will prioritize the economy and his election over public health and lives at risk. If the Times editorial staff has any sense of public responsibility, they will repudiate this column and Brett Stephens's and delete them from the site immediately;",Reader Picks,Cincinnati
"Although I certainly don't begrudge the Times their publishing of the ""contrarian view"", I'd really like to see them publish a rebuttal of this view from one of the vast majority of public health experts who emphatically do not share it. The vertical model proponents tend to criticize emotion driven thinking, but they are no less guilty of it; only they peddle false hope in the place of fear. Secondly, the contrarians need to be crystal clear about what it is they are really proposing, which is to let this thing just wash over the population at large with the exception of high risk groups. Leaving aside the logistical feasibility of pulling this off, NYC is reporting a significant rate of infection among people under 50, including severe cases requiring hospitalization. Finally, though this may be glibly dismissed as ""groupthink"" why do you suppose the government of no developed country, advised by their best and brightest, is proposing a vertical model? Such talk was very au courant in the UK until just last week-- when a visibly chastened Boris Johnson abruptly changed his tune. Why do you suppose that might be? The economic carnage will continue for as long as there is justified fear among the population, which there will be until the virus is contained. Only drastic measures have been shown to contain it--eventually. We are in for a rough time no matter what and there's just no sugar-coating it.",Reader Picks,VT
"In my opinion as a physician, a more targeted approach to containing ""hot spots"" would have worked during February 2020, but only if the government had adequately prepared for mass testing and other effective responses such as those implemented in South Korea. Because we are not yet testing large numbers of Americans, and don't yet know how widespread the virus is throughout society, the only current option for containment is widespread government mandated social distancing. Unfortunately, we are in a position of ""chasing"" solutions rather than rationally dictating the terms of our responses. Reacting vs responding. Not a good position to be in as a healthcare provider.",Reader Picks,NM
"How is 1% fatality rate not HUGE? Infectious at it is, most of the world will be infected. The world's family tree would be seriously pruned--and it's not just older people. Nobody would come out unaffected. Not to mention, many that survive are in for an extremely difficult experience. The feeling of gasping for air, consciousness near fading. No. Thank. You. Joblessness be damned. You can't trade life for money.",Reader Picks,Utah
"I'm a relatively healthy 72 and I have no wish to step aside. I have wisdom and skills from all those years that are still useful in volunteer settings and I still enjoy life. With a little cooperation and planning, no one should have to step aside due to age. Older people are not worth less than younger people.",Reader Picks,SC 
"Our response is reminiscent of how we fought the war in Vietnam. It is not wise, nor is it leadership, to elevate a single measure of success to the neglect of all other factors. Our medical experts have a single, tactical concern--reduce deaths due to CV. Our policy makers must have a broader, more strategic vision that weighs costs and benefits in the balance. Thus far, our response to the CV reminds me of our approach to the war in Vietnam. We have zeroed in on a single aspect of the problem, (direct deaths from CV), and implemented a means of gauging success (body count), that fails to consider a variety of of critical social, economic and political factors (all of which may leave their own medical issues in their wake). Does ""fewer CV deaths"" automatically equal victory, or are there other elements of the problem to account for? An overly facile measure of success in the VN war produced failure at the strategic level. We won the tactical body count contest every time, but the overall strategy was a failure. Is there not some other way to marshal resources (I favor aggressive government action) and fight CV that is more nuanced and will not create the huge social and economic toll that the current approach will?",Reader Picks,FL
It's a valid idea Tom. But what about the masks and other protective gear that will be needed for all that testing and sequestration of the vulnerable population? We could have started to ramp up production of N95 masks and ventilators months ago while Dear Leader was insisting everything was under control. How does your plan get adequate quantities of ventilators and protective gear to the medical professionals who will carry it out?,Reader Picks,Wisconsin
Testing is crucial but there's a time frame. If you wait until everyone is infected how will it help? Seems to be close to where we are in many cities.,Reader Picks,
"Interesting that both Tom Friedman and Brett Stephens cite research done by John Ioannidis, a so called ""meta researcher. "" Meta research combines many studies to supposedly come to a more refined conclusion than run of the mill research. However, the governors who have shut down their states have used research from many different epidemiologists who have studied the response in other countries to recommend social distancing. I wonder if Tom Friedman and Brett Stephens have a political motive for questioning the steps that the governors of California, Illinois, and New York have taken.",Reader Picks,CA
I am glad that the Times has covered the plight of grocery store and delivery workers in response to this epidemic.,Reader Picks,CA
"I completely agree with Dr Horn?s comments and would add one additional thought. Mechanical ventilation is most safely and effectively used when the patient has an endotracheal tube in place. That is a plastic tube running from the mouth directly to the windpipe or trachea. The correct and timely placement of tube is not a simple procedure. It requires learned skills. In my over 35 years of anesthesiology practice, I have placed an estimated 20,000 endotracheal tubes. Now is the time to enlist anesthesiologists now retired like myself to assist with this live saving skill.",Reader Picks,MO
"I think you're misreading the article. Obviously the approach Friedman and Katz are talking about could not be implemented while the number of infections is soaring. I read this article as asking ""What do we do next AFTER we have 'flattened the curve'?"" I'd say the point of the article is that we can't just shut everything down until everyone is well, or until a vaccine is ready. We're like someone who has walked into a cloud of toxic fumes and is protecting himself by holding a plastic bag over his head. That solution is only going to work for a time.",Reader Picks,VA
"I completely agree with all of your points. A 12-year- old girl is fighting for her life in the Atlanta area as we write. She has no history of underlying conditions or known exposure to someone with the virus. Young adults are ending up in the ICU in much larger numbers than expected. When the people at the frontlines, our brave medical personnel, are asked what actions we should be taking, their answer is uniformly, ""Please, stay home.""",Reader Picks,VA
If I was 25 I would chose to work at a hotel or a hairdresser rather than be unemployed for an extended period of time. If you can afford it self isolate: if you are at risk the government should help you self isolate,Reader Picks,NY
"Would someone in the press please, please clarify for everyone that none of the cruise lines Trump wants to ""help out"" are American companies, and therefore in no way deserve any kind of help from US taxpayers via our Treasury ? These cruise companies (nothing essential about them) fly flags of nearly every scofflaw country BUT ours in order to avoid US taxes and labor laws. Does Trump know anything at all? Or is he hoping we and congress just won't notice?",Reader Picks,Maine
"Until we have protective gear and 330 millions test kits, this is an irresponsible approach. We also need to know why a 14 year old boy died and why many 24-55 years require hospitalization. We need physical distancing until our country is ready to move to quarantining only our vulnerable population. That can be sooner than before we come up with a vaccine, but we need to be ready for the pandemic to go wild. Our leadership has let us down. And to think we spend over a Trillion dollars a year on defense (all inclusive of ongoing war and veterans' benefits) and we weren't ready for what should be an easy to defeat enemy.",Reader Picks,ÿIowa
"Katz?s. I read it. So, at 65 I am just collateral damage so the economy can be saved. So, a bunch of us die for the economy? Do you think we will get post mortem war decorations or will it be business as usual? Not that I will care either way about it after death. Just do make an autopsy so my siblings will have a hint about Alzheimer's.",Reader Picks,FL
"Absolutely. But understand that testing means flooding the zone with tests and some people might need a daily test for a while. If we had the test kits this wouldn't be a big deal. I am tired of winning, Donald.",Reader Picks,MA
"Shockingly naive piece! This was the UK strategy for a few days, until scientists explained reality to the leaders. This disease has a 15 - 20% hospitalization rate. The low death rate of 1% or less depends entirely on beds being available for that many and ventilators for half those hospitalized. Your 2-week-isolation-and-then-go-out-normally scenario will not flatten the curve enough. Take the number of ventilators and multiply by 10. That's the number of cases you can afford to have at any one time. Yes, we need an exit strategy. It depends on expanding supply of testing, gowns, gloves, masks, beds and ventilators.",Reader Picks,MA
"Death rates are low in those countries because the medical systems are not overwhelmed. Fatality rates are much higher when the medcial system is swamped (and fatality rates for many other things--heart attacks, car accidents, etc--increase as well)",Reader Picks,OR
I'm glad to hear you where fortunate to have a mild case of coronavirus. However I think the media has been very clear that the majority of people- around 80% - will have mild symptoms. The 'fear mongering' as you call it is based on epidemiological models that show that more than a million Americans could die this year from coronavirus without strong action. The fact that some experience very mild or no symptoms at all is exactly the problem with this virus: These so called asymptomatic cases are one of the main reasons it is spreading so quickly. It's not just the old. In the U.S. 40% of those hospitalized are between 20 and 54. I assume you are in self-quarantine to protect the health of others in your community. When you are virus free you will presumably be immune so perhaps you could somehow help if your local hospital is indeed overrun as the models predict.,Reader Picks,CA
"Governor Cuomo got it right. Flatten the curve of new hospitalized infections until it stands at zero. It will take some doing. It took China how long? It will also take us as long a time to do. The virus eats people. Somebody will always carry it with them asymptomatically, to a new place, to a new victim; until it?s finally starved out. It?s a air-travelers? disease. It won?t willingly go away. Statistically, time is not on its side. Think of it as a form of inter-species warfare. President D. J. Trump?s utter medical indifference and ignorance, reinforced by Fox presenters? own, played right into its hand. He can, and might very well have, lose the war in an afternoon, as was once said about Adm. Jellicoe and Beatty. So, ?we must all hang together or we will all hang separately?, as Ben Franklin once told his fellow delegates at the birth of the American Nation. We can destroy each other, ignore each other, or save each other. There is no neutral ground.",Reader Picks,IL 
"This Friedman op-ed and some of the comments I have both read online and heard from people in ""real life"" make me feel despair. This callous lack of empathy, against a backdrop of many other factors, makes we wonder if we truly aren't beginning to live in some kind of virtual, ""psycho/sociopathic dystopia"" in which any kind of compassion, deeper level of understanding or empathy to our fellow human beings is being significantly reduced. Perhaps it's the effect of seeing everything on a screen and not being able to relate it to our own lives, our own lives, that is, until it becomes very real for us and by which time it may be too late. It also worries me, being old enough to remember the HIV/AIDS scare in the mid-1980s and recalling the callous attitude many, including some who should have perhaps known better, had towards certain sections of society who were considered the most vulnerable. Roll on thirty-odd years and with Covid-19, we're hearing, perhaps, a similar kind of callousness and lack of empathy. Will we ever live and learn? Human lives are not mere statistics on a spreadsheet.",Reader Picks,Berlin
"Sadly this has long been the ?American way.? Without mandated restrictions, most Americans will not inherently ?do what?s best for others? in lieu of what?s best for them. American history has shown that the collective does not tend look out for the few. A simple, and rash back to business strategy might back break us all. You cannot discount experience and sadly our federal government is lacking in experience. There was a severe shortcoming in preparation for this epidemic and now we must all pay the piper.",Reader Picks,CA
I guess I am 68 and live in a multi generational house. I disagree. My mother lived through the depression. I took care of her till her death at 98. The younger generation could stand to learn a bit about self-sacrifice. The economy will rebound.,Reader Picks,Texas
"Didn't the UK initial implement a ""vertical interdiction"" strategy just like the one Friedman is advocating here - only to find it wasn't working and switch to a ""horizontal interdiction"" strategy? Seems relevant to me.",Reader Picks,Oregon
"What is clear from Singapore to Germany is not to swamp the medical care necessary to handle the waves of infection that will rise and ebb. It will be interesting to see how China handles this. It is one thing to have brought the infection rate down significantly, it is another to get China Inc back working without a return of the virus. The model offered here seems reasonable, but it will need to begin with the lockdown of a month to two months to get the infection rates down and allow enough time for the medical intervention to be ready for the periodic waves that will crash against it.",Reader Picks,UK
"One sector of the economy should receive something extra. Doctor, nurses, and others working on the front lines of this pandemic should receive the equivalent of combat pay. Like soldiers in battle, they are risking their lives to fight what may well cost more American lives than many of the ?shooting wars? this country has fought.",Reader Picks,Colorado
"Dr. Woolf: A patient with emphysema who dies because of a lack of a ventilator, or a patient who cannot get chemo- These things are not the result of shutting down the economy. Or of panic. They?re the result of a shortage of medical equipment and personnel. Of our medical resources being overwhelmed by unprecedented numbers of critically ill patients. If you don?t have that straight, it makes all your comments suspect.",Reader Picks,USA
"This pandemic is a completely new (although not entirely unforeseen) type of crisis, and many mistakes will undoubtedly be made, with huge consequences. We would certainly be doing better if the government agencies responsible for pandemic responses were not gutted by Trump. (Republicans like nothing more than ""gutting"" federal agencies.) We can hope for a quick return to normal, but that is impossible. Human behavior will be changed. We will be less likely to inhabit vast mixers of indiscriminate human contact like casinos, bars, and airplanes. Working from home will be more acceptable and encouraged. Amazon and other delivery companies will thrive. This crisis will lead to a reboot of our society. After all this social distancing, when the crisis settles, we will make different choices in our re-socialization.",Reader Picks,CA
"I say we use the 2-week-plus containment period to assess our preoccupation w/ the health of the economy over the health of people. What exactly is this ""economy"" that?s made us so obsequious; that has free-market economists promoting socialist solutions while their liberal counterparts equate the wellbeing of the economy w/ the wellbeing of people? I get it: we work to earn money to buy things we need and want. But is our economy so fragile or so all-consuming that during times of crisis we worry as much - if not more, about its health over our own?",Reader Picks,
"It is interesting to speculate about these things but to me, it seems clear that we simply don't know enough yet about COVID-19 to make these kinds of choices. Expert respond to nearly every serious question about this condition and its characteristics with ""we don't know but we're racing to find out."" Given this, it seems we should opt for sequestration where possible until we have more real knowledge with which to plan and adjust our strategy. Katz's proposed solution seems sensible if you accept the necessary prremises....which are almost entirely speculative.",Reader Picks,OR
"Too soon to DO it, not too soon to PLAN for it",Reader Picks,VA
"Isn?t the strategy being advocated by Katz and Friedman one of the approaches that was modeled by the Imperial College London? Their model predicted this approach would still result in the health care systems in the UK and US being completely overwhelmed (ie demand for ICU beds, ventilators, etc. becoming many times higher than actual supply), causing extremely numbers of fatalities (in the millions in the US). And, I believe this model was based on the age-group fatality rates seen in Wuhan, and that some of the data coming out of Italy indicates higher death rates for younger patients - making this strategy even less viable.",Reader Picks,MA
"A lot of important op-ed columnists are being confronted with a situation that proves how woefully inadequate they are to the task of talking about what this moment really, really requires. This crisis only proves the point that the global economy has become a house of cards over the last 40 years or deregulation and globalization. The ones at the top have been bleeding the middle class dry. What comes after this must address the fundamental flaws of an economic system that has utterly failed. We won't be ""back to normal"" in two weeks. Wake up.",Reader Picks,MA
"This would be a very high stakes bet. While the odds seem be in favor of younger people, they are not zero and not well confirmed.",Reader Picks,CT 
One word in reply to Katz's plan: Italy.,Reader Picks,Wisconsin
"Mr. Friedman,this is, frankly, irresponsible advice. The case fatality rate appears to be closer to 3.4% of ALL cases. It is probably closer to 15% for those over 65. And alarmingly, we are seeing numerous people, relatively young and with limited or no underlying illnesses, requiring ventilators and even dying in the space of days. There is a reason our government is taking drastic measures. If we can get the majority of working people working from home, great. That's a big if. If we cannot, we must continue what we are doing now. And I remind you, Italy lost nearly 1,000 people overnight Saturday. And believe me, those people are far healthier than Americans. I wish I was wrong.",Reader Picks,NY
"Tom Friedman, the man of a million inanities comes through with another set. The time for controlling this through a targeted approach has passed long ago. Shutting down the country for 2 weeks is worthless since it takes 2 weeks to even begin to see if it works. Moreover, younger people are half of the hospital admissions so just letting this run through that cohort will still crush the US health care system. Without a complete shutdown, any state shutdown will not work. I would say that I have not read such a senseless column until I saw Slaughter's column today, which even makes Friedman's column look deep. Sometimes you need a powerful state that comes in and says: Here is what is going to be done, we are going to enforce it, and we are going to cover the fallout in a very direct and efficient way. Of course, given that we have a 4 year old in charge of the country, that will not happen. At the same time, commentators like Friedman and Slaughter should not be proud of themselves for being half a step faster than a 4 year old.",Reader Picks,Austria
"Had the United States taken this threat seriously and prepared by getting outfitted, particularly with enough tests to test everyone and test everyone regularly, the draconian measures likely would be far less. But we didn't do that. Correction, our incompetent commander in chief chose not to prepare, instead playing political football with people's lives while those who work with him unloaded stocks and filled their bank accounts. Those of you who voted for Donald Trump, here is a truth: you voted for a man who is now directly responsible for the untimely death of some of your fellow citizens. And that means that YOU are indirectly responsible for these deaths as well because you chose to vote for someone who is entirely incompetent and who has shown no interest in becoming competent. The wealthiest nation in the world and we don't even have enough masks to keep our medical workers safe. We have a fraction of the hospital beds that we should. We deem some jobs ""essential"" enough to make them continue going to work yet pay them $7.25 per hour and call them greedy when they ask for a living wage. And, in economic boom times, our debt has skyrocketed and it's about to soar again. That roaring economy fell apart in a matter of days. And what are you left with now?",Reader Picks,IL 
"So let me get this straight, you (and these experts) want a segment of the population to be ""separated"" and ""relocated"" for ""special treatment"", while the rest of the population goes on with their lives unempieded. Where have I heard this prescription before? Hmmm let me think.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Thank you for this. There are many important points made in this opinion piece, including 1) the need to avoid group think, 2) the fact that public health officials are dominating conversations about the direction of intervention (other experts should be involved, too), and 3) the costs of the current strategy may be more damaging than the virus itself. Let's not be afraid of hearing different perspectives - we need them right now in order to think creatively about how to move through and past the current time.",Reader Picks,NW
"Very important numbers. Thanks for reminding the many mercenary commenters here of the full consequences of what we are facing. It's appalling enough that anyone with gray hair is deemed expendable, but those same commenters are woefully unschooled or unconcerned with the fact that this disease will cut a destructive swath of death and disability across our whole population, young and old, without aggressive and sustained mitigation measures.",Reader Picks,
"Instead of printing money, let's take the money that's available: the tax revenue that billionaires have NOT been paying to the government. Seize it by force. If I failed to pay MY taxes, the government would seize everything I owned. Do the same to all the rich tax evaders in this country. Use THAT money, that they have stolen from us, to support the unemployed. Mnuchin the foreclosure king, is one of these thieves, and he owes this country and its people a lot. Start with him. Then let's get Bezos, Buffett, Bill Gates, the Walton family, and all their ilk, and make them pay.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Coronavirus and the American economy? The American economy has always been a massive contradiction and the coronavirus just seals the proof on the discrepancies. We have been told for decades the U.S. has the greatest economy, that the U.S. is the land of innovation, that all the technological developments, machines replacing people at work, etc. leads to a better life, but it was always strange how millions have always been driven unusually hard at work, that all this economic performance and supposed increased efficiency has never led to increase in leisure and freedom for most people but only wealth and leisure at the top of society, and now with the coronavirus we are told that the almighty U.S. economy might collapse within weeks, as if for all that power of economy, and all that hard work, there was nothing there all along saved up to bail out millions of people on a rainy day, which makes us ask of course where all the U.S. wealth has gone or if it wasn't a big lie in the first place the U.S. economy was improving all this time. So which is it? Millions of people have watched for decades old America wiped out, small town life and jobs gone, the big cities and corporations rise, all that innovation and advancement occur. And the American economy can't provide for people even as well as farmers in the old days provided for themselves over the winter time with their crops? It's a staggering joke. Either the wealth has been stolen or progress has been a sham.",Reader Picks,DC
"Without the ability to test widely before ending social isolation, the suggestions in this article are dangerous and irresponsible. Younger and middle-aged adults also seem susceptible to the most dangerous scenarios associated to the virus, though in lower numbers than the elderly and infirm. As a nation we are not really isolating at all levels; witness the recent complaints by Governor Cuomo by people gathering in parks in NYC. If we end two weeks of pseudo-isolation, it will only take a few asymptomatic cases to start the spread of the virus again. Germany has now seen three days in a row of declining numbers of new cases. We can't consider the measures in this article until we have seen declining case numbers for at least two weeks in the US.",Reader Picks,MA
"I think you need to understand that mortality and morbidity are not the same. First, let's assume the low estimate of 1% mortality (this is age-skewed, and up to 20% for some populations, but 1% overall). That's 3.7 million people dying in the next couple of months. Can the country handle that? What if the mortality is 3.5%, as some have estimated - or 13 million people. That's more than the population of all but the four most populous states. So you'd be ok if the equivalent of six Nebraskas being emptied of people? Second, morbidity: long-term debilitating effects for those who are infected and suffer some complications (immediate or delayed). This can include lung scarring and permanently decreased physical health. The morbidity effects will be more widespread and worsened if people don't receive treatment (i.e., if we don't ""flatten the curve""). No one knows what is going to happen. This virus is novel and its effects are novel. But as much as you're accusing our leaders of making ill-thought-out moves, seems like you yourself haven't considered the likely price of your suggestion.",Reader Picks,Nevada
"I'm going to put this idea out in public space until someone refutes it or until it's adopted. For at least the next 90 days all of our reality is we need to stay mostly at home. All we need are the basics: Shelter, food, water, utilities, health care. That's all one needs to survive in this moment. (TV is a nice addition) So, I propose we shut down what I call the ""money for space"" market. For the next 90 days at least, no one is required to pay- Rent Mortgage Utilities Virus care Temporary, to all these necessities are are not paid. Except food which many can cover with Social Security, savings, government handouts. The renter and the landlord thus have no need for their usual income. Same for the homeowner. Same for workers and business owners. The person who owns a restaurant can close it for now. He will not lose the space. His landlord also pays no mortgage on the space. The employees will not pay their rent or mortgage. When the crisis ends, it's back to work, fire up the grill and let's eat out! (emergency property maintenance will need funding but many will volunteer that labor) With these things covered, there is little need for income. Everyone can take a 90 day break. Financial Markets could close for the next two weeks as well. A 90 day holiday from the ""money for space"" market means guaranteed roof overhead and business space. We'll work out utilities and health care. It's TEMPORARY! Shelter in place without fear of losing shelter.",Reader Picks,USA
"This is a benefits-burdens problem. How one sets the weights of those questions decides. Tom Friedman seems to be leaning toward the 'merchants rights' movements over the health and well-being of the population, willing to sacrifice an untold number of lives for the marginal gain in profits. No thanks.",Reader Picks,NY
"As a life-long developmentalist (I write textbooks in human development), and earlier- adult gerontologist, I couldn't agree more. When I was in my 20s I began to work with the elderly because I was passionate to try to extend the quality of life in nursing homes. Now that I'm in my 70's, I realize that our main human goal is ALWAYS to prioritize the needs of the young over the old. One benchmark of reaching wisdom is to fully understand:""Life has a beginning a middle and an end"". Or as the main luminary in my field, Erik Erikson, implied after a certain age, self-preservation is selfish. ""generativity""-- caring for the next generation is the real benchmark of being a mature adult.",Reader Picks,IL 
"I find the timing of this piece to be irresponsible. We only have the next couple of weeks to do everything we can to slow this infection down, or we risk the collapse of the healthcare system. Cases are now doubling every 2-4 days. Today, we're at 40,000, before the end of the month, we'll be over a million and doubling by millions after that. This is the only time we have to slow it. It's time for BIG government to step in and rescue the citizenry and the country with a massive influx of cash. We need the US military to be building tent hospitals and planning logistics, and companies to be making 10 million ventilators and PPE for our medical staff in the next two weeks. Government can make this happen by ordering it done on a wartime footing, because that's exactly what we're in. God help us if we don't find the way.",Reader Picks,ME
Bill are you kidding? Why not tell folks over a certain age to walk off a cliff so the economy can back to making money,Reader Picks,NY
"How depressing to read of your having no wish to continue living. You and @Bill speak for yourselves and would cast a vote to endanger others simply because you seem tired of living. If you are so uncaring about your life, why not volunteer for some frontline duties to help others? Go pick up and deliver food for the younger ones you believe have a greater right to life. Or volunteer elsewhere to help those desperately in need.",Reader Picks,NY
"Rotate, two weeks on, two weeks off. Obviously without a vaccine testing seems the most critical tool we need.",Reader Picks,
"Professional Wrong Person Thomas Friedman chimes in with -- let's just pretend we can go back to business as usual. I mean, the capitalists are taking a real hit here, folks. There is exactly one good outcome that could come of this: we wake up to the need to transform our health system and our economy away from the twentieth century model of pillage and plunder and toward a twenty-first century model of conservation and harmony.",Reader Picks,NY
"This seems like a house of cards argument that has been left out in the rain. We do not know enough to take these chances. We also know people will break the rules so this episode will take longer to wind down than one round of being contagious. Lower income does cause stress, but probably has a tiny effect if it is only a few weeks. If you lose your job you can continue your health insurance through COBRA. An ER will still treat any true emergency. These objections do not seem to carry much weight. Sickness and death are extremely expensive in addition to being the overriding moral imperative. We will not get a second chance to avoid being the next Italy - in more ways than one.",Reader Picks,Ohio
"Amen Mr. Friedman. However, we have a child in the White House who can hardly reassure a frightened nation without making it about his ego much less have the clarity, cognitive reasoning and courage to make such a decision or engage in such pragmatic thought. I seriously fear for this country and the world that the bigger issue of an impending economic disaster will not have American leadership to steady the ship. Perhaps we will cede this to China or Russia. They are waiting in the wings eager to take up the mantle",Reader Picks,Washington
"Korea showed the world how to do it. Test, test, test, test ......... But tragically that seems to be way beyond this administration.",Reader Picks,PA
"Because we haven?t yet seen a meltdown of hospitals, scores of medical personnel dying, no more ventilators, triage in place and bodies outside the tents, when all the ventilators have been used, we tend to look at the economic damage now. Yes, it is awful. But we need to lengthen the doubling time drastically, not shorten it. The idea that ""only"" 1% die means if 2.5 million, should 250 million be infected. Even if it were 0.1%, rosy, that is a quarter million Americans. We don?t know how many additionally will die from inability to get basic medical treatment for cancer and other things people have today. We don?t know how many people will have pulmonary fibrosis left over from Covid, which is a serious condition. We do know that a lot of younger people will become infected, too. If this seems wrong, look at Italy and imagine what would have happened had the brakes been let off. We can still do better by testing, assuming we fix the system, and if we do anything ?surgical,? it would be going after those testing positive and their contacts. The continued delays in adequate testing and the continued promises will be the epitaph for this country,",Reader Picks,OR
"Imagine a patient with chest pain or a developing stroke, where speed is essential to save lives, hesitating to call 911 for fear of catching the coronavirus.? If we don?t contain covid-19, the chest pain/stroke patient would not receive proper treatment bc the healthcare system will be totally overwhelmed. So a moot point, at least in places like NYC where infection is widespread",Reader Picks,PA
"Interesting analysis about switching from horizontal to vertical interdiction. One major flaw. Trump is a disrupter, not an achiever. The lack of sensible, early action and and bumbling misinformation fully show leadership and crisis management failure. Switching to vertical interdiction discounts the difficulty of convincing people who distrust experts and those who wrongly believe Covid-19 restrictions do not/cannot apply to them. It depends on people being both self-aware and self-disciplined about their medical conditions, future possibility of infection, and impact on others -- can this lead to serial spikes? The empirical evidence is not comforting for masses of people to willingly adopt more nuanced interdiction methods without effective government. And this government, with some many experts, is hobbled by incompetent leadership",Reader Picks,Virginia
"Thomas, it seems to me this technocratic thinking neglects a few very big things. First, too little is known about the effects of the virus in the younger population; that large groups are not at risk is largely conjecture based on an incomplete data set. It is an incredible gamble, to say the least, to hope for ""uneventful"" herd immunity. It is also becoming clear there is a very significant number of cases with serious long term impairments like reduced lung capacity. Who gets to decide who should be infected, based on which data? Second, as any virus this thing just loves to mutate. We do not know how secure or lasting any herd immunity would be. The best way to arrive at lots of different strains is to give the virus lots of space to breed and mutate, possibly ending up with a problem multiplied. The dream of herd immunity might just turn into the nightmare of several necessary treatments, just like the yearly flu, only much nastier. Third, just how exactly would we shield the ""vulnerable"" in our connected society? In camps?",Reader Picks,Austria
"This is absolutely the best popular-press opinion piece I have read on our pandemic reaction and recovery. During the past week, I had read your sources (Ioannidis, Katz) and had hoped that someone with a public megaphone would broadcast this information to the world. There is only one thing I hope to be able to add, and that is on the subject of testing. It seems that the primary benefit of testing at this point is to get a grasp on where and how big the infected but asymptomatic population is. What I know of statistics tells me that requires random sampling of the population at large. It can't be accomplished by ""testing on-demand"" because a self-selecting sample will inevitably be badly biased. The takeaway is that as a matter of public health policy, testing should be conducted as directed by experts: physicians for individual patients, and epidemiologists for communities. And thanks again for a superb article.",Reader Picks,
"In Italy the fatality rate among those tested positive has been 4-5%, not 1. Between 500 and 1000 people a day are dying. There is hardly time to bury them. Do you think that, a month from now, the US will be in better shape? Outside New York hardly anyone has been tested. We have no idea how widespread the virus is. My prediction is that we are about to see catastrophic levels of mortality. That is going to make an article suggesting that we treat the crisis like a bad flu year one of the many casualties of a disaster evolving in exponential, not evolutionary time.",Reader Picks,New Zealand
"God forbid, we endanger the health of the economy over the death of the 1%. Experts have long understood that one percent, someone else grandma or grandpa who wasn?t long for this world anyway is no longer with us. The old are a drag on the economy after all, or what Trump would call the takers. Experts with excellent pedigree can always be found to support horrid solutions. What kind of a people are we if we are willing to sacrifice the most vulnerable among us for the good of an economy that at its foundation is held up by many low wage workers without health care. It seems like a modern form of slavery, only worse since those at the bottom have no value.",Reader Picks,Minneapolis
Excellent comment. TF is putting the chart way the heck before the horse.,Reader Picks,MA
"At the national level, the question of How Many Masks Do We Have was met with the catchall dodge of the modern era: ""National Security -- we can't tell you.""",Reader Picks,CA
"I've read that 40% of the hospitalizations with coronavirus are in the 20-54 age range. And the virus is obviously very contagious, and can be spread for weeks by someone who is asymptomatic. So if we allow the less vulnerable to roam more freely, we'll still have an overloaded health system in a very short time. I'm all in favor of getting back to work as soon as possible, and I honestly fear the economic toll of this outbreak more than the virus itself. But I haven't seen a good plan for dealing with an inevitably overtaxed healthcare system.",Reader Picks,Tennessee
"This is crazy talk from Friedman. None of the premises is factual. There aren't enough tests. Nobody is working to solve that problem. The President seems to suppose he can defy it. Nobody knows if acquired immunity will do what Friedman supposes. Case numbers spike so fast that adding young patients at any but the most constrained rate possible is madness?do it quicker and the sick young will simply bump older more critical patients out of intensive care, and get them triaged to death. The ventilator shortage will not be solved quickly enough. Younger patients will die too, not at the same rate, but at a rate plenty high enough that cooperation in Friedman's scheme would amount to extraordinary heroism. When you posit policy on extraordinary heroism cropping up universally, you are doing it wrong. Flatten the curve. Develop a vaccine. Fix the economy. In that order.",Reader Picks,MA
"How would you go about isolating those who are most vulnerable to the virus? Would you round them up and move them to camps? Yeah, those in a nursing home are readily isolated, but what about every person with asthma, heart condition, elderly living with family, etc? I don't think this idea is well thought out. As far as a two week reboot, at this point there are so many cases, even a two week reboot would ""leak"" enough undetected cases to start the cycle all over again.",Reader Picks,CA
"Dear Mr. Friedman, In a crisis, a society often reveals both its best aspects and its worst. So it is with Covid-19. Our culture is sick. One of the sickest on Earth. I blame the wealthy and powerful - like YOU - for this situation. They have all the resources and use them for selfish gain. They are school yard bullies that have grown up knowing that being a bully reaps rewards. The psychopathology of these Ruling Elite should put many of them in institutions locked up and out of harms way. They are dangerous to all life and should not have wealth and power. We need to use this crisis as a wake up call. The wealthy and powerful elite, The Ruling Elite, put us in this situation with their sick values and beliefs; their ?ideology?. They were warned about this virus before us and many sold their stocks prior to the crash. They are above the law. They are ripping us off financially by taking our tax money and giving it to their friends. They cheat, connive and steal any chance they get; this is American Style Capitalism in a nut shell. And while I sympathize with you, now that you can?t live the pampered lifestyle you and your uber-wealthy and famous friends are used to, and can?t get all the services you are accustomed to, I do not want to go back to business-as-usual like you are advocating for. We need real systemic change. We need to suspend capitalism for now and focus on saving as many lives as possible. People over money in the US, just for now.",Reader Picks,Berlin
"So your response is let's all get coronavirus, and 90% of us will live.",Reader Picks,Florida
Send all the vulnerable to North Dakota. Then they can complain about having inadequate Congressional representation.,Reader Picks,USA
"The numbers just don't add up, Thomas. Let's low-ball and say that the per-capita death/hospitalization rate for Covid-19 is only double that of the flu, if vulnerable populations are isolated. Then factor the higher infection rates, which are at least twice as high as for the flu (conservatively). Multiply the relative infection rate (vs. flu) by the relative hospitalization rate, and you have at least 4 times the number of hospitalizations vs. flu, which will overwhelm our medical system. Just going ""back to normal"" in two weeks would result in a massive increase of infections, ironically resulting in higher mortality rates among the vulnerable population, who would be in competing with Covid cases for scarce care facilities.",Reader Picks,MA
"We must all be grateful to Mr. Friedman for citing a trifling two sources to justify a strategy that does more good for business than it does for anyone else. The Fat Cats always cry foul at anything whatsoever that disrupts their bottom line. As a Washingtonian, I can remember when the nuclear power industry constantly cried out that, without their reactors, the entire state would be condemned to frequent brown-outs. When the reactors didn't prove profitable, the reactors were dismantled--and the brown-outs didn't happen. Mr. Friedman will have to forgive me for being skeptical of any claim that sounds like a billionaire's fondest dream. By the way, where are America's old people supposed to be sequestered? In internment camps, perhaps? So that they can all be together to make each other's infections worse? If we build and fill the camps, will they become places where old folks are encouraged to go ahead and die already? After all, they aren't in the spend-most demographic of 18-35 years of age, so what value could their lives possibly have?",Reader Picks,Washington
"I suggest Mr. Friedman read ""I?m 26. Coronavirus Sent Me to the Hospital"" which can be found elsewhere in the NYT & then revisit the subject of letting the supposedly young and healthy back on the streets. Or perhaps he would like to change places with her.",Reader Picks,Ohio
"Great to see a thoughtful and reasoned different approach to this incredibly challenging situation! I believe your proposed approach is correct, but the only problem is that it requires intelligent, thoughtful, leadership from people more concerned with the country than themselves... and those people are in short supply in DC.",Reader Picks,OR
"Great column with the exception of the cheap attack on the president (whom I oppose, BTW), who did not claim the virus itself to be a hoax, but rather the Democrat/media characterization of his administration's response to it. That's a substantive distinction which deserves to be respected.",Reader Picks,
"If it?s true that the hospitality- tourism industry accounts for 10% of jobs and 8% of GDP, and people aren?t going to flock to websites or travel agencies to book exotic (or less exotic) vacations due to the fear of getting the virus from someone who hasn?t been locked down for two weeks, then it would seem that a 10% contraction of the economy is going to be difficult to unwind. Similarly other sectors of the economy would appear to be damaged long beyond a few weeks, let alone a few months. So 20% contraction seems possible - a severe blow to many. The first three stages of grief are 1) denial, 2) anger, and 3) bargaining. While Trump vacillates between 2 and 3 now, after spending a few months mired in 1), his base is most likely still mostly in 2) because that?s where they like to reside, in good times as well as bad. Friedman?s approach is more a 3) since it might involve bargaining away lives in order to prop up the economy. At some point, the terror of accepting that things have been fumbled badly by Trump and his enablers due to stubbornness will lead to the enduring of the pain of the loss of thousands of lives, whether statistically significant or not. The acceptance and grieving phases will be difficult for mature Americans, more so than those for whom compassion is to be avoided, or denied. To be stuck in 1) or 2) is to live without liberty. The bottom line is that the virus is now ?in control?, not Trump, no matter what he proposes to do.",Reader Picks,NC
"None of this would have happened had Donald Trump not completely ignored and lied about his January briefings on the emergence of a dangerous coronavirus in Wuhan, China. It took HHS Secretary Azar more than two weeks to try to speak with Trump about the virus after his January 3rd briefing -- and once Trump took notice, he lied to the American public and only acted to personally benefit his campaign rather than act in the interests of the public. We in the USA could have taken the Taiwan approach of large-scale testing of people for the virus and contact tracing, but the prevarication and delays of Trump and his GOP sycophants prevented that less deadly approach. At this stage, we still would need the large-scale testing --which Trump has refused to support and lend federal resources to -- and contact tracing. As we do not have that, it will take more than two weeks of home sheltering to reduce the mortality and morbidity to a level that will not overwhelm hospitals.",Reader Picks,MA
"With the current lack of leadership, no one is going to insist on a two-week quarantine period across the country, even though both experts and many lay people agree with it. I had that conversation not an hour ago with a friend. She's in her 60s and has an autoimmune disease. I'm in my 70s and have asthma. We see kids congregating in large groups on our beaches. Leadership is lacking at the local level here and at the national level, so there is every chance that thousands if not tens of thousands more will die in the coming weeks, simply due to people being unwise or unwilling to stay home except for necessities like food and water.",Reader Picks,SC
"""These are days that test every leader ? local, state and national. They are each being asked to make huge life and death decisions, while driving through a fog, with imperfect information, and everyone in the back seat shouting at them. My heart goes out to them all."" Thank you for stating the obvious, which so many unfortunately refuse to see. Please make sure all your colleagues read this. This is the time to support all the people, Republicans and Democrats, who are in positions in power. There will be plenty of time to bash them all once this passes. This is a crisis - behave.",Reader Picks,France
"Everything you wrote makes sense but so much is riding on whether or not individuals and companies act responsibly. Retail workers are complaining about lack of hand sanitizer and masks and many are choosing to report to work even if they are sick. ?Wages at Target start at $13 an hour, and employees often have a hard time getting more than 20 hours of work each week. Many are not offered health insurance through the company. All of which leaves employees facing a hard decision: If they feel a cold coming on, or if they were in contact with someone who was confirmed to have the coronavirus, many say they have no choice but to keep working.? The response by companies like Amazon is to hire 100,000 employees to account for workers who are too sick to come to work. ? Not all of the hiring is being done to simply meet demand. Employers are also bracing for when their workers get sick with the virus or are simply no longer able to get to work, and are planning accordingly. ?Some of our hiring is to manage risk, too,? Mr. Vanderelzen of Lineage Logistics said. ?We expect that some people will be quarantined or have to leave because of the virus.?",Reader Picks,NY
This seems like a game of Russian roulette . If we had leadership and time could this be considered. Manufacturing needs to return We could employ everyone Why aren?t we using all these 3D printer companies and employing massive amounts of people to make protective products for the front line Now and for the vulnerable in the future And rethink sanitary standards everywhere,Reader Picks,Texas
"Oh look, a column by Friedman arguing for returning to the status quo as quickly as possible no matter the potentially dire consequences. How shocking.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Everyone above age 65 and/or with existing health conditions should be required to stay home. Let everyone else get back to work. We are basing our estimates on skewed testing mainly performed on the already sick, hence the dramatic numbers and increases, which simply reflect increased testing, not much else. A nationwide poll would be the only way to get exact numbers regarding the percentage of infected and mortality rate. This global shutdown seems many times more dangerous than corona itself.",Reader Picks,NY
"Economics is not a science. Economists are not scientists. There are too many variables and unknowns to craft the double-blind/ randomized controlled experimental tests that provide predictable and repeatable results that are the essence of science. America is not a business. America is a nation state. The President of the United States is not a businessman. The President of the United States is the head of government and state. There is no science in politics or any of the other social sciences for the same reasons. Any more than there is any science in history and law. Calling anyone an economic or political ' expert' is no more convincing and credible than calling any accountant, banker, charlatan, fortune teller, historian, journalist, lawyer, oracle, preacher, politician, psychic, or soothayer an 'economics expert'. There isn't a Nobel Prize in Economics Science. There is the Swedish National Bank Prize in memory of Alfred Nobel. Past economics performance is no reliable indicator of future economic performance is the legal disclaimer of liability.",Reader Picks,IL 
"We should be taking this time to understand the disease so we can make intelligent decisions on how to create a new normal for everyone. A surgical restart to getting everyone back to work helps the whole society and we need to protect our most vulnerable. We all have friends and family we want to protect, so it?s in our own best interest to protect them. But that doesn?t mean we slowly destroy the rest of society. The government needs to give us better facts so we can make better decisions. The role of government is to protect all its citizens. If it doesn?t then it fails. Right now the government is failing.",Reader Picks,NY
"His plan would still swamp and choke the hospitals, wouldn't it? How does that help?",Reader Picks,
"Thank you Thomas. As an old vulnerable guy have been rather loudly (through my tiny megaphone) advocating shutting things down as firmly as possible. Look at China. How relatively unscathed even though they were ground zero. Now believe I was very wrong and Dr.Katz is very right. So thankful that you are, far more eloquently than I could, advocating this, or at least seriously considering this approach, through your much larger megaphone. Continuing the current world-wide suppression approach is going to lead, I believe, to untold economic disaster and may wind up saving no lives at all. Isolating everyone over 60 or even over 50 and letting the remaining 3/4ths of the world get on with their lives seems a much better approach. The question is, is there any chance the rush to suppression can now be reversed?",Reader Picks,NJ
"There are 68 million Americans over 60, and God only knows how many more other vulnerable Americans. If you switch to a plan to let Covid-19 burn through the population at full speed, then starting in six weeks or so the number of active cases will be so enormous that those 68 million people will have no chance of avoiding it if they so much as step out of their house to buy a gallon of milk. How exactly is 1/5 of the population of the US supposed to survive for the 2-3 months when Covid-19 is active world-wide? The death rate among the 68 million people most vulnerable will probably be something like 5% or more, which means 3 million or more deaths in the US over the June - August period. Maybe its because I'm 63, but that doesn't sound like a great plan.",Reader Picks,PA
Thank you for thoughtful proposal. The problem is that we are seeing half of the hospitalizations as people under 45. In Minnesota we have several people severely ill in their 30s. So we cannot yet define a true low risk group.,Reader Picks,Minnesota
"Let's throw some raw numbers at this. (Please if I've got these wrong I am open to criticism and corrections and take no offence) Assume a constant transmission rate of 2 by every person, a death rate of 1% with 85% of that for 70 and over age groups. If the doubling of transmissions is weekly then by week 30 you have around 10 million deaths, 9 million over 70 and 1 million under 70. The nastiness really starts getting huge by week 26 (one half a year). Play around with these numbers a bit and assume a transmission rate that doubles every two weeks. Then these numbers are postponed until week 60 - about a year. Now Thomas, ask yourself how much is it worth to the economy. We really do need to slow this transmission rate down because it may be higher that 2 for every 1.",Reader Picks,Australia
"The reasons why China, South Korea, and Singapore test, test, and test some more, was to catch carries of Corvid-19 who are a-systematic. South Korea and Singapore are consistently taking the temperature of its citizens on the street, subways, bus stops, malls, and testing. Strange, Germany developed a test one week after China sent them the info. It took South Korea three weeks (end of January) to develop their own test, one test kit can test a 100 people. Yet, US development of COVID-19 has been slow and cumbersome. I wonder if the line never everyone needs to be tested is an excuse to cover US gov. tardy response and struggle with developing a CVOID-19 test.",Reader Picks,Indiana
"I rarely agree with Friedman about anything, but this editorial is an excellent summary of the positions I've been advocating in my local community, to widespread derision.",Reader Picks,CA
"I think Mr. Friedman is still assuming that the COVID-vulnerable populations can be assessed with certainty in advance so they can be protected. This assumption is part of what got us into this disaster to begin with - the idea that young, otherwise healthy people have nothing to worry about - and now that it is spreading uncontrollably, we are finding that many young, otherwise healthy people are winding up on ventilators and dead. I am not sure it is in everyone's best interests to walk into a 1 in 20 chance of death to ""save the economy."" Furthermore, it is hardly likely that with pandemic-level spread, the people who most need protecting will be at all safe despite best efforts.",Reader Picks,NY
"The fundamental rationale for what Friedman labels the ""horizontal interdiction"" strategy is to ""flatten the curve"" of the inevitable upward slope of those seriously ill with Covid-19 so it doesn't overwhelm currently available hospital facilities and concurrently endanger our precious and limited resource of medical first responders. What is crucial is to ASAP expand both the capacity of our hospital facilities (beds and ventilators) and to end the shortage of Personal Protection Equipment to safeguard our medical staffs. But Friedman is absolutely right that we need FOR THE SAKE OF AVOIDING A CALAMITOUS SECOND GREAT DEPRESSION to switch to a ""vertical interdiction"" strategy sooner rather than later. That is why it is so witless that Trump keeps stalling on invoking the Defense Production Act to ensure and expedite supplying what we're now crucially lacking.",Reader Picks,NJ
"You know how the media can help? By featuring people who have already recovered from coronavirus who can testify that it is not a big deal at all for the vast majority of people. People are so scared of this virus because of media fear mongering and when I got it over two weeks ago (from someone I work with who flew in from Italy) I thought I was going to die, I was terrified. But it was no big deal. It was similar to a flu, but milder, basically a mild walking pneumonia, not worth spending a day in bed for. People need to be calmed down and told the truth. The majority needs to be heard, meaning the vast majority who recover just fine from this virus. My friends are panicked and then I tell them (on the phone, obviously) what I went through (not much really - a very low fever, mild headache, chest pressure, very occasional coughing, but that I still had plenty of energy and stamina every day - and they become calm and reassured. The media needs to do this. Feature the voices of people who are the real face of this virus, the vast majority, who are just fine. Not just the tragic cases that are the tiny minority, like a car accident on a busy freeway. When people have a realistic perspective, the panic can start to ease and normalcy can start to return. The government and medical institutions can focus on protecting the weak and vulnerable in special facilities, but let the rest of us deal with a minor cold/flu situation and get on with our lives and businesses.",Reader Picks,CA
"I have a suggestion that might be workable. Donald Trump has always wanted to be awarded the Nobel prize. He could be promised the American equivalent of the Nobel prize - the highest award our country gives - if he would agree to resign his presidency on behalf of the country - and Mike Pence could be promised the next highest award - if he, too, would agree to resign. Nancy Pelosi would then become president for the rest of the term. She could immediately replace all of the grossly unqualified cabinet secretaries and heads of agencies with the most highly qualified Americans. And in November we could elect a new president to lead our country.",Reader Picks,NC
"When a tsunami is headed your way, you head for safety when the water goes out, not when the wave is about to roll over you. Data from China said roughly 2% of identified cases died, weighted towards the elderly and infirm. That's the group Tom Friedman wants to focus on saving from CV19 exposure. But remember, 15% of all cases needed basic hospitalization for things like supplemental oxygen by cannula or face mask, IV fluids, or observation. Another 5% needed ICU care which presumably included most of the 2% who died. That still means a tsunami of patients well beyond our capacity if we can't flatten the curve. There are dangerous shortages of PPE right now in SF and the greater Bay Area. There's another Times article today by Donald McNeil discussing options for going forward. After decades as a journalist in this area and after consultation with ten or so international experts, he favors a whole series of interventions much more akin to the program in South Korea. Among other things, it focuses relentlessly on case identification through testing, vigorous contact identification, and isolation of those who are infected or closely exposed. This limits much of the family spread responsible for about 80% of new cases. Once testing is widely and quickly available (by far our biggest failure so far), a relatively short period of lockdown can be followed by careful resumption of normal activities. After reading these two plans, the latter is the one I'd favor.",Reader Picks,CA
"A surprisingly comforting thing for me has been to watch Governor Andrew Cuomo's morning briefings. His knowledge, honesty and compassionate discussions has, compared to the meaningless alternative, been calming and hopeful.",Reader Picks,PA
?There isn't enough money to do this.? Of course there is. But we live in a country where it?s ok to let people die if they don?t have enough money.,Reader Picks,LA
"In light of the revelation that this entire postwar industrial consumerist, corporate-capitalist model is utterly destroying Life on Earth, perhaps stopping the whole thing is not such a terrible thing. Before 'jobs, jobs, jobs', before those wage-slave jobs were all shipped offshore to be done by actual slaves a $70/mo, before Mad Men invented the mass-marketing manipulation preying on people's greed & insecurities to manufacture demand for all this pointless production; People had gardens & grew food, supported their local farmers, saved & reused, re-purposed things made of natural materials. There were some incredible advancements in the industrial-consumerist age, these computers & internet, for example, but only up to a point: The iPhone was more than good enough 5 versions ago. So keep what's good, & Cancel Everything Else, all of it! It was idiotic to destroy the earth for this evil automotive mania. It's only been going on for less than a century, get rid of it! Where's everyone going? Unless you're delivering or trucking something, stay home. Apply this to all aspects of this postwar infatuation with affluence, achievement, greed & self-obsession created by the Boomer sell-out generation. Virtually all of it, every aspect of this society & the way we've become these consumer-units, was Wrong. Those 'back to the land'-ers were right (before they all became yuppie capitalists & super-charged consumerism to this nightmarish disaster). We needed it all to stop.",Reader Picks,USA
"Humans lack immunity to Covid-19. At this time we lack antiviral and other medications or an effective vaccine against the virus. We will continue seeing spikes in the numbers affected until we have effective drugs, therapies or a vaccine. Alternatively, when enough individuals have had the virus and developed immunity or died, the virus will fade away. The Spanish flu had three spikes of increased infections and took eighteen months to subside. Covid-19 will claim the lives of not only the elderly but also some younger individuals. By flattening the curve, we enable the medical system to treat all patients and buy time to find effective drugs or a vaccine. Ending social distancing prematurely will promote rolling spikes in disease across the country. Before sending employees back to work with masks, they must be instructed in the proper use of the mask, have separate dinning areas and proper precautions to prevent spreading the disease with their hands. Personally, I do not want to be around them.",Reader Picks,GA
"I am not a medical expert. I?m just a reporter"" You should have started with that. There is a very simple way to deal with the economy, the gov't literally makes money. They can wave a wand and ensure everyone is propped up through this entire thing. ""Let those who are inevitably going to get the virus, and are highly likely to make an uneventful recovery, get it and get over it, and get back to work and relative normalcy"" Did the good doctor provide data on just exactly who those people are? What industries they work in? Who will patronize the industries they work in? No? We don't have enough test and a significant number of those tests weren't functional? Oh, well then, who needs evidence based policy? I hope they don't pay you to write this garbage.",Reader Picks,VA
"This is rational. We need to strictly quarantine all high risk individuals and let the rest of society out. The high virulence of COVID-19 would ensure rapid spread through the low risk population, and the worst would be over in a month. The shelter in place concept will drag out the pain and if it goes on long enough, our health care system will be broken, and we won?t have an economy anymore, just anarchy....Let?s at least try some experiments.",Reader Picks,IL 
"Not a medical expert but isn't there a way to test for antibodies (showing they had been exposed) along with the test to see if they have the active virus? Wouldn't we be able to identify people who are likely (possibly) immune and who could return to work, school, etc?",Reader Picks,PA
"If you are high risk, sequester yourself. If not, you may have already have had it. We can?t test every person, but we can each take care when we are with others to assume that we are infected - remember that most cases are mild or asymptotic...but good hygiene is paramount and remains practical. So stores limit customers and advise distancing and use of sanitizer- doctors offices open up schedules to avoid packed waiting areas. We may need more emergency care. It is going to take some help from public health, and changes in the way that we think and act, but shutting down the economy is only another side of the same disaster. Please where is the Federal Government with plans like this?",Reader Picks,CA
"Excellent piece. Thank you. Here in Marin County, we have been in virtual lock-down for almost one, whole week. The weekend saw the folly of the strategy: Every San Franciscan with a car, a wife, children and pets has been coming over the Golden Gate Bridge and clogging our beaches, trails, etc., Sheriff's deputies have been forced to close these areas down; pretty much after the damage has been done. I do hope our Governor reads this column. His command-and-control impulses are in full bloom now as he locks down the entire state. Whack-a-Mole will simply not work long-term. Whether we get to herd immunity with or without a viable economy is the only question Gavin (first) and all of us should be asking.",Reader Picks,CA
"The economy isn't going to matter if we lose millions of people to this virus. ""The economy"" matters too much to those who stand at the levers of power over the welfare of the people. We can no longer afford the worship of the almighty dollar over the health and well being of the citizens. Yes, the economy is going to suffer no matter what we do. It will suffer more if a large segment of the population dies due to misplaced priorities of dollars and commerce over people. What happens if we do lose 12 million people or more to this virus? Half or more who will be working-age adults and not just seniors. It is possible since we have failed leadership at the top who refuses to use the tools needed to get through this. What happens if we do lose a great number of our first responders in this crisis? Will anarchy reign? The panic has already started. What happens to food production and procurement if the borders are shutdown? There are already stores in small towns in the country that can't get in stock for their shelves. The larger chains are getting it because they have contracts for suppliers, but smaller entities are unable to get what they need for their populations. Worrying about the economy is misplaced during this time of an international epidemic. Priorities. 1. People - 2. Procuring equipment 3. procuring medicines 4. procuring food for the citizenry 5. Housing issues including quarantines. 6. The economy- last on the list.",Reader Picks,Washington
"What this crisis shows is that the money should go to what benefits us in public services and the working people, not 'the economy' (which is doublespeak for banks)",Reader Picks,Brussels
"Two thoughts come to mind: 1. How likely is it that such widespread testing will be available throughout the country anytime soon so positives and negatives can be quickly identified? Didn?t Dr Fauci just say that only hospitalized people should be tested at this point due to shortage of personal protection supplies? 2. According to Gov Cuomo this morning, over 50% of those hospitalized with the virus in his state are between the ages of 20-49. Assuming that?s true, wouldn?t allowing that age cohort go about their business (with whatever testing that might be available) still overwhelm our health systems?",Reader Picks,PA
"I might agree with this idea, if we had the supplies ready (e.g., ventilators, masks, test kits) to handle the massive number of cases that would surely arise. But we don't, as Senators were busy selling their stock portfolios rather than ringing the alarm bell for all of us and mobilizing our healthcare system for a pandemic. I don't hold it against Trump anymore, as he's a known incompetent and Republicans in the Senate didn't bother removing him, putting party before country. No, the airlines will go bankrupt and come back without stock buybacks and with regulations like Europe, which has better prices and service. Big business will have pandemic insurance, public or private, and be regulated to have 3 months of cushion for downturns, like the big banks had under Dodd-Frank before Trump gutted the regulations.",Reader Picks,USA
I hope we don't have amnesia when this all passes. I think it's the warm up to what's coming down the line and that's the global climate change pandemic that's looming some time in our future. How will we respond when we discover that we didn't do enough in time to head off the closed loop self perpetuating climate changes that we won't be able to do anything about? Hoax to disaster in two days Mr. President? Sorry too late.,Reader Picks,NJ
"Senate Republicans pushing for trillion-dollar bailouts shows that even wannabe fiscal conservatives suddenly decide John Maynard Keynes was right when a sharp economic crisis occurs. They fought FDR?s New Deal Keynesian policies, and many still deny that aided the economic recovery from the Depression. So much for having conservative economic ""principles"". These are the same Repubs who only cared about deficits when a Dem was president. When a Repub is president, they focus on cutting taxes for wealthy and beefing up defense (which further aids wealthy owners of defense company stocks). Paul Ryan adhered to GOP hypocrisy in crying about spending and deficits when Obama was in the White House, and then proceeded to push through a huge tax cut for the wealthy after Trump entered the White House, cuts which further worsened the deficit, giving us less room to go further into deficits to help relieve the economic downturn. Maybe the GOP will stop trying to reduce FDR and LBJ's safety net legislation after this pandemic crisis is resolved. And maybe they will also stop trying to reverse Obama?s accomplishments, especially Obamacare.",Reader Picks,PA
"Great article - this is what I've been thinking for days. Protect those that are at risk, the rest of us need to get back to work! Many, many more will die if our economy collapses. This is not what our 'Greatest Generation' wants for their grandchildren I promise you.",Reader Picks,NY
"Do we know enough about this disease to enact this kind of program? While two weeks may be sufficient for people to develop symptoms, what about people who are asymptomatic? Do we know how long one can be infected & still transmit the virus? Kind of hard to choose to self-isolate if you don?t know you?re infected. And if we return to the normal way of doing things ASAP in order to preserve the economy, will the economy adapt to the new reality of Coronavirus? Will workers at the bottom rung of the economy continue to be denied paid sick leave, thereby forcing them back to work to feed & house their families, no matter their health? We are flying blind right now, making decisions in an information vacuum, but just as erring on one side could destroy the economy through unforeseen circumstances, the other could also be the path to herd immunity at the cost of hundreds of thousands lives, if not more.",Reader Picks,VA
"I am gobsmacked at the number of people who think 1% is a low risk of death. It is not. And for everyone worried about the economy, 1% of the population dying is ALSO bad for the economy.",Reader Picks,CA
Great article. Very logical and seems much more effective than wholesale shutdown of society. I hope government officials are reading this,Reader Picks,NY
"A stunningly irresponsible editorial. On the basis of one outlying expert's impracticable idea, ignore the advice of the vast majority of Public Health professionals. This article's faux-""common sense"" thinking about the interface between the pandemic and the economy reflects the same kind of inability to imaginatively grasp the seriousness of this disease exhibited by all those Spring Break-ing teenagers on the beaches in Florida--and by the Trump administration and his Republican enablers. Following the best practices counseled by Public Health professionals is not ""herd thinking;"" it's making decisions based on scientific expertise instead of economic and political wishful thinking.",Reader Picks,CT 
My daughter is a doctor. I still think that surgically intervention is the only way to balance the risk of old and vulnerable people dying vs the economy dying. Spend money and resources on isolating the old and vulnerable. The rich will self isolate. Let young people keep the economy running.,Reader Picks,NY
"Incredibly irresponsible. This approach could have disastrous consequences, resulting in overflowing hospitals and the inability for people to receive quality care for other illness. If people are cheering this approach on, then why don't you try it in your state if you don't have a large number of cases yet, and see how this plays out? Maybe test out this theory in a state like Maryland or North Carolina? If it works and is beneficial and causes little harm to people's lives, then implement it in other states. But, in my opinion, this approach is like playing Russian Roulette with public health. People's lives and health must ALWAYS come before the economy.",Reader Picks,NY
I think we should do just the opposite of what ever Friedman suggests.,Reader Picks,NJ
Well said. The only 1% fatality comment in this article hit a nerve.,Reader Picks,MA
"Isolate the most vulnerable? Maybe we could have done it with early, extensive testing, like South Korea, but we still don't have enough tests or the protective equipment that medical personnel need to administer them. And besides, who is most vulnerable anyway? Your own paper is reporting that more than half of the identified cases in NY state are in people ages 18-49, a demographic that doesn't fit the one most frequently described (elderly and/or with co-morbid conditions), and that doesn't even consider medical workers and first responders, who are possibly the most vulnerable of all. (My daughter, an RN, is leaving for work in a few minutes. She just got a text to allow a few extra minutes for screening before she enters the hospital, where she has only one N-95 mask for this shift. She's in her 20s. Tell me she's not vulnerable.) Add to this another conundrum: How do you convince--no, force--EVERY person in the United States to stop and self-isolate for two weeks? There are too many people who value their personal freedom far more than their social responsibility, and there are others who still don't believe this crisis is anything but a Democratic/media hoax. (Thank you for that, Trump and FoxNews.) No, I fear that the time for a quick and relatively painless shutdown in order to benefit the economy has long since gone. We are at the point where our main goal is to protect our fragile medical system. Once we manage that, we can talk about the economy.",Reader Picks,
"So... what if we instead asked why we would want to save an economy that made so many so vulnerable so easily? If we save ""the economy,"" who does that really benefit? If we save people, in all senses of the word, everyone benefits. That can include jobs, but what if we rethought what a job was and needed to be to best benefit people and society, rather than the wealthy? Our economy wasn't working before this crisis (an economy that works for an incredibly small percentage isn't working). You mention mental health concerns, which will not be addressed by sending people back to work as usual. Anxiety and depression are new normals under late-stage capitalism. What if we use this opportunity to send people back to tasks/jobs that were fulfilling? Safe? What if we actually valued people beyond how cheaply we can buy their labor to the point that housing, healthy food, clean water, education, and healthcare were basic human rights? Why not use this as an opportunity to pivot to what we truly value? Corporations, pundits, and politicians will warn of the losses to the most vulnerable of capitalism: hourly workers, gig workers, domestic workers, etc. But they won't create policy for them. They'll return to Reaganomics, assuring you that giving the companies billions (or trillions) of dollars is the best way to help these people. They are lying.",Reader Picks,MA
"Peel back Friedman's layers of hopeful unknowns, if-thens and speculative wishful thinking to the crux of it...just say it... in the interests of money, large portions of the American people are expendable! They were expendable when the economy found no value in so many before this virus, and we can now add all those who would need a communitarian effort so that MILLIONS don't die. Not to mention the millions left with LIFE-LONG PERMANENT LUNG DAMAGE, what with the COPD and other lung disease ushering forth a tidal wave of disabled chronically ill people of wide age range. Katz and Friedman's essays are meant to soften the population to the idea of letting some/many just die. The caveats and wishful conditions that they suggest would move people back to work are not based in feasible reality in any short term-weeks scenario. The same inept half-measures that have us at the mercy this spiraling epidemic make impossible a strategic surgical end to social isolation. And the casualties? When we die, the grief will be personal private loss happening piecemeal in individual lives, irrelevant to those pushing the levers of the economy and the lucky healthy rushing by with indifference. For Ioannidis Katz and Friedman et al, apparently the social contract need only provide the OPPORTUNITY to survive this illness, with a requisite ventilator set aside just for you. Going forward, you and your ventilator are on your own. To float these ideas now is premature and fairly repugnant.",Reader Picks,
"Why is having children the mark of a responsible citizen? At ten billion which we are heading toward,, there may well be disaster. There were 3.7 billion people on the planet in the 1960s and responsible people were discussing zero population growth.. there are now close to 8 billion -- and the rain forests are being decimated to grow food... which now also comes from outside the USA. Of course the young need to be cared for, educated, etc... but it is not nec. a noble act to have children.. and frankly needs to be major discouraged in many parts of the world esp. those where women and girls are routinely abused.",Reader Picks,USA
"Instead of 2 trillion dollars to stave off economic ruin, several billion to provide the targeted needed equuipment, etc.",Reader Picks,Ohio
Our economy is a house of cards. It has been flattened by this pandemic with one fell swoop. The components are scattered to and fro and many are lost for good. Many people never fully recovered from 2008 and this is far more devastating. Even those of who remain physically healthy will suffer enormous mental anguish. There will be no ?normal? to return to.,Reader Picks,NY
"Medical decisions about how to handle the pandemic should be made by the experts in the field . Economic decisions should be made by our elected officials.The politicians should provide generous and immediate financial assistance to working people and small business people who have lost their livelihood through no fault of their own. People who are a paycheck away from destitution need immediate help. The last thing we need at this time is a desperate panic stricken population. The large corporations and their lobbyists who see the pandemic as an opportunity to enrich themselves should be ignored or ostracized. The United States Treasury is not a grab bag to be looted by these powerful groups. If it is permitted, it will do long lasting damage to our democracy.",Reader Picks,CA
"Before I could support the ideas presented here, I'd need to know more about the reports that people who recover from coronavirus are left with fibrous tissue in their lungs. I've seen reports in the NYT itself that people can lose 20-30% of their lung capacity. As a healthy active 57-year old, no thanks. We have to remember that, in this country, ""recover"" can mean anything this side of death. How often do you read stories about people who are shot but ""expected to make a full recovery"". Unless you are simply grazed at the skin level, there is no such thing.",Reader Picks,SC
"People typically relate to things that are just arbitrary conventions, as though they are an inevitable state of nature, and a lot of people may be waking up from that dream right now. Although people did it without thinking, maybe it was never an ordinary thing to get in big car and drives for miles to pay for a cup of coffee in a disposable cup, and drive back home with it. Maybe it was always weird and unusual for people to gather in their thousands to go on trips on giant cruise liners. A lot of people are learning how to grocery shop and cook for themselves. They are probably not going to forget those new skills, and the pleasures they bring, and the money they save. A lot of people, and the companies they work for, are learning they can actually work from home - and save time and money, and be way more productive. Are they ever going to go back to wasting hours of their day in traffic, just to go to an office? A lot of people, right now, are also learning they can shop for basically anything from home, and get it delivered within a day or two, or sometimes even an hour or two. One thing investors have realized is that a lot of industries can just be turned off, when people stop doing something they used to do, for whatever reason, or when a Saudi prince and a Russian oligarch snap their fingers, for example. There is hope - of course there is hope - but it is in the creation of a new world, not a return to the old, and it is up to us to build it.",Reader Picks,NY
"I completely agree. The politicians (though well intentioned) are motivated to be perceived as not doing too little. There is no downside to doing too much. If they do too much and it doesn?t ?work?, at least they did what they could. If they do too much and it ?works?, they solved the crisis. This is the epitome of groupthink and their being swayed by experts in one field (medicine especially epidemiology), without giving due credence to experts in other fields (economists, social psychologists, social workers, educators). What will be the effects of all the children not in school, home with stressed parents who either lost their jobs or frantically work from home? What will be the effects on families who lose their health care coverage when jobs are lost? Etc. The trade off may not be worth it, and this is not even being mentioned by those making the decisions.",Reader Picks,CA
"1% fatality could still be a million people in America alone. How is that acceptable? And many of the serious, hospitalized, even fatal cases are in people not otherwise in a high risk group. There's no way to predict exactly who will get over coronavirus as easily as a cold, or who they will infect and kill in the meantime.",Reader Picks,CA
"thanks for another enlightening article. I am 86 years old, but otherwise in good health. I do not drink, I have never smoked. I keep my vaccinations up to date. Only last week did I have the second shot of the new Shingrix anti-shingles vaccine. I walk an hour a day and go on occasional longer and more strenuous hike. I completely agree with the ideas advanced in your article. We should concentrate on keeping infections away from older people and persons with health issues. For the rest of us we accept infection and trade it for immunity, assuming that everybody infected with the virus acquires immunity for at least several years. This saves lives and gives us time to find a vaccine and drug treatments. To run the economy into the ground by prohibiting a large part of economic activity will cost more lives and cause more misery.",Reader Picks,CA
"As a person with family on the front line of this? This article is dangerous and wrongheaded. The fatality rate for people over 60 and people with underlying medical conditions is higher? But the intervention rate is not. In other words? If half the people in the country get it... And 20% need serious medical intervention? That?s 30 million people. There are 150,000 ventilators in the United States. Originally given time they were 300,000 hospital beds available. If we ?go back to normal in three weeks? and this thing peaks in May? Millions will die. Millions. Friedman is way off on this. ",Reader Picks,NJ
Nirvana is not an option. Multigenerational families present issues. People will die. The goal should be to optimize the outcome by maximizing the safety of indivduals while minimizing the collateral damage to society.,Reader Picks,Florida
you'd need to keep her separated during the time. This is more rare than the norm.,Reader Picks,Washington
"I cannot believe the Times is publishing such an irresponsible piece of writing. Friedman is not an epidemiologist. Why is he opining on public health? He incorrectly claims that the only people we need to worry about are the elderly and immunocompromised, despite the numerous reports we have seen of young people who are not in those categories winding up on ventilators. The Times should not have published this piece. This way of thinking is going to harm people.",Reader Picks,CA
Mr. Friedman: I believe you're reverting to your Iraqi Freedom days with premature notions not honed by reality. This is a reckless and premature idea until testing has increased full bore.,Reader Picks,IL 
"""A Plan to Get America Back to Work,"" but not a plan to help the working-class and poor people of this country. Okay.",Reader Picks,IL 
"Let's suppose your <1% death rate is correct. Let's say it's 0.7%. And, let's admit that 2/3 of the US population would get it. That's 1.75 million people. Also you need to add in people who would have lived had there not been a covid-19 patient in the hospital bed that he would have occupied. That's to say that there would be a total of roughly 2 million additional deaths due to covid-19 and mild social distancing. Is that OK? To save the economy from a Great Recession?",Reader Picks,Tennessee
"Indefinite social isolation doesn't make sense to me. The virus has a maximum, as far as we know, 14 day incubation period, with 97% incubating in under 11 days. Three weeks of isolation should be enough to find the populations with severe symptoms, populations with mild symptoms that recover, and the uninfected population. Treat those with severe symptoms, and after those three weeks are up the virus will have run its course. As this strategy won't be 100% effective, get an aggressive testing regime up and running during this period and be very watchful for outbreaks once the three weeks are over.",Reader Picks,CA
"The idea to target protection to the most vulnerable seems like common sense, but beware. It lacks backing from any data. There is not a single number to support the efficacy of this proposal. Most obviously it has no estimate of mortality rates following viral infection especially among the elderly. At this late point its best to follow methods that seem effective in South Korea and China. Or if you must think out of the box consider judicious management of the paper that we call the American dollar.",Reader Picks,CA
"That massive infrastructure project we?ve all heard so much about, but never seen implemented, might be useful when this blows over.",Reader Picks,
"Dr. Katz ideas seem reasonable, except for this: if all of his optimistic assumptions prove true, we would still need an efficiently functioning public health care system to implement his plan, and we don't have one. Nor do we have the government leadership to implement anything. They're still imploring the CEO class to get creative. There's no way we could put into place all the elements to make Katz's plan function within two weeks, let alone two months. At least that's how it looks so far. And of course, Friedman and those he quotes do seem more concerned about ""the economy"" than the lives of actual human beings, as if the economy is something more than the result of all of the efforts of those human beings. When this trouble passes, people will get back to work. They will make and grow things. If the make believe edifice of the super rich and the financiers crumbles into a pile of derivatives, stocks, bonds and credit swaps, will it really matter to anyone except the most wealthy who own almost all of those assets. Maybe not. What might arise instead is a more sane and just way of doing business and living. Of course Friedman never considers anything like that.",Reader Picks,CA
"Your insights are among the reasons I like and learn from the NYTimes' commenters far more than anywhere else. Even the WaPo's commenters are largely trolls. Where can one go for adult, polite, constructive conversation? Surely, not the White House, and hardly Congress. This forced change could be Gaia's intervention. God knows, we can't save ourselves. We can't even stop killing ourselves in great numbers.",Reader Picks,NM
"It is legitimate to ask if the quality of life consequences of a profound economic recession / depression -- including premature death a decade from now as a result of families dropping into poverty and concomitant health challenges -- are as bad as 500,000 deaths in the next year. Especially if about 70% of those deaths occur in individuals with limited life expectancy. Those are harsh words but they must be confronted before we can make considered decisions.",Reader Picks,Connecticut
"America, claiming the richest country in the world will now reap what she sowed. Poor medical, poor supply chains, cheaper labor elsewhere, cheaper imports. We threw out all the fire extinguishers because there was no fire. We were complacent with our infrastructure, both physical and that which supports our society in time of crisis. We reproduced a generation of convenience malcontents, with whom I would not want to share a foxhole. We are now relying on a very small minority of qualified people to do a yeoman job. And, the existence of our country, of our democracy, is headed by the most unqualified administration in our nation?s history. So here we are. Roman, Ottoman, Greek; the empires come and go. We are now a chapter in posterity?s history books. Good luck.",Reader Picks,NJ
"500k was the number for the UK, for the US it could be five times as high - now I fully agree that we don't have all the information we need and need to balance different interests. Some European governments now promise to pay up to 90% of people's wages; that sounds like a more responsible way to buy us some economic time whilst we try and figure out what we can and/or should do. Herd immunity seems to be a dangerous path and though we can ask a lot of citizens, asking them to give up some years of their fragile lives is probably too much.",Reader Picks,Dusseldorf
Except those economic disasters will only happen if our politicians fail to act decisively. Identify the correct problem.,Reader Picks,
"And apparently, we're no longer exceptional.",Reader Picks,Cincinnati
"As I understand it, the 2-week plan does not require extensive testing. In effect, by staying indoors for the period in which the disease either does or does not present itself, everyone will have self-tested. If you are not sick at the end of 2 weeks, you do not have the virus and can go about your business. If during the 2 week period you became sick, you will self-isolate the same way you would with a normal flu: stay at home until the symptoms are gone. The attraction of Katz's approach is it does not require extensive testing.",Reader Picks,DC
"It is ridiculous to say ""quickly figure out why some young people die,"" and blithely continue on. We do not know, we do not understand this virus, which is why we are exerting maximum caution. Test, Test, Test. First for the virus, next for immunity via antibodies. Then we can implement the suggestions in this piece. ",Reader Picks,VA
"Tell everyone to basically stay home for two weeks, rather than indefinitely' ""tell"" them? Require them? Implore them? We live in a senior community. Right now we are sitting on our back patio watching residents golf. They share carts, they visit, they stand together. We walk by the tennis courts and see as many as 35 people on four courts. We are self-isolating, and are close to our 2 weeks that Dr. Katz and Friedman are advocating. But only a fraction of those around here are doing that, even though they know they should. Because so many people will refuse to cooperate with this strategy it becomes necessary, imperative, to use the horizontal strategy. Too many people are too self-centered to make the targeted vertical strategy work.",Reader Picks,
"The ideas presented here will not work and are dangerous. How are going to keep the elderly in their homes but not have others interact with them? The elderly also need food, need care, they ineed interaction. And it's not as if the millenials and the kids are immune. They are more likely to recover if they develop serious complications such as pneumonia, but some of them will die too. And unlike with the flu, there is no vaccine yet --- so you can't say ""well, you were warned and you should have vaccinated your kids."" I think that, instead, we need to develop a way to test EVERYONE, frequently. Then, you institute a rule that anyone who tests positive must stay home for the incubation period, be it 14 days or a month or whatever it is. We may need to require employers to provide sick leave and subsidize that somehow. Once they no longer test positive, then they can mix with the rest of the population and go back to work. An experiment was done in one town in Italy where they tested everybody --- turned out 3 per cent of the population was infected --- and they just kept those people at home. That strategy dramatically reduced the infection rate. So that would be a way to get most people back to work, get some recovery of the economy going, while saving lives. Eventually, a year or 18 months from now, a vaccine will be available and that will help get things back to normal.",Reader Picks,Canada
"It is, unfortunately, all too easy for people in difficult situations to engage in wishful thinking and gloss over inconvenient facts. For example, in this very column the admission is made that we do not actually know exactly which people are at heightened risk. A lot of younger people have required hospitalization. Did all of them have underlying conditions that worsened the effects of covid 19? We don't know. What is the complete list of factors that might put people at higher risk? We don't know. Once you've been infected how long will you be immune? We don't know. I don't even think we know for certain what the maximum incubation period is: how reliable is this two-week estimate? We are not even close to having sufficient test kits to collect the data we need to get solid answers. Maybe at some point a two-week isolation plan will make sense, but right now I think we have insufficient data to reach that conclusion.",Reader Picks,NY
"""a very small percentage of the most vulnerable will, tragically, die"" This doesn't seem to be true from what we hear from Italy. The death rate seems to be anywhere from 5 to 10% for people over 70 with pre-existing conditions. And even higher than 20% for sick people over 80.",Reader Picks,CA
In November we can vote in a new administration. A Democratic administration representing a party which has practical experience and is instituting progressive reforms in its own agenda as we speak.,Reader Picks,Maine
The issue is not money. The issue is the political will that we do not have. Neither Democrats nor republicans can deliver the welfare people need. We need an alternative system to think and deliver progressively.,Reader Picks,Michigan
"you might or might not be aware that there is a vigorous and spirited debate within academia (many different disciplines) regarding the role of capitalism in reducing global poverty, including the question of the actual current rates and what they mean (2) The socialism discussed in the USA looks more like Denmark than North Korea, so it might be worthwile adjusting your focus there a little.",Reader Picks,NM
"Yes, more global testing would provide better guidance in dealing with this epidemic. But the term ?test? as commonly used refers to measuring the presence of virus and its RNA genome. There is more than one test, and different tests give different information, and are associated with different degrees of technical complexity. ?Test? , as now used in common discussion, involves a method called quantitative polymerase chain reaction- q-PCR for short. This measures the presence or absence of the virus RNA genome. The method demands careful sample handling to avoid confounding contamination and other technical problems, and fancy equipment. A different kind of test- generically called serologic- tests not for virus but for antibodies in the blood. Antibodies serve as a very good surrogate measure for recent or present infection. It is technically much less demanding, uses a small amount of blood, and gives quick results. It requires no fancy equipment. That means it can be widely used, and thus sample an informative random subset of the population, and thus give information about the overall extent of infection, not just current infection. This describes the method- https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/new-blood-tests-antibodies-could-show-true-scale-coronavirus-pandemic I am an MD PhD, but my expertise is not in laboratory medicine or epidemiology. There has been minimal public discussion of the use of serologic assays in fighting this disease.",Reader Picks,CA
"more global testing would provide better guidance in dealing with this epidemic. But the term ?test? as commonly used refers to measuring the presence of virus and its RNA genome. There is more than one test, and different tests give different information, and are associated with different degrees of technical complexity. ?Test? , as now used in common discussion, involves a method called quantitative polymerase chain reaction- q-PCR for short. This measures the presence or absence of the virus RNA genome. The method demands careful sample handling to avoid confounding contamination and other technical problems, and fancy equipment. A different kind of test- generically called serologic- tests not for virus but for antibodies in the blood. Antibodies serve as a very good surrogate measure for recent or present infection. It is technically much less demanding, uses a small amount of blood, and gives quick results. It requires no fancy equipment. That means it can be widely used, and thus sample an informative random subset of the population, and thus give information about the overall extent of infection, not just current infection. This describes the method- https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/new-blood-tests-antibodies-could-show-true-scale-coronavirus-pandemic I am an MD PhD, but my expertise is not in laboratory medicine or epidemiology. Input from those with sch expertise would be welcome.",Reader Picks,CA
"There's always value in challenging group think. I can also see logic in encouraging low risk populations to help avoid economic and social shutdown while they develop herd resistance. But how exactly, or even theoretically, do we separate high risk and low risk populations? Take the school system as an example. So the kids can go back to school, but what about the teachers, administrators or maintenance staff who are older? What about the younger teacher who lives with his high risk parents, or needs to care for them? What about the school nurse who is a single parent? Are these individuals sequestered with the family members they love and need to support? When we consider the interconnectedness of human society it's hard to imagine how such an uncoupling would be managed both ethically and from a perspective of feasibility. Taken to its logical conclusion, this thinking seems to lead to internment camps and for quite a large swath of the American population. Japanese Americans might have some feedback to share about the dangers of such thinking.",Reader Picks,VA
"Butterfield If you kill the Locomotives, who is going to pull the wagons?",Reader Picks,Brazil
"That is a better idea than saving the plutocracy and corporations over the interests of the individuals who comprise our society and economy. What has been objectively observed during this time of keeping people home is a radical diminishment of pollution in cities. In the meantime , Trump and Republicans want to prop up fossil fuel companies kneecapped by the price war between Trump?s ?good friends? Putin and MBS. Why NOT invest in green energy and free ourselves from the thrall of, as the saying goes, ?(with) friends like these' who needs enemies?? It would help our economy and the earth, as well.",Reader Picks,NY
"There is so much I disagree with in this article, but let's just highlight one of many reckless points: ""Let those who are inevitably going to get the virus, and are highly likely to make an uneventful recovery, get it and get over it, and get back to work and relative normalcy. And, meanwhile, protect the most vulnerable.?? Sorry. Who has EVER said that you can't get Corona Virus again? We all go back to work and re - infect each other? Our kids get it from other kids and bring it BACK home? Do you realize if we follow your suggestions the hospitals will be crushed and our medical workers ill/dying? We need to shut this whole country down for at least three weeks, including all travel domestically, and calm this thing down. THEN, we can see what to do next. And we need to suspend all international travel for a looong time or this whole horrible mess will simply start up again.",Reader Picks,OR
"I hear the concern over the economy. How much are over a million lives worth? This is more about the terror of the billionaires in losing their fortunes as well. They have no concern for the out-of-work hourly employees. Otherwise, they would advocate for sick leave, which reduces the spread of any disease, and extended unemployment benefits. You notice that the GOP Senate is not enthusiastic about either of those options. This is more about saving shareholders and billionaires. When they are willing to help the hourly and unemployed, then they can ask the elderly to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. (And even then, I would still say no.)",Reader Picks,PA
"So, from a leading spokesman for the one percent, it all gets down to getting back to business as usual as fast as possible. And if a few more people die, so be it. The fact is, the wealthy people in this country are hogging more than enough money to keep the entire economy afloat for years, and pay for the healthcare infrastructure needed to deal humanely with coronavirus. Thanks, Tom, but we already know that you and your family will be covered by the best healthcare available. Not everyone in this country can say that.",Reader Picks,
"Check out Ginsburg?s theorem, a parody of the three laws of thermodynamics: 1) You can?t win; 2) You can?t break even; 3) You can?t even get out of the game. It seems to apply to our present situation as you've described it.",Reader Picks,CA
"Massachussets has tested 6004 individuals with 636 testing positive for COVID-19, so that's a 10% infection rate, not 1%. And it most likely will get worse in the next week, propelling the U.S. into the #1 slot for most infections. How will loosen things up make those numbers go down instead of up?",Reader Picks,VT
"It all comes down to testing. If we had widespread testing we could then use the targeting suggested in this op-ed. But this administration's failure with this obvious and basic need has made it almost impossible to catch up in time before serious economic damage is done. I have lost any faith in this administration and unfortunately, it makes me very suspicious about the special interests who are going to profit from a stimulus bill.",Reader Picks,Connecticut
"It?s not just 80 year olds who are affected or dying. It?s anyone with heart disease, asthma, diabetes, low immunity due to cancer treatments or another cause etc. It?s amusing how people who advocate some sort of ?surgical? method of returning to normalcy which has not actually been proven to work anywhere, also magically assumes they and everyone they know and love are somehow exempted from this.",Reader Picks,MD
"?Bring in out of state docs, nurses, ventilators...???? As if other states aren?t affected and their healthcare providers are just sitting on their hands now waiting to be brought in to help New York? All I can see is Saul Steinberg?s New Yorker cover with 9th Ave and then the Hudson River and then a few rock formations and then the Pacific Ocean...",Reader Picks,CA
"We may never know which course of action is best because we still don't know what exactly is the death rate or what are the consequences of getting ill and recovering. Is recovery 100% in all patients who recover, or is there lung damage that persists for life? What happens if 1% of the population gets sick and overwhelms the hospitals? It is possible that we really don't have all the answers we need to make the best possible decision right now. Maybe we have to address problems and allocate funds to them flexibly as the problems and hot spots arise. But social distancing early on seems to be a strategy that is hard to beat.",Reader Picks,PA
"Because the U.S. lacks sufficient test kits, I expect the ""confirmed cases"" of Covid-19 are but a fraction of the actual cases in this country. Has any reputable epidemiologist offered an estimate of actual cases? And I do not mean ballpark estimates, but something more precise. I've seen estimates where the range is anywhere from 50 to 500,000 cases currently in the U.S. That's not so much an estimate as it is a guess, if that.",Reader Picks,
Yesterday my internist sent out a missive saying essentially this same thing. It makes a lot of sense.,Reader Picks,NY
"Coronavirus and the American economy? My takeaway of the American economy in light of coronavirus is that America has done everything possible to destroy freedom, independence at the bottom of society to prevent people from pioneering, self-isolating, having own property as in days of old. The bottom of society and middle class even is a large, interlocked, regulated herd which is neither free market (you really don't have much freedom to think or act) nor successfully socialistic, but is rather strung along, forced into long work hours in a society which boasts of having the most efficient, powerful economic engine ever in existence. The most powerful economic engine? One which actually leads to incredible waste in some respects (tossed food) but in others, makes life difficult (expensive homes, little leisure), and certainly leads to incredible wealth at top of society where apparently the people are trusted with leisure unlike the masses driven to work hard every day. Essentially the middle and lower classes are not trusted with freedom, leisure, are to be grouped and controlled as much as possible, and if self isolation, freedom exists in America, it's at the top of society and depends on wealth. So essentially coronavirus threatens the herded masses and close to slave economy bolstering the wealthy. The wealthy escape, complain of a wrecked economy, and the masses are left to wonder how after years of hard work they are left with virus and dust.",Reader Picks,DC
"Interesting. But so far what I see is a lot of hand waving type arguments. We need to base actions on more than that. I understand modeling is tricky to do, but it can be done. We can then use the models to compare approaches against one another and real experience. The major problem with simple ""logical"" approaches is they usually ignore some things that turn out to be very important. So if we are to pivot, it should be done carefully and based on more than a ""hey this sounds good and logical"",",Reader Picks,CA
"""Let those who are inevitably going to get the virus, and are highly likely to make an uneventful recovery, get it and get over it, and get back to work and relative normalcy."" This is so flippant. Has Katz seen what is happening in Italy?",Reader Picks,CA
Thank you. I understand the immediate dilemma that healthcare providers are stretched far too thin with both human personnel and physical tools like ventilators and masks. Temporary isolation is imperative right now so that the system is not overwhelmed. And the heartbreaking situation in Italy is on all of our minds. But shelter in place is not a long term tenable situation on any level. While we try to contain the crisis of the moment we are also going to have to find a way to make life go on with coronavirus in our midst. It may even help that the warming temperatures will bring more people outside and away from the closed quarters which seem to facilitate transmission. There has to be a balance between preserving life and living life.,Reader Picks,NY
"I'm glad Friedman picked up on Katz's excellent op-ed. So far, Katz's ideas are the most rational ones I have heard. By ""rational"" I mean that they take into account as many factors as possible to try to figure out the solution that would be the least costly to most people. I worry that an epidemiologist like Dr. Fauci is thinking too narrowly.",Reader Picks,NY
"Kinda figured this is where we?d need to go. Big question still is just who is most at risk? And what about all the grandparents raising grandkids and mixed generation homes, all of the home health and nursing home workers who might be exposed and then give it to their patients etc? Not so simple to put in place.",Reader Picks,VT
"This is why pushing the federal government to expand testing as broadly and quickly as possible is so important."" And therein lies the flaw in Mr. Friedman's suggestion. The federal government doesn't appear to be in any particular hurry to expand testing, and actually seems to be obstructing the States from doing it.",Reader Picks,NM
"Corporations aren't people, but they do hire people. And the people running airlines learned long ago that the air industry is perilous at best: Few can survive. Southwest Airlines is an anomaly. Remember Braniff, Continental, TWA, The Trump Shuttle, Valujet, Eastern Airlines, Northwest, Aloha, Virgin Airlines? Others, such as American, are always on a deathwatch. In brief, if we want airlines, and many do, then we have to bail them out over and over, even if they crowd us in like sardines and charge us for everything but oxygen and restrooms. I dislike flying, even in the old days. I get airsick, the crowds, high prices -- to me, the claustrophobic cabins, and germ-loaded seats: no thanks! But it's not up to any one person, of course. Like many jobs -- plastic water, cigarettes, booze, casinos, bars, etc., we could theoretically exist without airplanes. We did for thousands of years, and they are massive polluters, by the way.",Reader Picks,NM
"I see the need for a tactical approach but without more resources and coordination it would seem impossible to implement. First, the hospitals are about to become overloaded in the next 1-2 weeks. Second, how are we going to start letting people out if the numbers keep rising and the hospitals keep filling up. the fact that we are all inside now means it is going to be hard to change that if the numbers are moving in the wrong direction and if you caught this in the last week, your symptoms will show up soon. Third, The child with asthma who lives with his parents without asthma? That kid doesn't go to school? Those parents don't work? The families that have older people living there, older parents or grandparents. Kick them out? The people like the dumb spring break kid: ""if i get corona, i get corona"", they are not going to listen to the rules. They will not quarantine unless they have no where to go. There are untrustworthy people out there who don't want to or can't understand the problem. And most people will make the decisions that are right for them, not what's right for society. So that's my problem with this tactic. I just don't see how it is implemented without becoming a free for all, do what you think is best approach that we have kind of already tried.",Reader Picks,NY
"You are sounding like Donald Trump by worrying more about the markets than We The People. Don't forget, Trump was weeks if not months late in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic even though he had many warnings. Let's recall Trump's two YUGE blunders that made the pandemic worse than needed: In 2018, top national security officials handling pandemics left abruptly and were not replaced by the Trump administration. The Trump administration sought to cut key CDC budget categories. Trump and Congressional Republicans need to improve health care for all Americans. Maybe show us their healthcare plan that they said would cover everyone and replace the ACA? They at least need to expedite providing COVID-19 tests, masks and other health equipment before considering how to turn the economy around. signed, A vast majority of We The People",Reader Picks,
"It may well be that the way of life we had just weeks ago, will not be suitable to move forward for the foreseeable future as the virus needs us to move around if we let it. Right now the measures being taken are to try and slow the spread. Ask any doctor or nurse front line on this and they desperately need our cooperation in this. It's too soon to be so doom and gloom about the economics because the first concern is the growing momentum of this and the toll on the vulnerable and those who care for them. Horrible work. Trench stuff, not ivory tower stuff. Kids staying in school can infect someone as easily or easier than one sent home to isolate. So that is a strange spin. Where I think there is room for optimism is the age old notion that humans are highly adaptable. Many aspects of our former lifestyle have been the best buddy of this virus. But it is also true how amazing our interconnected tech is in helping us through it too and making the self-isolation easier to manage. As we get more tests and more asymptomatic people we will begin to have an almost a two caste system. Then we will have the possibility to return to some semblance of our former lives with structural and interactional differences that may be permanent. We are still in a reactionary phase, but soon we will shift to a more creative response and hopefully we will innovate out of this on many fronts.",Reader Picks,NY
"It is necessary to start thinking about what restarting looks like, but the timeframes discussed in this article ignore two troublesome aspects of Covid-19: the contagiousness of undiagnosed or symptom-free carriers, and the unknown but apparent persistence of the virus after symptoms. I have no credentials here, but if you take these two factors into consideration, you can plainly see that simply going with the nominal two-week hiatus is not only utterly lacking in any scientific basis, but will very likely result in the resumption of the exponential community transmission problem which is the hallmark of the pandemic. Now both of these issues could be addressed by a national testing program. If anyone with upper respiratory symptoms can readily get tested free-of-charge, it becomes possible to identify the population that needs to be isolated. Following on that, it also becomes possible to determine when infected individuals are no longer contagious, which among other things would establish some clinical parameters for what kind of quarantine is actually indicated. For us to accept an approach that is lacking in testing and relies on unsubstantiated criteria for isolation has a certain brutality about it which we should be ashamed of, unless everything humanly possible has been done to avoid it.",Reader Picks,IL 
"The crowds at the beaches and hiking trails are telling us something they intuitively grasp which public health officials do not: these severe lockdown measures are not sustainable in the long term. Public health officials have given people the impression that there's no clear end to this unprecedented disruption and stress in their lives. This is a failure of messaging. When people can't live with something, they ignore it. I also sense, in the context of group think, that medical and public health officials are going with the premise that you do the maximum to preserve every life. That's what health care professionals do. Among my own circle I have friends and family that would not be alive today if they hadn't gotten extensive medical intervention when they needed it. But that model, so important to us as individuals, falls down in the face of a pandemic. As individuals we want to preserve every life to the maximum. Collectively, when this desire becomes a policy of massive economic and social shutdown, we cannot bear the cost.",Reader Picks,CA
I agree with Tom Friedman. This has been my position at the outset - the U. S. and World economies cannot be sacrificed for COVID19 and we have to play the percentages.Take precautions but live.,Reader Picks,SC
"How many will die from lack of health care, housing, and food? It'll be much more than 1%. It's time to tamp down the hysterics and address this problem rationally.",Reader Picks,USA
"Agreeing entirely with this opinion/position, and the change in strategy that is proposed. We are receiving a very narrow body of expertise; namely from epidemiologists virologists, and heads of state and their governments. We should all want to expand the sphere of influence to a host of other experts: Economists, to outline the cost to society for slamming the brakes on the global economy. Mental health experts and sociologists to outline the impact on the hundreds of millions of unemployed worldwide post pandemic. Experts in homelessness, that can model expected increases worldwide. We would also be well served to understand the implications of a global ?relief? package that will see both double digit drops in GDP and multi-trillion dollar increases in national debt. There are many paths for us as a society to consider. Regrettably, we have defaulted to one that is extremely narrow-minded and draconian. Good people can disagree on this, but the argument that the medicine will prove to be far deadlier than the disease is one that deserves our consideration.",Reader Picks,SC
"I agree with you, Mary Ann. Just a few days ago some of the crew on CNBC were already saying that Americans need to get back to work! This was the same day my spouse began working from home as a result of this virus. So, in fact, it seems that many people in the business world are cold to the fact that we may NEED the facts before we start insisting we're all ""strong Americans"" who can just get back to work. And, yes, the thought that we can somehow send the 20 and 30-year-olds back to run the show is quite amusing.",Reader Picks,Florida
"There no full-proof, fail-safe tactics to simultaneously fix the virus and fix the economy: I personally feel that once the predator (virus) is fixed by some common pains and sacrifices (disappearing stocks, mass lay-offs, etc), within a month the economy can be brought back to where it was, let?s say beginning of February 2020. The problem is we are facing a deadly and extremely aggressive virus that is playing havoc on the immune systems of some of the those unlucky humans ( mostly but not exclusively elderly with background illnesses) to destroy one organ systems after another until nothing is left in the body. This is the pandemic of 2020 in its ugliest form. Hence bringing economy and the virus on the same equation won?t solve anything. Priority should now be to defeat the enemy as fast as possible by standard and time- tested epidemiological and medical means. It will cost the human society a lot in the shorter term: in the end the humanity would certainty stand victorious.",Reader Picks,Antarctica
"Isn't that exactly what Friedman says in the article. He's not even suggesting going any of this stuff until testing is universally available, and the hospitals are provided for. Those the the prerequisites for this idea.",Reader Picks,VA
"I've been thinking about the same idea. By isolating healthy, younger people, with a very small risk of death from the disease, we're preventing them from vaccinating themselves with the mild form of the disease and contributing to the herd immunity that will end the epidemic. The goal is to minimize the number of deaths and serious illnesses, not the number of infections. To that end we should concentrate research on how the virus causes fatal infections vs mild infection. With bubonic plague, the patient is infected by flea bites, and dies in around 10 days. There is another form called pnuemonic plague that is droplet spread, and causes death in 1 to 4 days. Perhaps when high doses of covid-19 are spread directly into the lower lungs from sneezing, coughing, very sick people, the disease is more severe. Therefore, we should be isolating sick people most of all, and not asymptomatic people with a positive test. Furthermore, vulnerable people should wear masks when they are around other people. All people around vulnerable people should also wear masks. I think children don't get severe disease as often because they don't wash their hands and spread the milder, nasal form of the disease, immunizing each other. Preventing mild disease by excess cleanliness may make things worse.",Reader Picks,OR
Finally someone allowed to speak a sane and rational approach that proffers a scientific approach to a problem and those who want the executive branch to fail argue without fact against it even being considered? IQ is a bell shaped curve. It appears from the comments to this brilliant article that over the years many have not realized even a portion of their predicted potential!,Reader Picks,
US Intelligence told Trump about the pandemic heading our way in Mid January and he frittered away all that time and now we are in a mess.,Reader Picks,IA
"This whole idea is predicated that the three groups mentioned can isolate and will be protected. I don't know where you live but in the USA people who are old, immunocompromised and have chronic diseases have jobs, can't afford stuff the same as most other Americans, and their health care protections are spotty across the group. How are they going to be ""carefully shielded""? They already can't get tested, can't afford the tests in many cases, can't afford to not work, etc. How is this going to be implemented? With ""thoughts and prayers""?",Reader Picks,Washington
"Now remember who is president of the US and ask yourself if he and his team are capable of leadership and intelligence."" There are plenty of smart people. We can insist that Trump listen to them. The future of our country depends on it",Reader Picks,WI
"A society that cared about all of its members equally would ensure that those who are forced to stay home and lose their incomes/jobs are compensated for their bearing the brunt of protecting all of the rest of us. "" There isn't enough money to do this. That is why the current approach is unsustainable. The best stimulus is to restart the economy.",Reader Picks,WI
It's incredibly promising to see that there are people on all sides of the political spectrum beginning to understand that a total economic shutdown is potentially worse than a mitigation strategy. Please keep it up! The country can't take any more than 1-2 more weeks of this.,Reader Picks,PA
"Friedman's piece sounds like a parody of Milton Friedman's free market pholosophy: let them die if they are vulnerable, but don't mess up the economy. Judging from the fact that many people who are relatively young and without underlying conditions are dropping dead, there is no way to do as Friedman suggests. There is a reason governments all over the world are taking action. This is a very irresponsible op-ed, given that there are many people, influenced by Trump's initial skepticism, who are ignoring CDC guidelines. I respectfully suggest that the New York Times either take it down immediately or provide space for a rebuttal.",Reader Picks,PA
"The globalist speaks. Wrong about so many things about the world for so long, now rolls the dice with millions of lives.",Reader Picks,NY
"I get the idea. But right now where we are is: Not enough medical masks Not enough medical protective wear Not enough beds Not enough ventilators Not enough nurses and doctors AND Not enough tests So unless we as a society are prepared to let the sick go untreated and bodies pile up, and every presumed healthy person is prepared to take the risk that if he/she gets this disease, they too are at risk, I don?t see how the surgical approach works. If we had the medical equipment we needed - maybe.",Reader Picks,NY
I would hope there is pressure to put back together the pandemic response team that Obama put togeher,Reader Picks,CA
"This sounds very rational. It?s relatively easy to isolate the vulnerable elderly. Testing will soon be available for visitors to nursing homes. Senior communities can continue self isolation. In the end, we must weigh the risks to society from the terrible economic consequences versus the risks to the elderly. And I am in my late 70?s!",Reader Picks,PA
"China's starategy of lock-downs and quarantining, seem to have worked, at least for now. South Korea?s massive testing and treatment seem to have worked as well, again, for now. We didn't do the former, i.e., China model, because we are not China. We could have done the latter model, i.e., South Korea, but Trump wass in denial at first before saying/lying that he knew all along that it was a pandemic and, of course, continuing to lie about tests being available. (Remember Trump saying early this month, ""They have the tests. And the tests are beautiful. Anybody that needs a test gets a test."") So it was left up to the local authorities, such as New York and Washington, to pretty much go at it alone. Hopefully, the mostly voluntary lock-downs in New York will at least help stop the spreading of the virus and buy some time. Cuomo used the analogy of tightening the valve slowly before having to close it completely last week. Hopefully, his strategy will work and he can start to loosen the valve in a week or two before completely opening it if things don't get worse. That's our best hope, both for New York and the rest of the country.",Reader Picks,PA
"Suppose I am over 70 and thus one of the most vulnerable. I have obeyed stay at home guidance for the last four days and have not met with any groups over 5. I have no symptoms. Where is that place you want me to go now, to be isolated? And how will that place be made safe, and who will staff it? Yes, we do need creative thinking, but remember, we do not have a national stay-at-home directive. I suppose it is near business-as-usual in my home state of South Dakota. So not every place has ""overreacted"". And in fact, many people are underreacting, gathering and cavorting, knowing more than experts, and determining that experts are elite hucksters not to be trusted anyway. Doesn't the president and Fox News tell them that everyday. And by the way, how much is one life saved worth, in a situation of such great uncertainty? Can we add human capital to the economic equation?",Reader Picks,IL 
"I do think it?s an interesting argument that makes a lot of sense. However, I would love to know Mr. Katz response to the fact that the Imperial College of London considered and modeled such an approach and still concluded our hospitals would experience demand for ICU beds 8 times their capacity. It seems to me, that this approach would only work with the added steps of increasing our ICU capacity and supply of ventilators and other protective equipment. I?ll point out that redirecting resources to provide the means to take such a surgical approach would have an additional benefit on our economy and a sense that we are coming together to respond to the crisis.",Reader Picks,KS
"Here in Canada we feel the pain felt round the world but some of us see in this time of death, disease sorrow and fear a chance to fix the world. We were sick before the virus and we knew that the USA looked to a past that never was and could never be recreated. I see no reason to try and recreate what was and there is no reason to try. Whether we are responding to an emergency that may last 3 months or three years it is a time to examine where we are and why we are so insecure. It is time to repair the damage we created. We are at the beginning of population decline and we have virtually eliminate dire poverty in our world and we can feed and educate everyone. America can no longer lead but it has more of the world's best and brightest and as little respect as you show them we will be happy to see them join us in the rest of the world. I don't know what to say to the Friedmans of this world who want us to go back to a time where the world couldn't tackle its existential problems. The world will be a better place after the pandemic or we will prepare for the end. We don't need the economy the USA had created for its most privileged. This is a time for reflection I can only hope America comes to its senses or retreats into the bowels of the perceived safety of its cave. To everything there is a season and this is a time to look to creating a better future.",Reader Picks,Canada
"Let those who are inevitably going to get the virus, and are highly likely to make an uneventful recovery, get it and get over it, and get back to work and relative normalcy. And, meanwhile, protect the most vulnerable.?? How is this different from 'heard immunity'? Boris Johnson tried to take this approach with the UK but backed off when 350 health care professionals disagreed. Now the UK's health care system is about to buckle like Italy's. Katz's strategy assumes a top-down governing structure, systems work in perfect harmony---everyone can get access to exactly 2-3 weeks supplies to stay in and they obediently do, without creating havoc at grocery stores. And that locations exist for all these 65+ year-olds and chronically ill. Or that governments will build isolation locations ASAP. Hmm sounding like China, that!",Reader Picks,CA
"Andrew Cuomo said that if the measures he implemented ""save one life"" then they would be worth it. That's the problem with the human species, when confronted with a threat that's new and not well understood, we not only zoom right into panic mode, we insist that EVERYONE be saved. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people die every year from auto accidents, smoking related illnesses, the flu, alcohol and drugs, deadly diets, gun violence etc, etc, and barely a peep is heard. I'm over 60 and was one of those smokers (with early onset COPD) and so am in a higher risk group but I agree with Katz and Friedman. Yes, because of lack of preparedness, their proposal has lots of drawbacks including a likey staggeringly overwhelmed health care system. But as Katz pointed out in his article (which Friedman did not mention here) that catastrophe would be greatly shortened as even we ""flatten the curve"" with a long-term, draconian lockdown the system is still likely to be overwhelmed but it will be so for a much longer term. Yes, people are going to die as people do all the time especially the elderly and those with ""underlying conditions."" To ""save one life"" is an idiotic approach to public policy and we better get used to the idea that saving even far more lives than that is just not worth the unintended consequences of a nation-wide lockdown. This is time for Americans to grow up and understand that life has risks and we have to harness our fear about those risks.",Reader Picks,Connecticut
So in two weeks we go back to work. For how long? In this reset we do not end up with zero cases in the non-isolated but rather a lag in their infection. Consider that significant numbers are close to asymptomatic. They will return to work and restart the process unless you invoke universal mandatory testing - repeatedly.,Reader Picks,PA
"This op-ed is spot on. Our society and economy cannot withstand weeks upon weeks of shutdown. An intelligent and targeted approach as suggested by Dr. Katz makes sense. Focus our efforts on those who are most at risk. I say this as a 68 year old man who is in the higher risk demographic. We are causing irreparable harm by the approach we are taking which will inevitably cause sweeping unintended and long lasting consequences. This panic must stop. We should step back and act intelligently. I hope our ""leaders"" will heed this message.",Reader Picks,CT 
"As of last week, testing for antibodies to Covid 19 in the blood have become available. Testing the blood of a few thousand people in an area that has already gone through an outbreak is the only way to obtain the data needed to make the economy and life-wrecking decisions we are currently making without that data. What we need to know is the percentage of a population that has been to any degree infected with the virus (and therefore have developed antibodies to it). Current swab testing only reveals who is infected at the moment of testing, not who was previously infected. Only from blood tests for antibodies can we determine the actual rate of infection, and the ratio between infection and mortality. Without this data, most of what we are currently doing has no rationale, no matter how many times government and health officials tell us ""we're at war,"" and ""we're all in this together.""",Reader Picks,Ohio
Excellent column. If we continue as we are for 4-6 months it will be absolute financial ruin and destitution for tens of millions of families. And hundreds of thousands of businesses. There will not be a quick bounce-back from these kinds of financial losses.,Reader Picks,USA
"I?m trying to remember...Aren?t you the fellow who thought the Iraq War would end well? Maybe that?s not exactly fair, but this column from the same weaknesses as your assessment of Iraq. It fails to consider the full nature of the enemy. And it assumes that things go according to plan. We are in the land of bad options here. Governors across the country are selecting the worst ones?except for all of the others.",Reader Picks,IL 
"Right now, perhaps we should be hearing less from pundits with all their ideological baggage and more from scientists who are relatively unencumbered by ideological bias. Pundits, please stay in your lane and limit your public pronouncements to culture and politics. Is Friedman even an economist?",Reader Picks,NY
"The current posture of ""shutdown and shelter""buys officials a little time as the situation unfolds. That's probably a worthwhile thing. Mr. Friedman's plan sounds like it's both correct and inevitable as the next phase of response- while there may be a lot of quarantine compliance in March, and that might extend into, say, May, the country is not going to tolerate sequestration forever. At some point, and my guess is that it will be sooner and not later, people as a whole are going to demand a return to something closer to normalcy. This offers a blueprint for that.",Reader Picks,Maine
"""I'm not a medical expert. I?m just a reporter"" says all that one needs to know about this column. Listen to and follow the advice of Dr. Anthony Fauci and other reputable epidemiologists. Mr. Friedman has found an outlier to support his ignorance.",Reader Picks,NY
"Great article. However, the US Is not homogenous in the way coronavirus has spread in the population. New York and New Jersey were late in ordering residents to stay home, and CV is widespread. California may start seeing declines (hopefully) in another week as the effects of shelter in place become evident. So we may have a situation in a few weeks where one segment of population (NY and NJ) is highly exposed where most residents have been likely exposed and acquired immunity, where shelter in place would become less relevant and people can go to work, and another whole population segment that is not exposed but where virus spread has been contained. Where would that leave us?",Reader Picks,CA
"What you describe here was the UK policy until they underwent a sudden and complete reversal about 10 days ago. The reversal was on the basis of Imperial College modelling which showed that this strategy would lead to 200,000 deaths in the UK which was too appalling to be contemplated by the government. Apparently the government were prepared to accept a body count of 100,000, which they now vehemently deny. Consequently the policy was changed to one of ""suppression"" in which the aim is to reduce transmission amongst the population by increasingly stringent lock-downs.",Reader Picks,AL
"A wonderfully sane and sensible column! Yes! Truly thoughtful people have been thinking along these lines for weeks. Vertical, surgical strike intervention by sheltering the vulnerable, and letting the rest of us get on and get over it will minimize the overall bad effects greatly compared to the current hysterical plan.",Reader Picks,NC
COVID?19 proved the disturbed logic of advocating for free market capitalism and limited government intervention in society. The United States which lacks a basic welfare structure will proof it is no way equipped to fight corona and at the same time protect its economy. That?s because the USA is not a welfare state; whereas it has shown that welfare states are indispensable in combatting pandemics and at the same time safeguarding our quality of life and limiting the number of fatal casualties. Greeting from Welfare State Belgium.,Reader Picks,Belgium
"I am deeply disturbed that politicians like Cuomo, De Blasio, and others and are adopting a ""eradicate coronavirus at any cost"" approach. They seem completely oblivious to the devastating consequences of the prolonged economic shutdown they are inflicting. Destroying millions upon millions of businesses and livelihoods is not a trivial matter and cannot simply be met with a shrug, as if eradicating a virus with a 1% (or perhaps lower) fatality rate can be society's only concern. Friedman is right--we need a balanced approach that balances risks and benefits of economic restrictions. We simply cannot have an indefinite/multi-month near-complete economic shutdown or the consequences will be much more severe to society than the coronavirus could ever inflict.",Reader Picks,NY
"You're spot on, TF. Put a dome of protection around high-risk people (and throw plenty of money at the effort) while letting low-risk people get back to work (and yes, likely get mildly sick). If this doesn't happen, then when exactly does the lock-down end? In 1.5 years when a vaccination becomes available? (Ending the lock-down sooner - without an effective vaccine - will simply restart the infection wildfire, right?) I don't think any of us will recognize the economy/society that awaits us if we put our economy in hibernation for the next 18 months.",Reader Picks,Maine
"First, there is no evidence that once someone has the virus and recovers from it they are then immune. It is irresponsible to suggest that, since it could be far from the truth. Second, the only way to solve this mess is with extensive testing. 80% of people get the virus from those who exhibit no symptoms. Only testing those who are already exhibiting symptoms is too little too late. EVERYONE should be tested and those who are positive are quarantined. Of course this would take a coordinated federal response and with the current level of ineptitude I have little faith that it will happen anytime soon.",Reader Picks,CA
"I find this article appalling when we are already dealing with people who think this is all a hoax. We cannot halfway shut down the country. The loss will be unbearable. There isn?t time anymore to try things or test out theories. There is no mitigating this disaster, we just need to give our medical professionals a fighting chance to live.",Reader Picks,Texas
"The only plan that makes any sense is keeping our social separation running as tightly as possible until we can below the rate new infections can be medically treated--no matter what the survival rate is with a fully functional medical system. We know that 10 to 20 % of all coronavirus patients need some hospital support. If we can't break the exponential growth with social distancing, we will have about 10% of 200 million people needing medical care in 40 days--about 20 million people. That is 20 million who can't get care. Until then, we need to pay everyone who has lost their job and hustle to ensure that utilities stay functional, food is grown, harvested, imported, and delivered. No evictions so our homeless population does not explode. Small business owners also need to be paid so shops can stay open with essential merchandise. The current plan to throw money at cruise ship operators and airlines is almost exactly wrong. How will those without work find food and pay for it? Our current unemployment system takes a few weeks to start to operate. Small business owners must be kept in business if recovery can be rapid. Every three days, the problem grows 2 times worse. Until the number of new infections each week is consistently less than the week before, our focus has to be on keeping us separate, fed, housed, and as healthy as possible. Nothing else.",Reader Picks,CA
"I hear Dr. Katz, but his approach has three flaws: 1. The horse is long gone from the barn whose door he?s talking about closing - the infection rate is growing every day because we failed to test from Day 1. 2. The approach assumes people will be able to stay home if they feel unwell - they can?t without paid sick leave and job security. 3. The approach requires a leader who can be trusted, who inspires confidence, and who assembles the most able team of experts and then actually listens to them and follows their recommendations - we got nuthin?.",Reader Picks,NY
"The Ioannidis-style ""herd immunity"" approach has a couple of problems. First, because this virus is not known, it is very risky to generalize how it will behave based upon experiences with other epidemics. Second, to get crude and crass -- but I have no idea how that's to be avoided when the kinds of things Mr Friedman proposes are proposed -- how many billions of dollars of GDP will you get per hundred thousand American fatalities? The 1918 Spanish Flu struck in 3 waves. The deadliest was the 2nd wave. Not only did getting and recovering from the Flu its first wave fail to confer immunity against the 2nd wave, there is evidence it made at least some patients more susceptible to infection and death, not less. We don't know much about immunity, antibodies, or vaccines for SARS-CoV-2. Without a notion of how permissive and pervasive we can be economically and how that translates into numbers of cadavers, we can't know if this would or will be a win. What is the tradeoff is 10 million Americans dead? 20 million? What Mr Friedman and what, implicitly, Dr Ioannidis are failing to consider is the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 might just be telling us our global economy is too fragile as presently constructed and needs to massively change. And despite the present President's wishful thinking, it's entirely possible that there is another pandemic like the present lurking around the corner. Surely, some experts have been saying that and Mr Friedman knows that.",Reader Picks,MA
"Mr Friedman: I have long enjoyed your books and thinking--but this time, OPPs! First problem: time horizon. With a 3 day doubling period, we had about 120 days to get to 200 million illnesses, enough for herd immunity. This also means that 3/4 of them get sick in the same week (the last 2 doubling periods), and will all be sick together. Because we have frittered away the first 80 of our 120 days from discovery, we only have 40 days to get the social distancing to push the infection rates down to a sustainable level. We need to get though the next 40 days and get social distancing established so we do not get overwhelmed. Perhaps 10 million American lives are in the balance. Once we have achieved stability (or just crashed), recovery can begin, getting money out to individuals who have lost jobs and small business owners as quickly as possible is probably the best way to get recovery going as soon as possible.",Reader Picks,CA
"Are you referring to elective procedures? Yes, those are being canceled. Not the same as live saving treatments such as chemotherapy. Just had one of my patients admitted to the hospital for GI bleeding.",Reader Picks,MA
"If an innovation is economically efficient, it's absolutely affordable to pass on a share of the savings to the displaced workers. If not, we should expect shortages: what young person would spend the time to get a CDL at the point when they expect to be replaced by self-driving vehicles in under a decade? But we'll still need shipping during that decade. Letting those workers know that they won't suddenly be completely without support would help bridge that gap.",Reader Picks,NY
The best hope for rescuing our economy is through actual leadership and acting to save lives. The best hope for rescuing our economy is to recognize that the economy serves the purpose of not letting people die. 'Saving the economy' by letting massive numbers of people die isn't saving anything. It's an abandonment of all the principles for why we even have an economy.,Reader Picks,ID
"If we ""flatten the curve"" by completely shutting down the entire country for twelve to eighteen months, we're going to have a problem even more lethal than the virus: an economic depression so severe it will trigger a civil war or WWIII. (Remember, the Great Depression laid the foundation for WWII.) Also, if you haven't noticed that our country is already in danger of a violent civil war, you haven't been paying attention these last few years.",Reader Picks,CA
"A look at some of the best available evidence today, though, indicates it may be 1 percent and could even be lower. ?If that is the true rate,?? Ioannidis wrote, ?locking down the world with potentially tremendous social and financial consequences may be totally irrational."" Have you seen Italy? They don't know where to put all the coffins. And they are one fifth our size.",Reader Picks,DC
"Mostly agree. However, getting to ""herd immunity"" by not practicing social distancing means the number of those with the virus doubles every 3 days. Taking our current number of caes and running up to a total of 200 million (the number needed to establish herd immunity) means the in the last 6 days of the big buildup, 3/4 of 200 million get Coronavirus at once. Given the 10% who will need hospital attention, there will be a need for about 20 million hospital bed with a sizable fraction requiring ventilators. Casualties just from lack of ventilators would be in the millions. Because most of the casualties come in a week or so, the shock to the system would ensure far more casualties. If we stopped social distancing today, the time to the maximum cases and huge overload and vast die-off is about 40 days from now.",Reader Picks,CA
"Adult able bodied Americans who are not in the high risk group or can work from home or are on social security should stay out of the way of those who want to work and can work and are not afraid to work. Yes the economy and public health are at stake if we are all going to live in a bubble. Had enough of the grand standing politicians trying to play god and to do as they please to take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to order citizens to stay in a bubble. If every one had a severe combined immunodeficiency like the bubble boy then I would say makes sense, everyone stay in the bubble on the moon but only a minor percent of adults have a weaker immune system due to being a baby boomer or being 75+ or having AIDS or a smoker or genetic deficiency or diabetes and should self isolate and work from home. The rest of the adults should be allowed to get back to work and get back to their activity. I just told the CEO Steve of Kentucky YMCA please don't keep my Y closed beyond the next weekend after keeping the safety precautions are in place and social distancing gets implemented. Schools and colleges are closed and can continue to remain closed. Low lying fruit has already been picked and now the tough part has come to get all essential and emergency services can be brought to life and full swing. Throwing money at the problem will not make the problem disappear. Never has, never will. Conditions have to be created to get Business as usual. CA, NY and WA need to plan smart.",Reader Picks,KY
"The U.S. needs to ramp up testing to the extent where nearly every person is tested. We will then be able to identify the asymptomatic infected. After 2-3 weeks, those people can resume normal activities, and the economy can begin to rebuild itself.",Reader Picks,NY
"the pump is primed"" is itself a product of the New Deal referring the Keynesian economic stimulus. Please note that the US had a chance to go socialist after the war and chose instead to go all out capitalist. People just need some safeguards which the right has fought tooth and nail against. But the right has never come up with better approaches to helping people. I call that a failure to invest in human capital.",Reader Picks,MA
"The numbers just don't add up, Thomas. Let's low-ball and say that the per-capita death/hospitalization rate for Covid-19 is only double that of the flu, if vulnerable populations are isolated. Then factor the higher infection rates, which are at least twice as high as for the flu (conservatively). Multiply the relative infection rate (vs. flu) by the relative hospitalization rate, and you have at least 4 times the number of hospitalizations vs. flu, which will overwhelm our medical system. Just going ""back to normal"" in two weeks would result in a massive increase of infections, ironically resulting in higher mortality rates among the vulnerable population, who would be in competing with Covid cases for scarce care facilities.",Reader Picks,MA
"We must all be grateful to Mr. Friedman for citing a trifling two sources to justify a strategy that does more good for business than it does for anyone else. The Fat Cats always cry foul at anything whatsoever that disrupts their bottom line. As a Washingtonian, I can remember when the nuclear power industry constantly cried out that, without their reactors, the entire state would be condemned to frequent brown-outs. When the reactors didn't prove profitable, the reactors were dismantled--and the brown-outs didn't happen. Mr. Friedman will have to forgive me for being skeptical of any claim that sounds like a billionaire's fondest dream. By the way, where are America's old people supposed to be sequestered? In internment camps, perhaps? So that they can all be together to make each other's infections worse? If we build and fill the camps, will they become places where old folks are encouraged to go ahead and die already? After all, they aren't in the spend-most demographic of 18-35 years of age, so what value could their lives possibly have?",Reader Picks,Washington
"I suggest Mr. Friedman read ""I?m 26. Coronavirus Sent Me to the Hospital"" which can be found elsewhere in the NYT & then revisit the subject of letting the supposedly young and healthy back on the streets. Or perhaps he would like to change places with her.",Reader Picks,Ohio
"Great to see a thoughtful and reasoned different approach to this incredibly challenging situation! I believe your proposed approach is correct, but the only problem is that it requires intelligent, thoughtful, leadership from people more concerned with the country than themselves... and those people are in short supply in DC.",Reader Picks,OR
"If it?s true that the hospitality- tourism industry accounts for 10% of jobs and 8% of GDP, and people aren?t going to flock to websites or travel agencies to book exotic (or less exotic) vacations due to the fear of getting the virus from someone who hasn?t been locked down for two weeks, then it would seem that a 10% contraction of the economy is going to be difficult to unwind. Similarly other sectors of the economy would appear to be damaged long beyond a few weeks, let alone a few months. So 20% contraction seems possible - a severe blow to many. The first three stages of grief are 1) denial, 2) anger, and 3) bargaining. While Trump vacillates between 2 and 3 now, after spending a few months mired in 1), his base is most likely still mostly in 2) because that?s where they like to reside, in good times as well as bad. Friedman?s approach is more a 3) since it might involve bargaining away lives in order to prop up the economy. At some point, the terror of accepting that things have been fumbled badly by Trump and his enablers due to stubbornness will lead to the enduring of the pain of the loss of thousands of lives, whether statistically significant or not. The acceptance and grieving phases will be difficult for mature Americans, more so than those for whom compassion is to be avoided, or denied. To be stuck in 1) or 2) is to live without liberty. The bottom line is that the virus is now ?in control?, not Trump, no matter what he proposes to do.",Reader Picks,"Raleigh, NC"
"None of this would have happened had Donald Trump not completely ignored and lied about his January briefings on the emergence of a dangerous coronavirus in Wuhan, China. It took HHS Secretary Azar more than two weeks to try to speak with Trump about the virus after his January 3rd briefing -- and once Trump took notice, he lied to the American public and only acted to personally benefit his campaign rather than act in the interests of the public. We in the USA could have taken the Taiwan approach of large-scale testing of people for the virus and contact tracing, but the prevarication and delays of Trump and his GOP sycophants prevented that less deadly approach. At this stage, we still would need the large-scale testing --which Trump has refused to support and lend federal resources to -- and contact tracing. As we do not have that, it will take more than two weeks of home sheltering to reduce the mortality and morbidity to a level that will not overwhelm hospitals.",Reader Picks,MA
"With the current lack of leadership, no one is going to insist on a two-week quarantine period across the country, even though both experts and many lay people agree with it. I had that conversation not an hour ago with a friend. She's in her 60s and has an autoimmune disease. I'm in my 70s and have asthma. We see kids congregating in large groups on our beaches. Leadership is lacking at the local level here and at the national level, so there is every chance that thousands if not tens of thousands more will die in the coming weeks, simply due to people being unwise or unwilling to stay home except for necessities like food and water.",Reader Picks,SC
"""These are days that test every leader ? local, state and national. They are each being asked to make huge life and death decisions, while driving through a fog, with imperfect information, and everyone in the back seat shouting at them. My heart goes out to them all."" Thank you for stating the obvious, which so many unfortunately refuse to see. Please make sure all your colleagues read this. This is the time to support all the people, Republicans and Democrats, who are in positions in power. There will be plenty of time to bash them all once this passes. This is a crisis - behave.",Reader Picks,Florida
"Everything you wrote makes sense but so much is riding on whether or not individuals and companies act responsibly. Retail workers are complaining about lack of hand sanitizer and masks and many are choosing to report to work even if they are sick. ?Wages at Target start at $13 an hour, and employees often have a hard time getting more than 20 hours of work each week. Many are not offered health insurance through the company. All of which leaves employees facing a hard decision: If they feel a cold coming on, or if they were in contact with someone who was confirmed to have the coronavirus, many say they have no choice but to keep working.? The response by companies like Amazon is to hire 100,000 employees to account for workers who are too sick to come to work. ? Not all of the hiring is being done to simply meet demand. Employers are also bracing for when their workers get sick with the virus or are simply no longer able to get to work, and are planning accordingly. ?Some of our hiring is to manage risk, too,? Mr. Vanderelzen of Lineage Logistics said. ?We expect that some people will be quarantined or have to leave because of the virus.?",Reader Picks,NY
This seems like a game of Russian roulette . If we had leadership and time could this be considered. Manufacturing needs to return We could employ everyone Why aren?t we using all these 3D printer companies and employing massive amounts of people to make protective products for the front line Now and for the vulnerable in the future And rethink sanitary standards everywhere,Reader Picks,Texas
"Oh look, a column by Friedman arguing for returning to the status quo as quickly as possible no matter the potentially dire consequences. How shocking.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Everyone above age 65 and/or with existing health conditions should be required to stay home. Let everyone else get back to work. We are basing our estimates on skewed testing mainly performed on the already sick, hence the dramatic numbers and increases, which simply reflect increased testing, not much else. A nationwide poll would be the only way to get exact numbers regarding the percentage of infected and mortality rate. This global shutdown seems many times more dangerous than corona itself.",Reader Picks,NY
"Economics is not a science. Economists are not scientists. There are too many variables and unknowns to craft the double-blind/ randomized controlled experimental tests that provide predictable and repeatable results that are the essence of science. America is not a business. America is a nation state. The President of the United States is not a businessman. The President of the United States is the head of government and state. There is no science in politics or any of the other social sciences for the same reasons. Any more than there is any science in history and law. Calling anyone an economic or political ' expert' is no more convincing and credible than calling any accountant, banker, charlatan, fortune teller, historian, journalist, lawyer, oracle, preacher, politician, psychic, or soothayer an 'economics expert'. There isn't a Nobel Prize in Economics Science. There is the Swedish National Bank Prize in memory of Alfred Nobel. Past economics performance is no reliable indicator of future economic performance is the legal disclaimer of liability.",Reader Picks,IL 
"We should be taking this time to understand the disease so we can make intelligent decisions on how to create a new normal for everyone. A surgical restart to getting everyone back to work helps the whole society and we need to protect our most vulnerable. We all have friends and family we want to protect, so it?s in our own best interest to protect them. But that doesn?t mean we slowly destroy the rest of society. The government needs to give us better facts so we can make better decisions. The role of government is to protect all its citizens. If it doesn?t then it fails. Right now the government is failing.",Reader Picks,NY
"His plan would still swamp and choke the hospitals, wouldn't it? How does that help?",Reader Picks,
"Thank you Thomas. As an old vulnerable guy have been rather loudly (through my tiny megaphone) advocating shutting things down as firmly as possible. Look at China. How relatively unscathed even though they were ground zero. Now believe I was very wrong and Dr.Katz is very right. So thankful that you are, far more eloquently than I could, advocating this, or at least seriously considering this approach, through your much larger megaphone. Continuing the current world-wide suppression approach is going to lead, I believe, to untold economic disaster and may wind up saving no lives at all. Isolating everyone over 60 or even over 50 and letting the remaining 3/4ths of the world get on with their lives seems a much better approach. The question is, is there any chance the rush to suppression can now be reversed?",Reader Picks,NJ
"The legislators themselves were fiscal toddlers: first throwing our tax money at businesses instead of investing in much needed infrastructure etc. The blame for our inadequate response and our need for monetary juggling now starts with the Republican dominated Congress and their infinite belief in the ethical perfection of business and business leaders. They have seen and been told innumerable times about the behavior of business to infusions of government money with no strings attached and yet they believe that business with millions at their disposal will not think of themselves first. But individual citizens with a mere $1500 will squander it! This is how ?an ideology? makes idiots of anyone on the Left or the Right. In this case, mostly on the Right and in charge politically. Wait till we see the botch job coming down the pike from our Conservative dominated courts. We ain't seen nothing yet.",Reader Picks,NYC
"Either we let many of us get the coronavirus, recover and get back to work ? while doing our utmost to protect those most vulnerable to being killed by it. Or, we shut down for months to try to save everyone everywhere from this virus ? no matter their risk profile ? and kill many people by other means, kill our economy and maybe kill our future."" Your and Dr. Katz's ""Either/Or"" proposal is guess-based and not data-based. It is riddled with known/unknowns and unknown/ unknowns. Donald Rumsfeld would be proud of you and Dr. Katz for using flawed and twisted logic rather than proven data (which is currently unavailable) to design such a life-altering plan while criticizing plans based on best available Coronavirus data.",Reader Picks,Texas
The flaw in comparing the pandemic with a terrorist attack or a hurricane is that those disasters were not contagious.,Reader Picks,COL
"Restarting our economy prematurely may soften the crash, but Singapore and South Korea went much longer than 2 weeks of suppression before they began opening back up. We can't rely on good behavior by enough of the public to prevent a second and third wave of infections after stopping stay-at-home. Tom if you haven't seen it recommend you read https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-be9337092b56 . The hammer part of that approach is much longer than two weeks, acknowledging that the economic damage will be great. Unless we box in the pandemic, the economic damage will be a secondary consideration.",Reader Picks,CA
"I have sympathy with this point of view. However, it is predicated on the belief that if we follow Katz's advice we can allow all but senior citizens free reign and we will, over time, develop herd immunity by allowing younger people with a higher probability of living to be infected as fast as possible, all without overwhelming the medical care system. This reminds me of the chickenpox parties moms used to throw so all the kids could get chicken pox and get over it. But really, the major problem is that epidemiologists beg to differ. Please see the Imperial College report https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/how-we-beat-coronavirus/608389/ The Imperial College report, in particular, graphically shows how limited our medical care system is to respond to a crisis of this magnitude, and that, absent severe control, we become Italy. Bottom line, I don't think Katz presented actual evidence that our Healthcare system won't be overrun if we follow his advice, and the available evidence is contrary.",Reader Picks,OR
"Once the public health officials determine that returning to work in some areas can proceed, I believe that a massive infrastructure project across America should be our next step. Many projects are already 'Shovel Ready', and designing for other projects can parallel those. This is something along the lines of FDR's WPA projects during the Great Depression in 1935. Infrastructure Bonds could be sold to help offset the huge debt that is being incurred to address the virus. Having this type of project ready to go would be a 'light at the end of the tunnel' for America.",Reader Picks,Connecticut
"Mr. Friedman puts forth a brilliant, ""out of the box"" approach that might be a much better idea than what we have now. However, what is lacking, and what may prevent implementation is our dysfunctional federal government, and especially the anti-science Trump. Get rid of Trump and we may be able to defeat the coronavirus.",Reader Picks,NY
"This is irresponsible. We don't know enough yet to infer any conclusions. This is risking people's lives. Let everyone get the disease except the vulnerable? Really? Then, they'll get better? Except the ones that don't. So how many people are you willing to sacrifice, exactly?",Reader Picks,
"Taking advice from Dr. Katz, the nutrition doctor? I don?t think so. I live 12 miles from NYC, now the epicenter of COVID 19 in the country, and unless there is a consensus between doctors and scientists that routinely work on epidemics throughout the world, I think I will skip the advice from a nutritional doctor.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Really Tom, let everyone go free except for a huge population of folks over 65 even though we have no underlying health problems? Might as well tell me to take cyanide. Either we test everyone in mass and sequester all those who are tested positive or not. That's the only way. Get the Pretender in chief stop tweeting and talking so we can repair our relationship with China so their anticipated vaccine can be made available to everyone in the U.S. Demand American businesses make hand sanitizer, masks and other necessary equipment. Unless or until this is possible, the economy and all of us should be equally trapped in this, the Trump Pandemic.",Reader Picks,NM
Finally! Some sanity in an ocean of pessimism and negativity. The coronavirus is not smallpox or the bubonic plague. Current strategies for its containment are decimating the economy. The government should implement the strategies suggested in this column as soon as possible.,Reader Picks,Ohio
"I don't think that rushing to get ""the economy"" rolling again ASAP is wise, for either immediate public health or long term societal health. We need to take the time to learn from this crisis (and the other crises powerful policymakers have been ignoring for too long, such as climate change, our over-reliance on businesses to provide health insurance for Americans, and the ""deaths of despair"" that are shortening the life expectancy of certain American demographics relative to their counterparts in other wealthy countries). We need to be intentional about HOW we rebuild our economy, so we create a capitalism that actually benefits all of us and won't continue to decrease the liveable portion of our planet. For example: if, say in a year or two, we haven't improved the pay, benefits, and overall economic security of the home health aides to whom we entrust our elder family members, we will have failed horribly. If we haven't at least begun to create something somewhat closer to the mix of robust commerce and solid social safety net you so well explained in your recent column about which candidate is the true ""Scandinavian"" -- we will have missed an important opportunity to correct course. If we rush back to work in our hordes of private vehicles and fail to change policies that promote fossil fuels, continue the Trump administration rollback of clean air and water standards, and discourage renewable energy development -- we'll be making the same mistakes all over again.",Reader Picks,PA
I think many of the commentators to this piece are missing the point. Shutting down economic activities for months may create more damage to society than the virus which it was meant to contain. No question we are in a bad situation. Is it really feasible to suppress the spread of the virus by keeping workers home for 5 or more months? What if it comes back anyway in the fall? The idea of containing the death rate and resulting stress on our medical system by targeting the elderly and those with multiple other medical issues has a lot of merit. Those at greater risk should be directed to self quarantine and/or social distance whatever limits are placed on members of society as a whole. Thus far our strategy to deal with this immense crisis has been reactionary rather than strategic.,Reader Picks,SC
"One thing about not testing more individuals is that those who may have RECOVERED from the novel corona virus do not know that they are recovered. I traveled through Las Vegas and Seattle in mid-January and mingled with a lot of people. Upon returning home, I had pretty bad flu symptoms and a dry cough for 2 weeks. Now I feel great. I?m 70 years old, and so I am advised to stay at home. As a retired person normally in fine health, if I knew that I was among the recovered, I could be volunteering in my community. More generally, I wonder whether the world could be mobilizing volunteers from among those who recovered from the novel coronavirus. Perhaps volunteers could even be taught to administer tests or to help deliver necessities to quarantined or self-isolated people. We need to get ahead of the curve and be asking more questions and doing more planning related to recovered or possibly recovered people.",Reader Picks,Washington
"Germany's secretary of finance, Olaf Scholz, just reasured the public today that financially, Germany is in extremely good shape and that we will be able to endure this crisis for a very long time. We're in this position now, because of measured fiscal policies, free from ideology. Small government is an illusion. For a nation to be stable and resilient, it requires a more organized form of civilization than merely being a territory populated by rugged individuals that ""don't take responsibilty"" for the common good. Get over it, conservatives. The U.S. no longer is a frontier. The era of global cooperation and responsibility is inevitable and it is now.",Reader Picks,Germany
"""Capitalism Uber Alles,"" ought to be the title of this column. This emergency is laying bare the fact that we're essentially a third world country. Our public health infrastructure is in tatters, and our social safety net virtually non-existent. Rather than imagine a new way to emerge from this crisis, Friedam, typically, lacks the imagination to suggest anything that will yield different from more of the same.",Reader Picks,NY
"I'm afraid this ship already sailed. If you study the travel patterns around the globe since the virus started, as found in a recent NYT article, you can easily see that the virus is everywhere and is only going to proliferate. Here in the US, we don't have testing capabilities that are needed to do more precise confinement. We don't have supplies needed to handle the almost certain increase in cases. While I certainly hate the consequences we are facing economically, esp. for non-salaried workers, I think our #1 priority must be saving lives and not overburdening our healthcare system - not only those with the virus - but those who MUST go to work (nurses, DRs, janitors, grocery workers, delivery persons,etc) and risk infection everyday.",Reader Picks,NC
"The advice of this column is a recipe for chaos. At least at this time, we have order. Without knowing specifically who can get very sick or die, and it's certainly happening at much younger ages than 60, without understanding the virus, Friedman is suggesting that an incompetent government can ""quickly decide"" who should stay home, and who should ""go to work."" Good luck with that. I wish it were that clear. If China, of all places, could not figure this out without a lockdown that is slowly being released and after millions of tests have been done, one has to wonder about the sanity of Friedman's supposed solution. Test, Test, Test. Then let's talk again.",Reader Picks,VA
"There's plenty of evidence of procedures being cancelled and clinics, hospitals closing. You have the internet...are you not speaking with your colleagues in, say, NY, Cal, Washington, at least? If you really can't find it on your own: CBC and BBC tv are both reporting on it, with interviews from healthcare professionals around your Country. Kinda makes it hard to make sense of what else you say...just saying.",Reader Picks,Canada
"Social separation and shutdown of public places and events was a necessary first step, if only to dramatically halt the habitual inertia of business as usual, calm the populace and buy time to assess the parameters of a largely unknown risk. Once the risk is accurately identified and assessed, it is possible to talk about phasing back into normal social and economic patterns, as Friedman suggests. What is holding us back now are the residual burdens of initial denial, lack of available emergency resources, undisciplined and uncoordinated public responses, and a popular mindset of hedonistic entitlement. In the midst of a known pandemic only in America would hordes of pleasure seeking adolescents be allowed to mass on public beaches while officials dithered, cowering in fear of denying profits to motels and beer joints. That happened this weekend. Beyond the question of whether Friedman's ideas are appropriate to the moment, the real issue is whether this very fragmented society is capable of suddenly reversing its entropic spiral and coalesce into a social mechanism that can provide a sustained, coordinated and efficient response to a serious crisis. The Republicans in Congress are good at throwing public money at favored constituencies. They have plenty of practice at doing that. But can they do anything else? Thus far, the most effective responses have been purely local in nature. The central authority has offered little more than press conferences. It won't be enough.",Reader Picks,Washington
"My thoughts started to change during this long and rather intense discussion/argument with a super smart, high energy go-getter 37 year old. She said and I more or less quote. ""I want to get the virus. My strong healthy immune system will likely keep me from getting seriously ill. Then I'll be immune. I'm going to go about my life and not give in at all to the hysteria."" By the next morning I was coming to agree. Then, after reading Dr. Katz's article, was pretty convinced. Let the young and healthy keep the economy going. Protect those most at risk -- the elderly and the sick. Pretty much any other approach is going to lead to economic armageddon and probably won't save a single life. And thank you again Mr. Friedman for the most sane and sensible article have seen from a major columnist",Reader Picks,NJ
"we need the trillions gifted to the rich so easily by the republicans?now for sustaining the American people. The government can in fact do that. It can?t raise the dead. And at some point, you should consider that you could be one of the dead. You are in this too.",Reader Picks,OK
"So, while the 1% with the most wealth have always been protected, the 1% who are older, sicker, and poorer are more easily sacrificed?",Reader Picks,NY
"I am reminded the disasters in Japan where an earthquake was followed by a tidal wave and nuclear power plant meltdowns. Disasters on top of disasters. In this case, we have government disfunction, a pandemic, and government-mandated economic shutdown. The government-mandated shutdown with no evident exit plan is just making things worse.",Reader Picks,USA
"Maybe so, but if you let the virus rip and end up with an overrun healthcare system and economic collapse and much suffering and death in a relatively short period of time, I would think the effect and affect on the public will be more intense (and more cause to worry about social breakdown) than whatever may happen ten years from now.",Reader Picks,Canada
"so-called leaders taking such a blunt and overkill approach currently, with no clear plan Anti-ideological Pragmatism is another term for no clear plan.",Reader Picks,CT 
"I will share this thoughtful piece with my friends on social media--but, I am unsure how we can talk about allowing a ""majority"" of Americans to return to normalcy when the most recent estimates tell us 60 percent of Americans have some kind of chronic condition and 16 percent of us are over age 65? Who is the majority, exactly?",Reader Picks,CT 
"And a real Quaratine. By that I mean that the Elderly, the sick, the medically impaired should be glued down to their apartments and for no reason whatsoever be allowed to have any contact with anyone unless they have a Medical Emergency. Food should be brought to their doors too. Because the vast majority that is healthy cant really be quarantined -- its not right to Society what Governments are trying to do AND it will not work. The young and medically strong which probaly comprise 90% of the population have limits to the amounts they are willing to sacrifice for the common good and the mentally impared .... The damage to society and future generations by trying to quarantine the entire, whole population was first thought of by the Chinese ... ever trusted Chinese data on anything ?",Reader Picks,NY
"Shut down the country? Why then print money? You'll have no place to spend it. Nobody will be selling things, nobody will be making things, and nobody will be delivering things",Reader Picks,PA
"I absolutely endorse Dr Katz's idea. Think about it ... While trying to flatten the curve, we will: - still not have adequate respirators, hospital beds, masks, protective gear (and perhaps doctors) - have closed down millions of businesses - have made millions of people unemployed - have spent trillions of dollars (and more) in trying to assist the businesses and workers Instead, by vertical interdiction we break up the population in three groups: - Those in good health (and without pre-existing conditions): should go about their lives as normal - Those with COVID-19 symptoms but without pre-existing conditions: Must stay home for minimum 14 days or up until they have overcome the virus by developing natural immunity - Those most vulnerable to COVID-19 (aged population and/or pre-existing conditions): Must stay in home isolation until the COVID-19 threat is over In the mean time, hospitals and the health system should prepare to deal with the third group (most vulnerable) of the population. We must understand that in the absence of any credible cure or vaccine for COVID-19, the best way to tackle it is through natural immunization (if one happens to contract the virus) and to become extremely careful and considerate (as a society) to take all necessary precautions. Aside from that, we need to take it just like a ""flu"" with a stronger strain. Great solution Dr Katz and right on spot Tom Friedman",Reader Picks,Florida
"If we had instituted this policy when we had the first detected COVID-19 patient and applied meticulous public health principals, then your proposal would have worked and we would be where South Korea is today. Nothing is shut down in Korea. They are going to school, working in factories, having coffee with their friends. Are you people not watching the news and seeing what is happening in the hospitals of Italy and Spain? Unfortunately, the rate of infection is already too high for anything else to work and NOT overwhelm the medical system. We don't have an unlimited number of doctors and nurses that you can start killing off by not providing them with PPE and work with the COVID-19 patients. CDC thinks bandanna is okay when nothing else is available. I would like to see Trump or Pence walk into the ICU with a bandanna around their faces. Go look at the video of PPE Chinese doctors/nurses are wearing and what the American doctors/nurses are wearing and ask yourself what you would rather wear to walk into the inferno of virus laden patients. This is not about the economy. This is about keeping our doctors and nurses from dying while trying to keep other people alive.",Reader Picks,Washington
"Thank you for your voice of reason. I do believe we're overreacting to this health crisis, and destroying our economy in the process. I feel much worse for the low-wage workers who will now have no income, and no health benefits (what does THAT do to our public safety?) than I do for the few people who will catch the virus, which is in MOST cases not life-threatening. I don't advocate throwing caution to the winds, but I think we already know how to take reasonable precautions without tanking our economy. This is not 1800, and we aren't going to catch the Bubonic Plague.",Reader Picks,CA
"Our hospitals can?t manage so many people getting sick at once. This might have worked early on, but our government was too busy claiming it was a hoax to do anything in time. And we still don?t have enough test kits, ventilators or PPE.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"There is such a huge impetus for big corps and business interests to push ideas like this regardless of the real consequences. I can see them now, Davos style, discussing how they've got to get this agenda into the mix, promote it with essays and friendly media outlets. Yes, there is some degree of organization to these ideas being floated, reminiscent of the Kochs, the Mercers et al renowned for their busy hands. I imagine this commentary may even be trolled to that effect. It's nice to know the pr-troll farms have work to keep them busy. And it's work from home friendly!",Reader Picks,
"Isn't this the ""herd immunity"" strategy that has been initially the strategy in UK (still in the Netherlands)? I'm no expert. But Bill Gates commented on Reddit that it's not going to work.",Reader Picks,Texas
"While an enormous fan of John Ionnides and his work, I fear he has missed the most important point in the current state of the pandemic in the U.S. Even if the mortality rate is much lower than we think, the sheer number of exposed and non-immune individuals is enormous. We will soon be in the same position as Italy, in which doctors, woefully underprotected because of the lack of PPE, will be having to decide who will live and who will die because of shortages of ventilators and ICU beds. While the mortality rate is highest in the elderly and immunocompromised, young people contribute to the hospitalized and critically ill patient population. And Katz prescribes a level of isolation of the at risk population that he will acheive how, exactly? Stay at home! I'm a health care worker, and I thank you!",Reader Picks,
"""Let many of us"" get the Coravirus means ""let those of us for whom it will just be a mild case of flu"" get the Coronavirus. If you know you're say under the age of 50 and DON'T have diabetes, heart disease, etc., you could be taking one for the herd by getting sick with it already, and thus becoming immune, and thus becoming one less foothold for the virus, going forward.",Reader Picks,Minneapolis
"Look, we're all gambling. You're gambling that the ""flattening the curve"" strategies won't result in widespread economic hardship that itself leads to more deaths. No one can be certain what to do. It would be nice to have a clearer sense of the potential costs and gains on both sides of the equation.",Reader Picks,Minneapolis
"The plan does not seem attainable amid current US leadership and the politically polarized society in which we live. The issue Mr. Friedman raises is, however, keen on my mind. The economic damage to our country from what we are doing feels like it will be an additional catastrophe whatever the medical catastrophe may be. Dr. Ioannidis and Tom Friedman are the first I've encountered who raise this issue. It's not being raised by political leaders on either side. Indeed, we are traveling blind.",Reader Picks,NJ
"This is a good start, but none of this will work without testing (as so many people have said in the comments) and effective quarantine of people who have the virus. Academic studies have shown that ordinary people are ineffective when it comes to self-quarantine. Studies in Toronto during the SARS crisis showed that self-quarantine reduced secondary spread by only 0.1888. Since COVID-19 has a R0 vale of 1.4 to 6, self-quarantine will not have any appreciable impact on the continuing spread of the virus. For Friedman?s (or anyone else?s) intervention to contain the virus to work, we must first set up medically monitored quarantine facilities for people to recover without spreading the virus to other people. To fight this pandemic effectively, the most important number is to drive the R0 (R-naught) number below 1, and we can?t do that without quarantine facilities. This is the most urgent issue right now: instead of putting people who test positive for COVID-19 in quarantine, we are sending them back to their homes and communities where they will infect others.",Reader Picks,CA
"I would have shared the opinion of the author two weeks ago, when the upsurge of contagion and casualties hadn't manifested itself both in the country where I was born ? Italy ? and the country where I live ? Spain ?, whose economies were by the way already strained before the coming of coronavirus. The problem is that the virus has a contagion rate of 2.5, that is, every person who get infected transmits the virus to 2.5 people. Furthermore, some of the people affected by the virus doesn't even manifest any symptom, so if you let people go to work waiting for everybody to reach the herd immunity, before the latter is achieved many of them will pass the virus to 2.5 more who, sooner or later, will transmit it to elder people or people affected by other diseases, that is, the more vulnerable. In that way maybe the healthiest people wouldn't seriously risk to die ? even if there are exceptions between the casualties that show that in some cases the people who die don't belong to the most vulnerable categories ?, but the solution we choose would actually be a Darwinian one. No, I don't have any available solution ? both the experts and the most responsible leader still navigate in the fog, as the author of the article well said. The only thing I can figure out is that, when the economy will reboot, we should learn to plan more savings based strategies than investment and short term ones.",Reader Picks,Spain
It seems like this plan assumes testing will soon be widely available. Or that our health care workers will get the protection they need to care for people. Or that it's not too late for hospitals to be overwhelmed. Or that the leadership to implement any of the things you suggest will emerge. I'm afraid I'm not so sure about any of those things.,Reader Picks,NY
"Oh, there's enough money. It's just hiding off shore.",Reader Picks,Washington
Tom shows more concern for ?the economy? than for the heath of the human beings that it is supposed to serve.,Reader Picks,CO
Global poverty at 8%? How are you measuring poverty?,Reader Picks,Washington
"Those critiques seem correct. Some VERY rough calculations... If you assume that 10% of persons <= 54 yrs of age (roughly 75% of the population) get Covid-19 at roughly the same time and that only 5% of them need hospitalization, this seems to be enough to overrun numbers of available hospital beds by a large margin. 10% infection rate in the overall population is lower than most recent projections. A 5% hospitalization rate is a fair amount lower than reported hospitalization rates for age groups <= 54 yrs in a few thousand early confirmed Covid-19 cases (https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2020/03/19/how-the-coronavirus-is-impacting-different-us-age-groups-infographic). /#19524b271fd4) That would imply 330,000,000 * 0.75 * 0.10 * 0.05 hospitalizations. Roughly 1,250,000? We normally have around 65% occupancy in our 920,000 staffed hospital beds - so about 322,000 beds typically available? Some early figures indicate that roughly a third of hospitalizations are designated ""critical"". Let's say 20% to be optimistic. That would imply 1,250,000 * 0.20 = 250,000 ""critical"" cases. And we have perhaps 180,000 ventilators? Perhaps someone more focused on public health epidemiology has better, more sophisticated statistics to plug in - perhaps the very persons the author consulted. But, without more detailed information provided, the strategy proposed in the article seems risky.",Reader Picks,OR
"Last year the Forbes 400 owned $2.96 Trillion. If Bloomberg and his economic neighbors want to do something, why don't they establish a charitable fund? Why don't they get to Bezos and Zucherberg, etc. with the analytics and data pools to see where it should go to help the most needy? And work with their buddies in the financial industry to get it distributed quickly? They get a charitable deduction (if they do it right) and they get to insure the remainder of their respective fortunes against complete collapse. Who would lead such an effort?",Reader Picks,Minneapolis
"""People are told to stay indoors."" Again, from the article.... ""How? ?Use a two-week isolation strategy,?? Katz answered. Tell everyone to basically stay home for two weeks, rather than indefinitely.""... He's telling people to stay at home also. We are not two weeks in yet. Hopefully, the re-boot he calls for can follow. What are you suggesting instead?",Reader Picks,NY
"When I read an editorial piece that attempts to reason a need to get back to normal, I want to scream. We have been dragged down a rabbit hole by an incompetent administration. Lied to beyond ability to believe anything and now you say we need to pick things up and go shopping? That?s our economy.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"A $2 trillion stimulus every 10-12 weeks would deliver almost 50% of our GDP - in terms of spending on non-luxury expenses. So, no need for a civil war - we just have to be sensible about where we spend that money - do we spend on Teslas and Delta flights and Wynn casinos or do we spend on kids' education and food and water?",Reader Picks,Georgia
"I have a problem with this idea: ""?Those who have symptomatic infection should then self-isolate ? with or without testing, which is exactly what we do with the flu,?? Katz said. ?Those who don?t, if in the low-risk population, should be allowed to return to work or school, after the two weeks end.? Has this person ever worked in an office?! People come to work sick all the time, including with the flu, due to fear of losing their job or simply because they have too much to do to take 2 weeks out of work. Who would enforce this self-isolation? Personally, I would never believe that most of my colleagues would care enough about their co-workers to stay home for 2 whole weeks (this is the more likely scenario: they care more about keeping their job than caring about the chance that their colleagues might catch their virus). This is based on my own experience of working in offices for 25+ years. No one stays home for 2 weeks when sick - NO ONE - unless they are dying. Every winter I have spent many hours at the office trying to avoid others who come to work sick, and have counted myself lucky when I did not catch their virus.",Reader Picks,USA
"The essence of this suggestion is to just isolate the elderly, etc. for months or maybe years on end, in order to preserve the economy. Effectively that means we are not all in this together, but we have to engage in triage by sacrificing the elderly. While that sounds Trumpian, it is not the values of the America i grew up in. I have seen some reports that the elderly start at 60. So is Mr. Friedman prepared to be cut off from society until the government decides he should be readmitted since he is older than 60? Interestingly, Dr. Ioannidis' solution to triage the elderly does not apply to him since he is younger than 60.",Reader Picks,Alaska
"The current strategy is focused on flattening the curve, The reason for this goal is to prevent the medical services from being overwhelmed. About half the people who require hospitalization are under the age of 60 so if younger people were simply allowed to go back to work and school it seems likely that the hospitals would be overwhelmed with cases. This is not the flu. It is much worse with regard to the percentage of people needing to be hospitalized and the fact there are no drug treatments or vaccines available. I don't think the alternative strategy discussed here is feasible.",Reader Picks,NY
"The Republican Party LLC wants to take this opportunity to make the rich and corporations richer while conning the People with a few larger than usual crumbs. It is another con job by financial parasites who have been getting away with it for 40 years. The American people fall for it over and over again. Please, no more ! !",Reader Picks,CA
"I cannot add more wisdom to what folks have already said about ICU capacity, etc. So I will just ask, see what you did here? Trump is using your words (almost verbatim) as cover: WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!",Reader Picks,CA
"The irony is David Katz's so-called 'plan' wouldn't save the economy- it would just put us further down the wrong road and take us longer to get back on the right road, causing much greater economic harm. We're fortunate to be able to look at what other countries did right and wrong. The Italians are pleading with the world to take this seriously. Meanwhile some asian countries who have taken this seriously are getting back to business. We should follow the guidance of real epidemiologists not just Oprah magazine nutrition writers like David Katz.",Reader Picks,CA
"THE GREAT CULL? This article makes sense to me. As a male, 81, with only 70% lung capacity, I really, really appreciate the efforts which our political leaders and society as a whole are taking to protect me. But when I see the potential damage their decisions can have on my children?s and grandchildren?s futures, then I say this too is morally wrong. Please don?t screw up the livelihoods of so many, damaging so many, for years to come.",Reader Picks,Germany
The article conveniently forgets about asymptomatic spread.,Reader Picks,NY
"Here?s the rub: We would also want carefully to confirm that, once you recover from Covid-19, you are immune from getting it or spreading it again for a period of time. You can?t do that in two or three weeks.",Reader Picks,UK
"The tendency to over-sanitize people, schools, stores and homes is another risk. People are being urged to use hand sanitizers at every location . I do not use them at all. Why? Because while it may prevent infection, it also will kill our natural immunities. My practice is to head straight for the sink and the bar of soap immediately upon entering my home after a trip to the grocer or anywhere else.",Reader Picks,CA
"There may well be a legitimate debate about the comparison of the economic and health costs of our current response, but this is not it. Dr. Woolf's observations show a shocking lack of internal consistency. His examples (a patient with chest pain or evolving stroke, a cancer patient, a patient with COPD ) all are at higher risk of dying if we fail to flatten the curve and continue to overwhelm our current resources. His comments that layoffs and lost wages leave many without health insurance also shows a general level of cluelessness as many hourly and low wage individuals are already underinsured and have to weigh the real costs of taking time off and having a co-pay to obtain services. He make a strong case for universal, single-payer health care in the US (as in every other wealthy industrialized country). Perhaps this pandemic will be the call to action we need, just as the Great Depression got us to put together social security and unemployment insurance to join other nations that already provided for their citizens.",Reader Picks,PA
"Reading through this column, I was having great hopes for it until at the very end it said ""Or, we shut down for months to try to save everyone everywhere from this virus..."" Dude, we are NOT trying to save everyone everywhere. This virus is ALREADY out and has infected large numbers of people. What we are trying to do is to flatten the curve. Simulations of working social distancing predict PEAKS in new infections as late as May or June; two weeks ain't going to cut it. You would think that a knowledgeable columnist would have read these studies. But of course, it's Friedman.",Reader Picks,MI
"OK, so I?m old and in no danger of losing my income. Stay-at-home orders are an inconvenience at worst. But I do fear for our economy. Although I?m thrilled that so many jobs can be done from home, stay-at-home means limited production, widespread unemployment, and a crippled economy. Saving our people and our economy is definitely above my pay grade, and IMHO, President Trump?s as well. C?mon folks, time for your best ideas!",Reader Picks,Florida
"This commentary is reckless. It assumes conditions, methods and testing that does not yet exist.",Reader Picks,Arizona
We should have accepted the test kits from the WHO. Why didn?t we? This is a crime that should be investigated once the crisis is behind us. Once again the trump administration lies and fails us. Forced herd immunity with this novel coronavirus may potentially be dangerous until we know if people can be reinfected. Thanks for this article. It raises important issues.,Reader Picks,NY
"This piece is not worthy of its author. The reason there are places that have a low rate of infection is because all those tests that ""you can have if you want one"" per just last week still haven't magically appeared, so we have no idea of just how many have the virus in Wheeling or Ashville. None. And why is that? The poor, without health insurance or information STILL are not aware of covid19. Yesterday the basketball courts in the park were full of games. My guess is that the young and immortal players will head home (if they are lucky) and give granny a big hug. Oy! That can't be good. If this is not a wakeup for universal health care, paid sick leave and decent education, we mignt as well fold it up as a nation right now.",Reader Picks,Florida
shutting down everything will actually help the environment a bit. If and when this is over maybe the world can find a better balance.,Reader Picks,CA
"Since a startling number (20%) of hospitalized Covid-19 patients are between 25 and 40, according to the CDC; and since people cannot be trusted to self-quarantine for even a few days, let alone the two weeks prescribed above (see Spring break or almost any neighborhood in the country); and since our fed govt has already demonstrated its utter incompetence at handling this entire crisis, from testing to protective equipment; and since immunity after infection remains an unknown; this strategy is, unfortunately, an irresponsible and dangerous fantasy.",Reader Picks,NY
People going back to work in two weeks will result in 2.5% of the population dying. That's 7 million people. This is mass murder.,Reader Picks,USA
"Talking about a ""targeted approach"" given what's currently known about the replication rate and fatality of this disease is irresponsible. So is talking about herd immunity without widespread availability of an antibody test and an effective vaccine. It may be the case that the death rate is as low as 1%, but that isn't what the data says so far. Until the data indicates that and such tests and vaccines are available, we need to remain in place and minimize contact as much as possible?and call out less stringent measures as irresponsible.",Reader Picks,MA
"Until we have enough tests and hospital beds, forget it. This is the result of a broken healthcare system, and years of hospitals consolidating and putting each other out of business (UPMC and Allegheny Health Network, I'm talking to you). Now, we have a shortage of beds necessary to face the pandemic, and a President who ignored the blaring warning sirens until it was too late.",Reader Picks,PA
"We missed the testing window, otherwise, this vertical strategy might have worked. Testing as well as PPE production are still not sufficient and unfortunately we have an idiot at the helm. Anybody who defends him now just looks like another idiot. He is making Hoover in the late twenties look like a genius. His administration couldn't manage a company picnic, forget a pandemic. His health care professionals are the only ones giving good analysis and management and keeping us informed and hunkered. The economy cannot be saved at this point, especially if we become another Italy.",Reader Picks,CA
"Before adopting the advice of Thomas Friedman, who is, apparently, a medical expert, readers should take a look at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/opinion/coronavirus-young-people.html.",Reader Picks,NY
Exactly right. Recalls the old saying ?don?t throw the baby out with the bath water.?,Reader Picks,Texas
"We now have an example from Hong Kong that premature deployment of citizens back into normal life has induced a stronger second wave of transmission than the initial one. This serves as a warning that social distancing needs to continue beyond the initial onset of cases. 2 weeks is wishful thinking and potentially dangerous. Using China's trajectory as a template, the U.S. is looking at early to mid June as safe time point to return to usual socialization and therefore the economy will suffer.",Reader Picks,PA
The Fed predicts 30% unemployment. This is the result of the hysteria and panic created by the Democrats and this newspaper. You have done what you set out to do four years ago. Now you must be happy and salivating. All that remains for you to do is to blame it all on Trump. Americans are not buying.,Reader Picks,NY
"well then go out and get infected, Bill. You'll be one less person for our right wing oligarchy to have to count.",Reader Picks,NY
"totally agree! Ruining our economy are not empty words. People suffer and many people will literally worry themselves to death. Aside from the psychological. the imagined medical consequences alone will wreak havoc and suffering: undiagnosed skin cancers, undetected tumors, missed routine test such as mammograms, dental, etc., -- we will pay for this dearly in the future. The trade-off is that many people become sick -- in most cases no worse than the common bad virus many of get once or twice/year. For those of us considered elderly, not much of a sacrifice to self-quarantine for some months, while our children and grandchildren go on with their lives...",Reader Picks,MA
"I have two questions 1) If the current actions are taken to slow down the virus in order to not overwhelm our healthcare system-there is little excess capacity in US hospitals- what is the calculated need for ER beds with looser controls? Because 10% to 20% needing hospitalization becomes a very big number when a very big number catch the virus! Then the healthcare people get sick, and there is no room for any other critical care needs....2) This discussion separates people by ""less at risk"" vs. ""more at risk"" and asks society to choose who will live or die. Such a choice corrupts the moral fiber of society. It reminds me when some defended slavery because of the economical impact it would have on the economy of the South. Surely, we can do better.",Reader Picks,
"Nice reminder of importance of considering options to avoid ""group think"". From where we are now, I see troubling flaws in the proposal that Katz himself recognizes but downplays. Namely, it depends on i) public compliance that is presently lacking; ii) extensive reliance on testing capacity not yet in place; iii) testing for post-infection immunity that is not widely available; iv) lack of thorough understanding of high risk groups and the assumption they can isolated. The conclusion that this approach would reduce the duration of the epidemic is undermined by these faulty assumptions. The irony is that Katz's scenario is already playing out and containment is slipping away before our eyes mainly due to a lack of effective national coordinztion and leadership. To use a simpler animal analogy than in Frieden's article, the horse has already left the barn.",Reader Picks,Georgia
The economic argument for allowing deaths is particularly weak when many of those deaths are likely to be health professionals.,Reader Picks,CA
"The Spanish flu killed 675,000 Americans, over 0.6% of the nation's entire population at the time. Yet, before the Coronavirus, most Americans had vague, if any, knowledge that we suffered through this pandemic in 1918. Compare that with the Great Depression, which a far greater percentage of Americans know happened and have some sense of its scope. Before the Coronavirus, if you told Americans that they could go back in time and prevent one or the other of the Spanish flu pandemic or the Great Depression from occurring, does anyone doubt that the vast majority would pick the Great Depression (and probably would not have considered the Spanish flu to be a comparable public catastrophe)? The Great Depression was a contributing factor to the rise of Fascism in Europe, after all. Of course, the Spanish flu and the Great Depression are history, and we know what their effects were, allowing us to make more fact-based decisions on which would have been better to avoid. We don't know yet what the death rate will be for COVID-19 or how badly the economy will suffer from broadly enforced isolation protocols. However, this comparison exercise does suggest that we need to carefully consider the targeted approach advocated by Dr. Katz.",Reader Picks,Arizona
"Very sensible. To minimize damage to the economy, the government, as part of the stimulus, could pay the salaries (up to some limit) of everyone who is laid off, either as a direct gift to the employee or as a zero-interest loan to the employer. When the crisis is over, they go back to work and we pick up where we left off, without long-term damage.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"There is no one size fits all solution. America is too big, too fractured, too independent and too business friendly that it is near impossible to adequately face and resolve this pandemic. I fear we are looking at just the beginning of a changed world and nothing will go back to what we knew. The virus is not going to be eradicated easily because the tools are not in place. Even now, Trump is not doing everything he can to mitigate the situation while we waste valuable time and lives.",Reader Picks,NY
"This seems like a good strategy. I'm not certain, but it beats a months-long lockdown. Considering that people are by now immune to the disease, it would make sense to open things up a bit after a few weeks of staying at home. However, if things begin to take a turn for the worse again, another lockdown may be necessary. There are so many unknowns with this virus. Who would have thought the virus that causes the common cold would be the one to bring the world to its knees? But if we follow Dr. Katz's advice, we won't be down for long.",Reader Picks,IL 
"Maybe I need to reread this article a second time, but there seems to be no mention of the fact that what makes this virus so deadly is that you can transmit it before you are symptomatic. That was a factor of why it spread so fast. I am also skeptical about herd immunity for this virus. Is Dr. Katz proposing that we find out by trial and error? Perhaps we will get more information from the Petri dish that is the Florida beaches.",Reader Picks,
"When this pandemic recedes and there are effective treatments and a vaccine... Maybe, our society will have learned the difference between want and NEED. Maybe we will begin to have a more human centered healthcare system, medicare for all. Maybe the American economy will change in ways that make the economy more ethical, realizing that the economy's purpose is to serve the society, and not expecting society to serve the economy with the humans seen only as consumers to be manipulated into buying more and more, always and forever. I'm not sure the economy could change. It would take leadership. I remember that Bernie Sanders was invited to give a speech at the Vatican on ""The Moral Economy"", a concept he has not talked much about lately. To the Establishment, the idea of a moral economy is unAmerican. The pandemic could be a turning point. For the future of America, the World and our small planet, I hope for a more moral economy. This pandemic is highlighting the relevance and value of Sanders ideas and policies, especially medicare for all. Democracy demands that the promised April debate be scheduled! Primaries can all be vote by mail! The fat lady hasn't sung. We could still have A Future To Believe In!",Reader Picks,CA
COBRA has never worked. It?s extremely expensive. Too many people I?ve known over decades have had to give up on COBRA. It just doesn't work.,Reader Picks,KY
"Nothing is more important than stopping the spread. The basic strategy worldwide is sequestering, which is now the plan here. Whatever pitfalls this plan generates, they pale compared to the specter of millions of viral-related deaths.",Reader Picks,Minnesota
Here is a way to restart the economy and not cure the disease and kill the patient. The mass closing of everything will certainly cause a total worldwide depression. Get people tested for free as soon as possible. The government should purchase test kits and use wartime type powers to make manufacturers produce these test kits by the millions. Once a person is tested they get a card and can go out into the public. This will return some level of normalcy to society and get our economy moving. Why is our government not doing this???,Reader Picks,PA
"I understand and share the concern about our economy, but am not really comfortable with the proposed solution. Historically, the effort to minimize the spread of infectious disease focused on restricting the movement of those who might infect others, e.g., quarantines during the 1918-19 pandemic. In the case of the corona virus we have not been able to determine with any confidence who is infectious--due, at least in part, to the administration's ignoring and downplaying the threat for two months--hence the horizontal interdiction in which everyone is asked to self-isolate. But the proposed solution of vertical interdiction focuses upon isolating not those who are infectious but those who might be seriously infected--the elderly, the disabled, those with chronic conditions and perhaps others. Assuming experts can actually determine who is most at risk of a severe infection, and assuming that having a mild infection produces immunity (neither assumption can be taken for granted), I'm still not sure this is the best way to go. For one, it categorizes one segment of the population--those likely to be infected--as less valuable and more disposable than the rest. For two, while it allows people to go back to work it also gives license for irresponsibility among those who may be infectious, e.g., the students congregating for spring break in Florida. I do not have a good answer on balancing the economy and safety, but I don't think this solution is adequately thought out.",Reader Picks,Colorado
"According to CDC (www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html), the 2018/2019 death rate in the US from influenza among ""Medical Visits"" (a.k.a. detected infections) was 0.2%. The most recent figures place the Wuhan covid19 mortality rate at 0.8% among detected infections, suggesting that covid19 is 4 times more deadly than an average flu. However, panic can probably account for at least a factor of 2. Imagine if a similar panic was stirred during the flu season; many more (older) people, who would normally die at home without being detected, would be included in the CDC statistics and the flu rate could reach 0.4%, perhaps. Or, to put it another way, many seniors in Wuhan would die undetected without current panic and the rate could perhaps drop to 0.4%. And I am not even comparing to a bad flu season like 2009. Is it worth it to shut down the country because of this? I feel like the response to this virus will cause more misery than the virus itself.",Reader Picks,Canada
"This approach, even if could be implemented, the impact of the virus on the non elderly people with pre existing conditions such as asthma and those who don't know they have a pre existing condition like undiagnosed lung cancer. Italy and South Korea have given us the solution: strict isolation of population in the significantly impacted areas and test everybody else and isolate the infected as they test positive. If we don't do that, then we end up where Italy is today.",Reader Picks,Canada
"COVID-19 aka novel coronavirus-19 isn't an economics nor a political problem. Neither of those academic fields are scientific endeavors. Because of too many variables and unknowns. COVID-19 aka novel coronavirus-19 is an RNA be fruitful and multiply biological science evolutionary fit problem for the DNA be fruitful and multiply heirs of primate apes aka buman beings who appeared in Africa 300, 000 years ago.",Reader Picks,IL 
"It's simply not ethical to force a young family into poverty hoping that it may extend the life of an elderly person they don't know. An estimated 5 million jobs, and counting, have already been lost to these shutdowns. Even in the most extreme (unrealistic) scenario, if 1% of the population were saved by throwing these people out of work, that would still be almost 2 people unemployed for each elderly life saved. But in reality, the virus would probably kill, at most, around .01% of the population, which looks to be the end result in Italy, so it's really more like 200 jobs lost for each life saved. And of course, that's ignoring the possibility that these quarantines might be 100% ineffective, in which case we've destroyed 5 million or more jobs for absolutely no reason at all. No matter how you slice the numbers, the current policy of indefinite, broad quarantines on healthy young people is unethical, even if you assume, incorrectly, that 100% of the population would contract the virus.",Reader Picks,Georgia
"What, Thomas? Not in 6 months? All duriing the Bush Administration's war in Iraq, Friedman kept reassuring his readers that the war would be over within 6 months. It got to be such a joke that the most popular slang term for a 6-month period was a ""Friedman."" ""Geez, Fred. I haven't heard from you in a Friedman!""",Reader Picks,Florida
"So much this. The editorial is raising good points, but we need to know more. And for now, shutting down is the right thing to do.",Reader Picks,Berlin
"I am curious why the NYtimes feels it is responsible to give someone like Friedman, who apparently has no expertise beyond that of developing and promoting his own opinions, a platform in which he can essentially just tell everyone his personal opinions from the vaulted position of a national newspaper. This article doesn't seem to be based on any more research than my uncle puts into his well crafted facebook posts. It's a lot of words about how things SHOULD be, if they were different than they are, but not much insight into the actual situation we find ourselves in as a nation.",Reader Picks,OR
"Let's not get America back to work making the same unnecessary and environmentally destructive junk we've been making. Restaurants, bars, and movie theaters close? Professional sports events get cancelled? We can't fly to Las Vegas as often? Excuse me, but that doesn't sound so bad. States close non-essential businesses? No complaints from me. Maybe we can begin to appreciate the workers who provide goods and services we really need and start to pay them accordingly.",Reader Picks,OR
"Not sure where you're getting from Italy (or China) that only .01 of the infected population would die. It's more like 1 to 3 percent, higher for those over 60 or with certain health issues. Then there are the unfortunate 10 to 20 percent who would need to be hospitalized for moderate to severe pneumonia, and those include people of all ages. And quarantines have proven over centuries to be very effective.",Reader Picks,CA
"The problem with the ?trim the Medicare numbers? approach (let the virus circulate, just keep the old folks at home) is that too many of the younger victims require hospitalization. Those numbers will overwhelm the system so when Granny does accidentally get it from her Meals on Wheels delivery sneeze, there won?t be a hospital bed. Also, the ?let it circulate? while we go about our BAU is ignoring the greater transmission rate of this novel virus compared to the annual flu. One may go many years without hosting the flu bug, but very few will be able to say that about this novel virus.",Reader Picks,Texas
"Shorten the crisis and normal economic activity will resume quickly. All that is necessary is to focus upon addressing the immediate shortage of medical care and protection for first responding personnel and hospital staff, and the curve of infections will become unimportant.",Reader Picks,CA
"Some how, the voices of reason, such as those expressed in this article need to be reiterated, and spread repeatedly to somehow counteract the panic, and get people in influential positions to halt the herd mentality.",Reader Picks,CA
"Leave it to TLF to pen one of the most reasonable and insightful articles on this constantly changing story. One thing he left out - is how desirable it will soon become to everyone- to be declared Covid positive for over 2 weeks. Such a person would likely go back to normal life. Most experts believe such people cannot spread the virus anymore;and can't get it again. They can go to sporting events, work, anything they want. If you are a healthy adult under age 60, the risk to you is FAR under the 1-2% mortality rate Covid likely has. If yo only look at the healthy younger population as a whole, the fatality rate compared to the general population will be 10X less; so a 0.1-0.2% risk to self. I like those odds.",Reader Picks,Canada
"Idea for getting back to work: Government should issue Virus Protection Kits: Mask, gloves, hand/glove sanitizer or wipes, simple instructions on how to use the kit. In high risk areas and for high risk people, require everyone who leaves his home to be protected by these or similar items. Send people back to work as soon as they can safely use the kit. Suspend when the virus is back under control.",Reader Picks,IL 
"Excellent article. What many commentators are missing is once you take over 60 somethings out of the mix. Hospital load is decreased dramatically as much as 80 percent Even if we can?t test now this is the answer, the numbers sickened will decrease as immunity increases",Reader Picks,Puerto Rico
That is Classic ivory tower thinking. Nonsense to the core.,Reader Picks,Texas
Excellent and timely article. How can we get our policy makers to serious consider Katz?s proposed approach?,Reader Picks,Florida
"Mr Friedman raises valid points and concerns. I am here to get America back on its feet. But there are three problems we have. We have no public health system in this country. What we have has no universality built in. Most of our so called schools of public health are private with no policy responsibilities or accountability filled with ?star? professors who act on their own. There is virtually no expertise on corona virus in this country. There has been virtually no discussion in the past of public health approaches to epidemics. Vaccines andtherapies are not epidemic strategies. Vaccines an therapies are results of epidemics. They may prevent or treat future epidemics. Our hospitals are remarkably introverted institutions Second, our system is unfair; it is not possible to implement a fair disciplined democratic social policy with humanistic values and science based priorities. Stars are getting tested but not patients or physicians Third, our leadership has generally been abysmal. Our President recommending azithromycin and chloroquine while top doctors standing behind him listened silently was genuinely bizarre We have to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. I am working on that. One thing we have to do is keep our streets and parks open so that people maintain their sense of ownership. There is no public health reason parks cannot have safe vending of coffee. Individuals must maintain a personal connection with their environment. Social rapprochement must follow.",Reader Picks,NC
As an immunologist I have been telling everyone I know the very same components of this article. Thankfully some saner voices are weighing into the conversation now and not the panicked ones.,Reader Picks,Ohio
"Unusually alarmist in tone for the normally even-tempered Mr. Freidman. He's right that we need critical thinking from all sides when the matter being considered affects us all - even possibly existentially. But I think he's more pessimistic than prudent about the ability of our human society to bounce back in economic terms once the threat has abated. First things first. Italy still has completely devastating outcomes every day. For now, I am with Dr. Fauci in preferring a potential overreaction if it prevents more covid-16 caused deaths. Economics are of course very important as well but in my opinion Mr. Freidman overstates the risks inherent in coming back once the air clears a little. I'm surprised because I tend to always agree with and benefit from his writing and ideas. Perhaps he is under some undue strain as well to try and make sense out of a situation that is not yet in clear enough focus.",Reader Picks,CO
"IF we can ramp up rapid universal testing during a country wide quarantine of a few weeks, we can move forward with targeted isolation and protection and return to work. However, the abysmal response of the Federal Government has limited that possibility. Universal testing with drive through and other testing venues if implemented rapidly could get us to that point. Who will step up and do it? There is no evidence the President is marshaling resources to do so. He is however working quickly to bail out industries that squandered tax cuts on billion dollar buy backs.",Reader Picks,NY
"Second comment. Health care systems have stopped all elective visits and procedures. Need a plan to get those up and running soon. It will involve dedicated facilities and masking all providers and good hand and surface hygiene. It can be done in the next few weeks. All types of facilities for the elderly need to be secured and all staff and visitors needs masks and hand hygiene protocols. They need to prevent the widespread infections that will fill our hospitals.It can be done today. Young adult need their futures back. They need to takes SATs, LSATs, MCATs. Everyone needs to go back to school ASAP. It can be done. Safer than kids at home. More structure will help everyone and keep kids safer. We need testing for acute and past infections. The bars and cruise ships can be closed indefinitely but other small businesses need to open. Barbers, hairdressers and nail technicians can wear masks and sanitize their hands. Better than not working. Are none of going to have grooming for months? Yikes. We need an endgame in the face of uncertainty. We will live with some risk. The problem we have is poor leadership especially the CDC and surgeon general. It grieves me to say that. I have always been proud of the CDC until now. I blame Trump for all the B team players. In the future we do need to make sure adequate medical supplies and medications are made in the USA so we have control.",Reader Picks,Wisconsin
"As each day grim news, and more grim statistics, come out of Italy, perhaps we are getting a better sense of dangers ahead. Earlier evidence of who is most vulnerable is being contradicted as younger and healthier people are taken sick and die. This is no time for defeatism, but it is also no time for unwarranted optimism. Stopping business as usual is devastating. Continuing business as usual may be more deadly. Especially on the federal level. This humanitarian and economic disaster is a direct result of Republicans blocking universal healthcare, defunding essential and emergency services, pressuring for artificially low interest rates, and emptying the treasury to fill off shore accounts. A perfect storm of misguided priorities, leaving us unprepared to respond to the pandemic. As I write this, GOP Leader Mitch McConnell is holding up Senate votes on relief and recovery, as Republicans dig in for more corporate tax cuts and bailouts and less direct aid to individuals and families. Pres. Trump balks at telling private industry to ramp up production of supplies, while hospitals have no swabs for testing and doctors are sterilizing disposable masks for reuse. The only thing that trickles down are more burdens and harm. We need collective solutions to shared problems. After the emergency response, we need to shore up the ACA and to repeal Reagan and Trump tax schemes and replace them with Eisenhower era tax rates. For starts.",Reader Picks,Maine
"As a physician, I would like to make it eminently clear that we doctors know a few things but not a lot of things! Medicine has components of science as well as components of belief and culture, which are not given towards fact and clarity. Most physicians in the US have practiced in a context of abundance and are panicking in advance, such that much of what we hear from many physicians trying to invoke authority, is their own fears as people, or theories that are way above the pay grades of most health practitioners, whose epidemiology knowledge is at best a class in medical school. Those like the venerable Dr. Fauci, who advocate a lockdown are appropriately looking through a medical lens. It takes the rest of us citizens to apply nuance and balance the known and unknown from the medical side, against the known and unknown consequences of our current path. This article and others questioning the herd, are deeply needed and welcome. My sizable portfolio is a bit lower, likely similar to most of the chattering class, including politicians and bureaucrats. We do not lack for work or rent, and will come out of this chastened but largely unscathed. What of those who have or will lose all, if we do not resume economic activity.",Reader Picks,Washington
"If American leadership had acted on this crisis in January when first announced this may have worked. But they didn't. We can't even get our arms around the basic problems of adequate testing supplies, masks, gloves & gowns. As you surely know, any major problem requires a series or sequence of intelligently planned and programmed events. So far our government has openly demonstrated its inability to first, identify and acknowledge the problem in time and second, to provide the basic sequentially needed PP&E elements to control the problem. The pandemic is first a health problem and second an economic problem. But they must both be included, jointly and in tandem, in the solution equation. I believe you are correct that the economic parameters must be dovetailed with the health parameters so they work together. Although the emergency measures currently under consideration in the Congress are well intentioned, they are in effect being planned without sufficient data to intertwine them with the fluctuations and possible corrective variances in the health problem. In reality, sadly, as an nation we are shooting from the hip, and in total darkness. Our health and economic professionals have demonstrated from day one that they understand the problems and are capable of a planned solution but America's political leadership has preferred to take center stage and as expected, has bungled every step of the way.",Reader Picks,Florida
"The COVID-19 virus is going to be with us from now on. It will be in our environment and those not immune to it will become sick. That is reality. Do not be deluded into thinking that we will defeat and dispose of this enemy as in a war won. Once the infection has affected nearly all of us, the need for medical treatment for the seriously ill will remain but it will be manageable. For now, we don?t have the means to treat all who may need treatment. Once we can, then we can resume normal lives and not be concerned about causing avoidable deaths. It is likely that our economy will be affected deeply and it may take months to recover. Supporting people ordered to stop working should be our first concern. Then once people are able to resume normal lives to support the recovery as we can. We need to understand that at some point we will have to allow activities which will continue to spread this infection because we must live normal lives.",Reader Picks,CA
"It is starting to sound like we are considering ""death panels"". This time it would be for real.(Note Italy)",Reader Picks,MN
"Capitalism has reduced global poverty to 8%. Socialism has reduced its creation of poverty to Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela. The intellectual virus of irrationalism is worse than coronavirus.",Reader Picks,France
"I am in total agreement. The price we will pay in mental agony may be far greater than the pain caused by the virus itself. It seems clear vulnerable people know who they are and ought to be responsible for their own good health by chosing to stay home, not work or socialize if they feel they are at risk. But to tank a entire economy is totally disproportionate to the cost of saving those who have underlying conditions, are probably at risk for getting any number of illnesses and should protect themselves under any and all circumstances anyway. Yes, testing on a broad scale is imperative. But we have acted too extremely, too quickly, and in too devastating a way while making decisions without necessary debate. Surgical approach is the only thing that can bring us back to some state of normal and give us hope that the future will not turn into a nightmare.",Reader Picks,NY
"I haven't had time to read all the comments but what about the question of liability? College presidents didn't close their campuses just out of health reasons. My daughter teaches at a liberal arts college in a rural county with few hospital beds. If an outbreak of corona virus occurred that required more intensive care than the local system can provide, the patients may not receive the care they need. A few deaths of young, otherwise healthy college students is too big a risk for the college to manage; hence the hurried dispatch of students off campus. So while a more focused approach may be appropriate, the incentives at the level of individual decision makers and our legal system may not make that feasible. The lack of leadership at the federal level also makes it harder to try complicated, surgical interventions.",Reader Picks,Minneapolis
"It is simple. Like all issues that presents itself in science, one first has to identify the problem. Until we have adequate test to even sample the population as to the incidence of Covid19, we are poking in the dark. We had time to gear up, but our Federal leadership blew precious time calling it a ""hoax"", ""we have it under control,"" ""it will go away."" This is NOT about politics I am speaking, it is about leadership which is currently demonstrated by some of the best Governors in the nation. Due to this lack of action by our Federal Gov't we are in ""reactive"" mode in response to Covid19. We will get past this, but the lesson learned is what it takes to be a proactive leader who tells the unvarnished truth, a leader who offers compassion and hope and selflessness. Leadership matters. Lives matter.",Reader Picks,Georgia
"?Confirming that individuals are fully recovered, truly immune, and not capable of transmitting is a crucial element in protecting our loved ones most vulnerable to severe infection,? Katz said. This is the rub: from what we understand now there is no assurance that those once infected and recovered cannot become infected again and continue as vectors of infection for others. How to establish with sufficient certainty that the 'coast is clear' and the recovered or those never infected can get back to 'saving the economy' is the question we don't have any answers for. Making that evaluation intelligently, and equitably, is going to take all the science, informed intuition and leadership we have. And, as others have made clear, we're not going to find it at the federal level.",Reader Picks,NY
"I agree with this targeted approach. An indefinite nationwide sequestration is neither economically nor socially feasible . A two or three week sequestration will give governments and heath care providers time to mobilize, delay the contagion, and focus on aiding the vulnerable. Warmer weather at the end of the three weeks may moderate the virus?s spread. Ultimately most will contract this virus and survive, so herd immunity will take effect, protecting the vulnerable.",Reader Picks,Maine
"Interesting piece, but I?m not sure I agree. I believe that Friedman and his experts are being a little cavalier, when they assert: [W]e still do not have a firm grasp of the population-wide fatality rate of coronavirus. A look at some of the best available evidence today, though, indicates it may be 1 percent and could even be lower. We have a population of over 331 Million. One percent of that would be 3,310,000 people! Even if you assume that only 50% of the population contracts the virus, that would still be 1,655,000 people! Even if you figure that ?only? 30% of the population (i.e., 993,000 people) are at high risk, a 1% mortality rate would mean 9.930 people would die, and since the mortality rate for those most at risk is not 1%, but probably more like 8-10%, that would mean 79,440-99,300 deaths! I don?t think that as a society we can allow such a huge amount of deaths to be ?acceptable.?",Reader Picks,DC
"What the heck will our hospitals look like in 2-3 weeks? Seems wildly optimistic to me. Think about this: People start commuting again. Car accidents go up. Workplace accidents go up. And we still have people recovering from coronoavirus (which seems to take quite a while from what I've read) and all the other usual stuff too. Do you really think our hospitals and healthcare workers will be back to something approaching normal in 2-3 weeks? Shall we look to Italy where things really ticked up, oh yes, 3 weeks ago? Cases are finally leveling off but their healthcare system has been driven past its limits. A healthcare system that is just as robust as our own, maybe more so. Rather than leading with ""We need to get back to work!"" which is something I totally agree with in theory, shouldn't you be leading with ""TEST TEST TEST! Where are the resources to make this happen?"" That's absolutely necessary before we can think about opening things up. We have to be able to respond quickly to small outbreaks with testing and contact tracing going forward after this debacle. Because if we haven't figured it out, we'll put ourselves right back in it again.",Reader Picks,Colorado
"Sadly, we do not know what we do not know. Eventually it may come to pass that the DATA tell us another path. But we do not have that data now. Right now a percentage of the people who get coronavirus become seriously ill and hospitals are ALREADY challenged in taking care of them. I don't think any of us think physicians are putting people on ventilators who don't need them. Hope is not actionable. Action can follow the facts.",Reader Picks,PA
"I'm not sure it's true that ""the vast majority will get over it in days"" as it's been widely recorded in Asia that most people are ill for some 2-3 weeks before they recover, even for the mild cases.",Reader Picks,Singapore
"I have been wondering why, if it's necessary to shut down society to fight the coronavirus, why shutting it down for flu season, which kills many more, hasn't even been mentioned.",Reader Picks,Texas
"Thank your for joining those few of us who are thinking clearly Mr. Friedman. It was clear that there is a HUGE difference in way the virus affects the elderly and infirm vs healthy individuals. The fact that strict isolation efforts have not been focused on this group is absurd. We'll crush the economy instead and play around with pretend-quarantine for everyone. The elderly will still be infected and die, albeit at a slower pace, and the ICU will still have to deal with large numbers of elderly patients. And please, readers, spare me your flatten the curve speech or your deeply flawed understanding of death rates or the situation in Italy. The coverage of these issues has been superficial and misleading. The elderly and infirm should be strictly quarantined in place now, with extensive support and services. The rest of us should adopt simple practices to delay exposure. The death rate will plummet and hospital caseloads will be drastically reduced. There isn't room here to provide the kind of detail needed, but there will certainly be more and more voices in the scientific community coming around to this point of view.",Reader Picks,USA
"I like this idea but it's scary to implement it before, as you mentioned, understanding why some younger people are getting so sick. And also I don't know what people who are in the 50-60 range, especially those who have kids, would do in this situation since they are in between low risk and high risk.",Reader Picks,CA
what's a better idea? The New Deal helped many.,Reader Picks,CA
"This is a premature idea. Specifically, we do not know the actual mortality rate (currently 9% in Italy). We also don't have a clear understanding of who is at greater risk, as you state. The most urgent need, given these facts, is avoiding hospitalization. In a few weeks or maybe days we'll have more data. Until then, we need to do what we're doing.",Reader Picks,MA
"Thomas, Your column is a common scenes reply to this statistically and relentlessly driven 'horizontal' approach to the phenomenon. I share it, somewhat, being from Hopkins MN - don't be fooled by St Baudille-et- Pipet France, that's another story - but it's a question of leadership. And though in this case I might wish that a journalist were in a position of leadership, you're not. And the leadership you've got has already dropped the ball so many times and made so many turnovers, notably in not referring to people who know something about epidemiology, not to mention their undependabilty about telling the truth, that common sense has fallen by the wayside. Now I can only hope that the people will realize that there are (were) experts in governmental positions who have the the common good in mind and that we can hope to return to respecting them after we suffered the pains, biological and economic, of the current situation because there will be many others.",Reader Picks,France
"There?s so much he got wrong here. The first Italy, hows that working out? Second, you can?t isolate people separate from the population. People will carry to them. It only takes one. Now if we?d had extensive testing so we could identify all the carriers that might be possible. But until then this is our only option. And what do you think would happen if the hospitals are overflowing with dead people?",Reader Picks,CA
"I agree 100% with the article and your comment. I've been talking about a similar approach with friends and why our leaders are not discussing similar options. Also, how about directing government help to create ""safe"" resort areas for population at risk to voluntarily reside during high-risk periods before a vaccine is available? How about the IMF allowing countries to print-and-write-off (not booking as debt) money allocated to basic help plans (ie: income replacement)? Why aren't our brightest minds proposing plans for what to do in May when shelter-in-place won't be a sustainable plan? I have clients in China, in the hotel industry, and the sector is still all but closed for business. What country can endure that? In the meantime a high percentage of my network in the risk group would currently prefer to re-open for business, take precautions (gloves, distancing, avoiding crowds), and take the risk.",Reader Picks,Georgia
"Young people can and will get very sick and die from this. 40 percent of those who were hospitalized for the virus as of March 16 were ages 20 to 54. Among the most critical cases, 12 percent of intensive care admissions were among those ages 20 to 44, while 36 percent were for those 45 to 64. There will be many tragic deaths of younger people in the US over the next few months. More than there should be due to the widespread belief that young people won?t be affected in any serious manner. For many that will be true, but not all.",Reader Picks,NY
"We don't know if a 2 week period will bestow immunity to people sick with the virus. How can we make a plan based on incomplete knowledge? If workers return to work only to get another round of virus, where will we be?",Reader Picks,CA
I completely agree with the need weigh the cure against the peril. In our family we have an 87 year old grandmother who is a locked down facility. Our brother in law is in the last stages of early onset alziemers and a dear friend is immune compromised. All are quarenteened. The rest of us have to work and pay bills and contribute to the care of others. It is insanity to keep us from working as we are all in optimal health at at the lowest risk. And we are committed to be ultimately careful in public,Reader Picks,Canada
"The acquisition of 'herd immunity' in the population by removing the practice of social or physical distancing for the less vulnerable, was the 'model' adopted by UK initially, and which, as we know, was not effective. The goal of a more stretched out physical distancing policy is one: to 'flatten the curve', in other words to not overwhelm the health care system by an influx of sick and/or panicked people seeking medical care, during which the capacity to care for the really sick diminishes. More testing needs to be performed and more data to be collected to advance scientific knowledge about this virus and its potential to confer immunity. In the meantime, strict measures and/or lockdowns should be continued for the next few weeks. The government should provide financial aid to businesses and individuals who lost their job due to this.",Reader Picks,Texas
"I really wish it were that simple. Dr Katz approach, though well thought out, simply will not work. It will not work because it requires almost complete compliance from everyone and that will never happen.",Reader Picks,Georgia
"Finally -- thank you for giving the important opinion piece from Friday a broader platform and more visibility. It is essential and even vital that the economy restart sometime in April or early May. Otherwise it is certain that the damage will be as devastating as the disease we are trying to stop. Consider these things: 1 - nobody knows what the fatality rate is. In the countries were extremely widespread testing has been done (Germany, South Korea, Japan) it is estimated to be somewhere between 0.4 and 0.7 percent. that means it's somewhere between H1n1 (remember that one? We didn't shut down the country for that) and something about twice as bad. Italy is not a good source -- they only test people who are sick enough to be treated at the hospital. 2 - We have a specifically American problem: it is clear that if we shut down for months on end -- maybe even a year until there's a vaccine, if there ever is one -- the economy and medical system will fall apart completely, tens of millions will be impoverished and homeless and without health insurance -- and more people will die ultimately. This is because in America we don't have institutions to take care of everybody in a time of national crisis. And all this while ""flattening the curve"". 3 - epidemiologists know a lot about stopping diseases. But the economical damage is someone else's problem -- this is why the advice we have been getting is good for beating back Covid19, but bad for the country as a whole.",Reader Picks,Georgia
"""Or a cancer patient having to delay chemotherapy because the facility is closed. Or a patient with advanced emphysema who dies for lack of a facility with a ventilator."" But cancer patients are already having their surgeries delayed indefinitely because we weren't prepared for the influx of existing coronavirus patients. I'm not dismissing this article's viewpoint, but I disagree and its arguments are unconvincing and irresponsibly misleading.",Reader Picks,CA
"In a perfect world, we can reason to reach a conclusion. In a practical world, things become complicated. People just don't follow rules. Lockdown in Wuhan China is a good example. There are always people who want to do things cute and beyond conventional wisdom. Extreme force has to be used forcing people to stay in doors. Youngsters in Florida during Spring break gather and social intimately. They treat warning as just a warning until penalty will be fined over their heads. I don't think horizontal approach will be doable in this country. But we can argue it for a long time.",Reader Picks,Texas
"You are about a month behind the state this disease is in. First of all, testing everybody who might have it is not possible. People would need to get tested multiple times, so we are talking a billion or more tests just for the US. Also, testing does not cure anybody or stop infections at this point - it is a purely statistical tool. So this is a non-starter. It also achieves nothing -- the disease cannot be contained anymore, it is impossible. The solution advocated in this article: shutdown for two weeks to slow infections temporarily, stop wasting money and energy on testing (whenever somebody gets tested they risk infecting someone), isolate the old and vulnerable over the next year to protect them, everybody else go back to work so the country doesn't completely fall apart. Manufacture hundreds of thousands of ventilators and get ready for more patients. Anybody who is sick, stay at home and isolate yourself, don't go out. If they are very ill, then and only then go to a hospital. Whether they have Covid19 won't really be relevant, they should be treated regardless.",Reader Picks,NY
"The single greatest threat is overwhelming the healthcare system. There needs to be a concentrated approach of ramping up whatever area we need to, to have adequate ventilators, beds, and protective equipment, as this infection puts disproportionate numbers of people on ventilators ? far more than the flu. Concurrently, we need to maximize testing capacity so that we can get the data we need to understand the spread of the contagion. The Administration blew it, absolutely and totally. Our entire nation is held captive to the ego of Trump. Everyone around him is afraid to bruise his ego, challenge his ignorant assumptions, and endure his childish wrath. It is because of this behavior that we are in this position and way behind the curve. We have to deal with things from here, not what might have been. Trump needs to shut up and get out of the way, or be removed by the 25th. Instead of taking a softball question and offering data and assurance and confidence that this is being handled, he lashes out like a brat at a reporter. His handling of this is just terrible. Truly atrocious.",Reader Picks,CA
"Sorry, but we are in no way, shape, or form able to do a 2-week quarantine to resolve this situation at this point. We have let it get too far and are way too unprepared. We have NO real idea of how widespread the virus is. We can't go on in isolation forever--of course. But if we are going to have any chance of keeping the death toll down, we have to close the gaps BEFORE we step back from isolation. That means: -ensuring hospitals are fully equipped with resources AND staff -having an extremely large supply of PCR or equivalent tests available and all resources needed to run them quickly, as well as a plan in place for testing even mildly symptomatic people. -having an antibody test (there are none in the US yet) up and running so we can figure out who really HAS been exposed and has acquired immunity , as well as a better understanding of acquired immunity to this particular virus -having solid treatment protocols in place. There are many researchers and companies working on closing these gaps--but until we get there, a 2-week quarantine without addressing them will do nothing more than delay our becoming the next Italy by 2 weeks.",Reader Picks,IL 
"Your solution is only workable when massive testing becomes available. Otherwise, what you are proposing will put the population at higher risk.",Reader Picks,DC
Thank you so much for writing this. We are going to plunge our culture into the next Great Depression complete with massive deaths from poverty/violence/suicide and social unrest . . . To primarily save a portion of the population that could quarantine itself. Pure insanity. It must end.,Reader Picks,DC
"It always helps to know the profile of a commenter as perspective is subjective. I am 67 year old, ten years plus heart transplant recipient, and I survive day to day by immunosuppression. So yeah, I'm a big target for COVID-19. I've already had my ""big break"" so I understand where I sit in the unfortunate echelon of medical triage. The proposal here might have been viable weeks ago, but that window of containment has closed. The idea of letting everyone be infected is daunting when there is no proof yet of how, if or when immunity presents and there IS some proof, albeit minuscule, of re-infection. And, without massive testing, which is clearly not arriving soon, we're left with asymptomatic and incubating carriers everywhere - including the supposed low-risk groups. What those many unknowns underscore is a frightening deficit in our knowledge of this disease and that should give us serious pause before making assumptions and false analogies. The idea of a horizontal suppression - as long as it is universal, thorough and enforced - is still the best short term defense in a raging, exponential epidemic. Past experience (the 1918 Flu) show that when communities did that, the survival rates were markedly better. And it is absolutely critical to give our besieged health care system a fighting chance.",Reader Picks,Washington
"It all comes back to politicians controlling scientists. If Xi had listened to his scientists/doctors at the outset - it could have been contained in Wuhan. Or even prevented if they had closed the wild animal markets like had been forewarned. If Trump had not disbanded Obama's NSC global health security office that successfully led the world in defeating Ebola, America wouldn't be here. Think of Covid-19 as a rapid onslaught Global Warming crisis. Much worse is headed humanities way unless we begin to listen to the ones that have discovered, measured and understood the problems so as to formulate the answers. Respect science or suffer the consequences.",Reader Picks,Connecticut
"It's not utterly ludicrous. The dollar is the world's reserve currency; it plays basically same role that gold once did. It's quite possible to print dollars and just give them to people for a few months while the economy is largely shut down. Again, my comment should not be taken to mean that absolutely everything should shut down. Essential services, including transportation and selling of food, would have to continue, as would most health care, public safety, and the manufacturing of medical supplies. Nonessential goods and services can't continue as before, since people are scared and are not going out and spending as they were doing, pre-pandemic. The fact that some people are still on the beaches or in clubs is a waning phenomenon; as the virus spreads such activities will come virtually to a halt, even absent a government order to do so.",Reader Picks,VT
"Excellent article. I had couple of questions or concerns to put forth 1. If people return to work after no symptoms for 14 days, it is still a possibility that they were only exposed few days ago and are yet to show symptoms. In spite of shelter at home, there is still a possibility of contracting the virus, when they made that visit to the pharmacy for essentials or touched a surface while shopping for grocery. There will still be a small percentage of population that might show symptoms after they get back to work. Even such a small percentage can grow out of proportion in no time like we just saw. 2. I don?t understand how developing herd immunity protects the vulnerables. The vulnerables are vulnerable anytime they are exposed to the virus. Someone who is or has become immune can still transmit the virus to the vulnerables.",Reader Picks,CA
"Many under 60 people are getting very sick. I don?t think anyone wants to risk their health or life to go back to work before they know it?s safe to do so. While Trump is said to be working on getting ventilators, swabs, masks (not the really efficient ones) and other very necessary health equipment, (that?s another story, not sure of his effectiveness on anything or the truth of any of it) very little is said about testing. Without testing, we can?t be sure how safe our communities are. Better to stay in place, let the Government figure out how to get aid to people so they can keep their homes, other necessities and eat, and not overload our health care system. When we have the capability to test a the largest community possible regularly and frequently, we will know what we are dealing with and be able to ask people to go back to work - safely. Not interested in using people as canaries in coal mines. Also not interested in asking anyone to risk their life for an economy or country that does not protect them.",Reader Picks,CA
"The Federal Government knows how much taxes each person has paid over the last year and it knows the business account that the money was sent to. Tomorrow morning everyone who earns under $4 million a year will have all of their tax money returned and immediately distributed by their employers. The money is returned to the taxpayer and in, effect, no one will have been laid off and no one will have missed a paycheck. In addition, employers agree to keep all employees and everyone returns to work in 10 days. I too agree that the saving of a relatively few lives is not worth the collapse of the entire economy which will take years to return to normal. Life is not without risk but far more people will die from depression, suicide, drug addiction and wife and child abuse than died of the virus in the next few years if we don't return to work.",Reader Picks,NY
Do you seriously believe that the Trump administration is capable of managing such an approach to fighting the pandemic? And do you seriously believe that any President could survive the political storm that would surely erupt if they attempted to impose such an approach? Attempting to protect the elderly and vulnerable while allowing everyone else to fend for themselves might work in a dictatorship. In this country no sane politician would have the temerity to propose such an idea.,Reader Picks,VA
"Thank you for this. How long is it economically possible for people who live from week to week to stay at home? With businesses facing bankruptcy from the of lack of customers, many of these people will not have jobs to return to. I believe it is a problem to have medical people call all the shots. I believe there should be a compromise and team approach between the medical people and the economists. Yes we want to slow the rate of infection, but the reality is it's not going away, it will likely resurge and we could get hit with this or even another virus within the next year. Additionally there is a problem with our statistical approach to dying. The current medical opinion is that death is the enemy to be prevented at all cost in almost every case. This is not only patently absurd, it is not possible. death is the natural final consequence of life and if I die of this virus it is no more unnatural than if I die from an osteoporotic fracture. Unfortunately we cannot afford to save every debilitated person without regard to cost, myself included. There will have to be some triage. Thank you for approaching this.",Reader Picks,MT
"So you're going to personally provide tests to, say, 100 million Americans? Because that's what the Friedman/Katz strategy is based on, finding the virus and isolating it. Without that, the strategy fails.",Reader Picks,CA
Quarantining the most vulnerable I don't think would work. What about caregivers or people who live with vulnerable people? Can you safely go to work on the off chance you'd carry it home? And we still don't know how long people would be immune for or if you could get it again. And assuming that populations less at risk are somehow to be canaries in the pandemic coal mine (especially as hospitalized cases for those under 50 increase) won't that just encourage the pool of people dependent on ICU care? This blanket approach (including a lot of money for everyone) is the only way to stem the tide right now. I'm not an economist or a doctor but it seems pretty apparent.,Reader Picks,Tennessee
"I live in China. Nobody buys anything now. The economy is paralyzed. People are buying no cars, no houses, no clothes, no fridges, nothing, only food. In SAR Macau, from 5 shops, 3 are closed. The other 2 are empty. Everyone is afraid of buying. How to stimulate an economy full of fear? I am saving money myself. Not in the mood to spend it. What if the disease returns? Now, we know that unemployment is already 6.2%, maybe 7%. What if I lose my job? GNP fell dramatically in Feb and March. No end in sight.",Reader Picks,HK
"Yes you are a reporter and not a medical expert. But as a reporter you have a responsibly to get your facts straight. The fatal flaw in your argument is that 30%, not a small fraction, of people that get infected across all age groups but children will require medical attention. That is the nightmare scenario for our healthcare system and that we are trying to head off.",Reader Picks,MA
"I agree, we are on a very dangerous course. For the next few weeks the country should rally around getting setup with equipment, facilities, and expedient mass testing so that the medical community is well equipped to handle the situation. Throw all resources at it, and do so aggressively. Isolate and protect the high risk groups. Then we all need to ease back into our normal day-to-day routines and work. Lockdown is not feasible months on months, and a self-inflicted major economic depression is not a necessary a better alternative. Think about what the last major economic depression brought, World War 2.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Cogent, thoughtful, solution-focused. That's said as a healthy woman in my 70s who started total sequestering three-plus weeks ago, long before the concept seemed to be a glimmer for most people, including government. I quit the gym, all the volunteer work, dinners with friends at home or in restaurants, the hair salon (ick, I'm now going gray!) - everything that is now mandated or strongly recommended. Friends thought I was over-reacting. Why did I? Years of survival, keen observation, accruing of commonsense. Then everyone was asked to do so BUT millions have not -- or didn't until forced to. So, those who continued to live in a risky manner should be the first allowed out after two weeks. They'll love it. And the herd immunity can begin and business can crawl back from the abyss. Good column. I'll sit tight and watch. Being at home for so long has been a very difficult for a lively, vital person but I also feel like an everyday heroine for my community and local healthcare. The rest of you can do it for two weeks.",Reader Picks,RI
Only in USA would there be an argument that the economy is more important than our health.,Reader Picks,Canada
"The key is testing, which generates data and permits a data driven response. Once testing is widely available, then it is time for people to return to work and for the vertical response Friedman suggests. Trump's testing delays for political reasons were cruel and ignorant.",Reader Picks,CA
"You seem to be failing to understand the role of colonialism (in all of its forms, across centuries and continents) in the success of ""capitalism"" at raising quality of life. You also appear to have an extremely cartoonish view of what the alternatives to capitalism look like. ""Capitalism"" as typically used in the USA really consists of 3 parts: free markets, entrepeneurial culture and a preference for distributing profit to those who invest capital rather than labor or IP. There's nothing that requires that all 3 of these form the basis for an economy, and indeed through history there have been versions that include only 1 or 2 of these 3 factors. For me personally, I think there's good reason to believe that an economy that utilized the first two of these, but via employee-owned cooperatives and community investment would actually function better by most metrics than the version we have in the US today.",Reader Picks,NM
I don't agree with the proposal. The purpose of the lockdown is to give us time to get the medical system up to speed to deal with the very large number of illnesses that are coming. Terminating the lockdown before that happens will just kill a lot more people.,Reader Picks,NY
"Rewrite this article at the beginning of next week when the number of cases in New York alone will likely exceed that of China. There are too many conflicting voices of ?experts?, helped along by sequestered and privileged journalists, that muddy the waters of what society should be doing, and what should have been done. This is a dangerous and lethal virus for all ages",Reader Picks,CA
"Morning Bill, I will be 75 on July 4th. I have had the good fortune of being born and living in this beautiful Country. I will spare you my story but the bottom line is there is no way I should be alive and writing you this message. I have a suggestion for all the Fortune 500 companies. The executives of each of these companies should forego taking any salary or bonuses for this year, instead using that money to support its workforce. Imagine the response.",Reader Picks,Washington
A friend of mine in Jerusalem died yesterday of a heart attack -- brought on by the financial stresses of his business being closed -- and he failed to go to the hospital because he was worried about catching the virus - just as you describe in your terrific essay,Reader Picks,CA
A societal safety net is not socialism.,Reader Picks,Canada
"This plan is completely contingent on the following being true. Sure there are still complications and maybe certain other considerations ought to be made but without this confirmation, I don't think any of the strategy matters. ?Confirming that individuals are fully recovered, truly immune, and not capable of transmitting is a crucial element in protecting our loved ones most vulnerable to severe infection,? Katz said.",Reader Picks,CA
"It can be pretty severe even for not so old people. So, not only old people should take shelter while the others go back to work.",Reader Picks,IL 
"After stating 3 goals, including that we don't overwhelm the medical system, Friedman proposes a policy which would do exactly that: After 2 more weeks, let most of us, who are not that susceptible, go back to work, so that we don't suffer the increased loss of life that would result from tanking the economy. Nice try, but a bad idea, for multiple reasons. 1) It might work if we had a billion masks, 100,000, ventilators, and 500,000 hospital beds all available, but we don't. The threshold at which the medical system would be overwhelmed is quite low. See New York. 2) This particular strain is -highly- contagious; current estimates are that each case infects 2 to 2.5 other people. We lack anywhere near sufficient test kits, and carriers are asymptomatic for 5-6 days. This is new, so no one has immunity, and there won't be a vaccine for at least a year. Resuming business as usual would be an public health disaster. See Italy. I suggest that Friedman (and others) read Camus' ""The Plague"", in which a city first has to isolate itself from the world, and its citizens have to isolate themselves from each other. It's not fun, but it's doable. The currently stuck ""bailout"" bill, is simple socialism, socializing the losses, despite the current debate on whether people or corporations come first. We needed more of such socialism long before Sanders advocated it for health care, and we need it even more now, well beyond health care. Perhaps this too will shift the debate.",Reader Picks,MA
"Mr. Friedman speaks of our economy as something that must be preserved at almost any coast and in more or less the same form. It doesn't take an overly bright 6th grader to see it hasn't been working very well for the vast majority of our citizens. .2% of the people have over 50% of all the wealth in this country. This is a stunning truth that we brush off every time it comes and then muddies the water with talks of Socialism, Communism and Mao and Stalin. We have no health care system in this country for the same reason that .2% have half the money. It is worth pointing out that the other 50% of the wealth is also distributed mostly to the top 10%. The current panic is happening because the 1% that may die is much more evenly distributed. We will always have the rich among us, but we do not have to have the poor. They are here not so much because they fail but because the rich's greed makes them necessary.",Reader Picks,OR
"Tom, get back to me when you talk numbers and not vague quantifiers like ""small"".",Reader Picks,Florida
"We saw a plague of locusts is coming so we burned the crops in the field. Most of us will starve this winter. Who will call the all clear? When? On what basis? We talk about our economy as if it is something separate from our lives - it is not separate - It is our lives. How long after we call the all clear will another break out happen ?- then what? Next year will be Covid 20, or Covid 22 then what? At some point the stockpiled toilet paper and ramen noodles will run out, and we will need to get back out and work, and then the virus will flare up again. Its hard to accept that many millions will die - but they will if we continue down this path.",Reader Picks,NC
"Inability to test, inability to manufacture basic and relatively simple medical devices despite Peter Navarro's equivocal statements plus a leader who is waiting for a congressional cash infusion plan that will include his personal hotel and resort holdings (with a pre-election non-disclosure) will negate all reasonable scenarios.",Reader Picks,NJ
"This method would work if all people could be trusted to do the right thing and follow these directions. But, I have seen too many people ignoring the directives even now in lockdown and look at those imbeciles on the beaches in Florida happily boozing and cavorting through ""Spring Break""! And I sincerely doubt that, all of those at the most financial risk would continue to safeguard themselves and the rest of us by staying home if they were feeling sick unless forced to do so. It is too tempting to just go to work and risk it to get the paycheck. People have been doing that for centuries, even with the very dangerous, if not lethal common flu. ""I like people....up to a point"".",Reader Picks,CA
"I had this same idea, which I shared on Facebook. Responses from my friends convinced my this won't work. Even if the Coronavirus has the same fatality rate as regular flu among those who aren't highly vulnerable, and even if we could successfully isolate the highly vulnerable, our health care system would still be overwhelmed. The reason for this is that, unlike the regular flu, (1) no one has immunity to this, and (2) it seem to be more contagious by a factor of 3 times. So assume 200,000,000 people would get it, and 0.1% would die, that's 200,000 deaths. But, it would be worse, because the hospitals wouldn't be able to adequately treat all who needed it. This, unfortunately, is the math.",Reader Picks,MA
"I am 68 years old and work at a large grocery/department store, which is still open of course. I can't understand how everyone is overlooking one obvious and disturbing fact; masses of people who are otherwise directed to be at home go out to buy groceries. Doctors and nurses are rightly acknowledged to be on the front line and needing protection. What about the incubator that is now the local store?? What about the potential spread that this glaring exception to the rule of isolation presents to us all? Any thoughts?",Reader Picks,OR
"It caught my eye and attention, that in the column the argument for moving from horizontal to vertical approach was in ne part based on the idea that ""a very small percentage of the most vulnerable will, tragically, die."" If the eventual mortality rate in Covid-19 should be 0,1%, the argument rests on allowing one person out of thousand to die. One in thousand to die. Is that a lot? A little? Even if these would be at the latter part of their lives? Surely there is a need to weight the social cost of ""the horizontal"" supression of the epidemic. It costs lives, too. But for me to put forth an economic argument for allowing deaths to happen is alien thought. The ethical repercussions of that idea are brutal.",Reader Picks,Finland
"A targeted, surgical approach requires knowing exactly where the problem is ( We don't know where it is becuase our testing is thus far and in the near future a pittance compared to what it should be). A surgical approach also requires the appropritate tools (We don't have near enough the high acuity beds in hospitals, ventilators or the PPE required to even approach an level of safety for our medical providers. A surgical approach also requires us to know what the problem is (we don't know enough yet) and what he cost benefit ratio is (we don't know yet). I'm a dermatologist in NYC and I'm already being called to treat patients in the hospital (Not Covid patients but other patients that have been admitted). It's only been a couple weeks since this started. A so called surgical approach would undoubtedly make this so much worse. I'm pleased Cuomo is treating this problem with the seriousness it deserves and I'm just hoping the coming increase in humidity and temperature will slow the spread and allow our country to regain its balance for the next season (It's my hope this is seasonal of course, we can't rely on this).",Reader Picks,NY
I am sorry for your circumstances. That is so unacceptable of an employer to act during a time like this.,Reader Picks, NY
You mean like the corporations that borrowed millions to buy back their stock to drive up stock prices and now are lining up to beg for bailouts? Why are workers expected to save and have six months reserve for a rainy day but it's okay for corporations to lever up to the hilt with no cash to withstand an unexpected event? What about corporate responsibility?,Reader Picks,MA
"Do you, David Brooks, Brett Stephens, etc., feel some kind of like, guilt for railing against Medicare for All the last few months? For turning around and advocating, in a panic, for the ideas that you shamed Sanders for holding? I increasingly believe the New York Times should publicly hold itself accountable. Not all is Trump's fault. This paper played no small role in undermining our chances of surviving this crisis.",Reader Picks,CA
If only we had a team of experts in place well in advance of this situation to have strategized IN ADVANCE so we could have calmly reacted. Please vote this clown administration out in November. It stopped being cute months and months ago. Now we?re in mortal danger.,Reader Picks,NY
"According to the CDC, seasonal flu viruses have already killed 23,000 Americans during during the past 11 weeks. Flu viruses kill about 35,000 to 50,000 Americans each year. We have decided to accept 35,000 to 50,000 flu deaths per year without shutting down schools and businesses. We will soon make the same decision about COVID-19, even it if kills more Americans than flu. Judging from its behavior in China, which is now reporting fewer than 10 COVID-19 deaths per day, COVID-19 won?t kill ad many Americans as flu. But even if COVID killed one or two million Americans, we would still restart the economy. America will collapse if the shutdown continues.",Reader Picks,USA
Dr. Katz?s suggestion of quarantining the vulnerable and re-opening business and movement for the so-called healthy could be enacted for half the nation and then compare results. Which geographic half of the nation is up for that experiment?,Reader Picks,
"not a bad idea to have the entire country shelter in place for two weeks and then slowly have asymtomatic people return to work while completing testing for everyone. However, we have to get the entire country to shelter in place at the same time if we want to then release people back to work, to school, etc without an explosion of CoVid cases. The reason to reintroduce public life slowly and cautiously is because no one yet knows how this virus works, whether it will recede in the summer, doubtful given it's activity in tropical climates and in Austrailia, or whether we can create immunities and vaccines to limit its spread at a later time. We need to learn how to do this because, in my opinion, this is merely the tip of what is to come as climate change continues to warm our atmosphere beyond what we have learned to live with.",Reader Picks,
"I think you?re right about the increased deaths, but the larger point that needs to be considered is that letting the economy tank could lead to even more human suffering and death in the long run. This can be a tough calculus, but it?s one we have to try to get right. It seems obvious that overshooting on measures can be counter-productive for society.",Reader Picks,MO
"This is a crisis that the Republicans will do all they can to benefit from. They will send money to pay for votes; they will burden the economy, whatever it will be, with so much debt that anti-big government politicians in Washington can use to cut social programs afterwards, claiming that the debt is SO huge that we just can't afford to continue those safety net programs. They will dismantle federal agencies, again claiming that we can't afford big government. They will deregulate everything, claiming that we can't afford regulation. So much of that debt will have been spent on businesses who will not be required to pay for their dinners at the trough of government money. If the Senate bill goes through as it has been presented here, the above will be its consequences. Dr. Katz makes very good arguments for targeted and much less invasive steps to meet the current situation that are more in line with our current knowledge of how this virus actually works.",Reader Picks,Mississippi
"I'm not listening to any of the ""updates"" coming out of the White House, and I sure as heck am not going to read some ""solutions"" column by Thomas Friedman. We need facts right now, not fantasies.",Reader Picks,NM
"What if by next fall the young and strong become the vulnerable as Wave 2 of the COVID-19 mutates like the 1918 Spanish flu virus did? Back then,those with the strongest immune systems had those systems fatally turn against them during Wave 2. The past is prologue!",Reader Picks,Colorado
"Sen. Rand Paul has tested positive for the virus and is completely asymptomatic. A perfect example of what Mr. Friedman is saying. We are all going to catch the virus but if we protect the most vulnerable and take limited measures with everyone else, we can achieve so-called herd immunity quickly without overwhelming the health system or crashing the economy. If we crater the economy, many millions will suffer and yes many will die if we have protracted depression. There is some risk but, if this is a war asso many have said, what war comes without risk? We need sound, strategic thinking and action. Not panic.",Reader Picks,MN
"Interesting thought, ? we have to push the federal government to provide testing?, testing is the most important tool in the pandemic tool box followed by protection equipment and ventilators. Unfortunately disease is nature?s way of enforcing the principle of, survival of the fittest, while testing government preparedness and effectiveness and the competence of the medical system. In a pandemic the government part of the equation is the most important. Our government is failing us miserably, therefore the postulate of ?survival of the fittest? is the is the last refuge of salvation. Let?s hope the government is not using their failure as a pretext for lining the pockets of their constituents with taxpayer money while ignoring those who need monetary fitness to survive.",Reader Picks,CA
"More wisdom from the guy who enthusiastically backed the Iraq war, unrestrained globalization, the notion that China would come to respect the rule of law and so many other failed notions. Now he's spreading the dangerous idea that there's a relatively quick and easy way out of contagion. Please, spare us.",Reader Picks,CA
"I?m afraid we?re all duty bound to panic for as long as Trump once said there?s not need to, without doing so there?s nothing to discredit. We have to remember what?s really important in times like these.",Reader Picks,PA
"I always appreciate your forward looking perspective, Mr. Friedman.
I still remember that in those dark, fearsome days after the 9/11 attacks, you encouraged us to get back to living.  Even though there were no guarantees of safety.  And you were right.
Then, as now, there was a pause in life.  We had to process what had happened and find the way forward to best contain the risks without ceasing to operate.  
The worry of terrorism has not left us and never will. But in the long run, we can?t give up on living because we?re scared to die.",Reader Picks,NY
"It seems to me that there is little real data regarding the virus infection rates, morality rates, how long is in viable in asymptomatic folks, reinfection rates, etc. Hence proposals are some things to noodle over. Historically it seems that government responses tend to 'to little, to late"". No governor that has instituted any kind of lock down has indicated that it will be forever or even a long time. But it will be reviewed as more and newer data is received and digested. Perhaps our economy needs a serious shake up since it seems to reward such a small percentage of the population.",Reader Picks,CA
"Thank you Mr. Friedman. Getting the economy working again is not about greed. It's about everything we hold dear, including our health. Let's protect those who need protecting. The rest of us will develop antibodies and recover. We can also continue the sanitary measures indefinitely.",Reader Picks,VA
"We need to step back and NOT DESTROY THE ECONOMY. We can have retired people (like me) stay home, but keep restaurants open, stores open, bars open. People die in depressions. They die of hunger. We cannot continue to pay unemployed people with public debt.",Reader Picks,
"This pattern of sparing the young is in stark contrast with other, known pandemics, like the 1918 flu, or SARS, where the young were more likely to die. Don't make a rule based on age that you wouldn't want applied were the statistics to show greater mortality in the young. And I say this even though I agree that a young life needs to be protected more. When I taught as adjunct faculty and we had shooter drills, it was always clear to me that I should risk taking a bullet before any student should.",Reader Picks,
"Suppose my wife and I (69 and 64 years of age) sequester in place with suspicious symptoms and with no available test. If after 14 days from the disappearance of the last symptoms we wish to emerge from our self-made cocoon, will a test be able to inform us whether we did indeed have the Corona?",Reader Picks,Ohio
"elsewhere, italy has almost shut down all industrial production and offices. can we really do a lot better in containing the cases and reopen our offices in weeks? the new normal is rising coronavirus cases.",Reader Picks,CA
"Excellent points. JazzPaw. In addition, we don't know for sure how long the incubation period is (14 days is not necessarily the end date), how much asymptomatic people can spread the virus, what percentage of the infected are asymptomatic, how many in the US would have tested positive given more testing, and on and on. There needs to be a national stay-at-home order through April 10th. At that time with more epidemiological information the order can be re-evaluated.",Reader Picks,CA
"Sadly, I see a dreadful correlation between this column by Mr. Friedman and the Iraq war days. I will never forget Mr. Friedman writing that the Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld disaster needed more time to show results. Six months give it 6 months was his credo. You can go back and read his columns from that time; I?m not making this up. The 6 mos. thinking went on for much more then 6 mos. I have complete respect for Mr. Friedman, but I don?t nor never will believe in him.",Reader Picks,CA
"There are only two ways to get immunity from a viral disease, get the vaccine or get the disease. Since a vaccine is not yet on the horizon, the only way to get immunity is to get the disease. Isolating and sequestering people buys time for our leaders, health care system, hospitals, testing labs and other facilities to get their act together and be ready for the deluge of patients that is going to come. There will have to be a series of shut-downs to slow the spread of the virus enough so that our health care system can deal with the patient load. As far as the economy is concerned, this crash was waiting to happen due to 10 years of easy money policies that suppressed interest rates and allowed money to flow into bubble like activities. By throwing money indiscriminately, the government and the Fed will in-fact slow the recovery because the insolvent businesses will still shut down, but with greater losses.",Reader Picks,PA
"I'm at work now. In retail. If I don't work, I don't eat. Death by starvation is 100% guaranteed. I have a 1% chance to die by COVID-19.",Reader Picks,USA
"In a month or two, after the first wave of infections have ebbed, is when to concern ourselves about the economic effects. The priority of the President and the Republicans are to bolster stock prices and to safeguard the book value of publicly traded businesses because it supports their supporters and will help them in the fall elections. They will not permit money to pay for treatment of patients and support of medical and public safety personnel, of unemployment insurance, of assistance to small businesses unless the Democrats in Congress to give them carte blanche to give money to big businesses.",Reader Picks,CA
"Can Times columnists PLEASE stop citing the Ioannidis article in Stat? A subsequent article refuted the points he made, and argued that the current response is essential given the lack of good data on who is infected. ",Reader Picks,Cincinnati
"Using an ?two-week isolation? strategy to identify individuals who are not infected with the coronavirus, and allowing those individuals to return to work or school is risky. The problem is that some of these individuals will become infected after they return to work or school AND infect others before any new symptoms appear. Without knowing how many people they are likely to infect it?s not possible to estimate what the impact of this would be. Current estimates of the average number of individuals one infected person might infect are not know, but could be as high as 2. If so, each person that is released back into the workforce could potentially start a new ?chain reaction? where they infect 2 people before realizing they have the virus, and those 2 people will each infect 2 more individuals before they release they are infected, and so forth, leading to a new ?exponential increase? in infections. The net effect of this can be mathematically modeled, but the models require accurate estimates of transmission rate and mortality. Neither is known at this time, and cannot be known, with getting an accurate estimate of the number of individuals being infected. This means the rate at which we test people needs to go up.",Reader Picks,MA
"Er, your house and clothing may still have active viruses in them. If you go out in a week, you may be spreading them, no?",Reader Picks,NM
"Some things to think about - for the next time. In the current state of unpreparedness there is no option but to isolate severely, and start tracking the infections as soon as possible. This has worked for some countries. ""A very small percentage of the most vulnerable will, tragically, die."" The death rate for confirmed cases in China is over 4% and it is over 8% in Italy. That is overall, not the most vulnerable.",Reader Picks,Tennessee
There are also tests for the presence in the blood of the antibodies produced in response to the specific Coronavirus. This test is about to be rolled out widely in Germany. If the antibody is present and there are no symptoms the individual is likely resistant to the worst of the symptoms. These ?immune? people can become the front line of the 1st responders. The test is like a simple blood glucose test. The results are known in 10 minutes. This is true. And where are we with the development and rollout of this test in the US? Hopeful.,Reader Picks,NC
"This a good idea that should have been part of the ""planning for a pandemic"" by our federal leaders. I'll bet there is a plan somewhere but Trump fired those who would know where it is. Short of a pre-defined written plan, Trump could have begun an all hands on deck planning and execution effort just as soon as he learned what was happening in China, say in late December. And short of that, he could just ignore the data and talk happy talk to make it all go away. Oh wait, that's what he did. His abject failure two learn, understand, and lead places us where we are today, running to catch up with a biologic and economic emergency. So good ideas are going to get lost as we all rush to save ourselves. ""I'm not responsible"" will be Trump's requiem.",Reader Picks,NH
When the NYT offices get infected Mr Friedman?s priorities will change. Maybe he should go workout with Sen Paul.,Reader Picks,Colorado
"My thoughts are more to the economic. What if we pivoted how we handle unemployment? I run a large performing arts center. I just had to lay off 120 people I adore. They lost access to my email platform, keys and healthcare. That is a country where healthcare is still centered on the employer. What not pay my company the unemployment to KEEP people. Let me reduce hours, send folks home as needed AND become part of the solution. Some may be aimed at delivering food. Some at modest manufacturing, some at assisting healthcare institutions. My company?s obligation is to keep them engaged and keep them on healthcare. Then I COULD restart quickly. Then there would NOT be such anxiety. In our case, we can sew, we can build, we understand logistics, we have vehicles, we have kitchens and space. Or at least we use to.",Reader Picks,NY
"The spread of the virus is exponential. Each person that is spared infection will ultimately save hundreds if not thousands of others. Further, this virus is killing young people as well as old. Even children are dying (at a rate of 0.6% according to current numbers). And the likelihood of hospitalization is also very real for people of all age groups. You know what's worse than poverty because of isolation? Poverty combined with hospitalization and medical bills. Not to mention the slim but real possibility of death. Don't just assume this virus can't hurt you, because it might just prove you wrong in the worst possible way. This is not a time to be wrong on this. Help others stay safe by staying safe.",Reader Picks,NY
"Poor America. Our greed and failures to attend to the common good have tumbled us from our perch of uncontested world leader in health and social contracts. We are also, it seems to this mid-eighties oldster, living in a la-la land that believes money can right all and keep away the natural life cycle spoke of death. I hope this global pandemic will open our eyes and hearts to balancing life opportunities for better health and working lives for all rather than carving out vast riches for the few. And more to the point, I'd rather die from this pandemic than live on into senility if it means saving a critical care bed for someone who still has many socially contributing years ahead of them.",Reader Picks,NE
"On the surface it sounds like a good idea. But I've already spent 2 weeks at home, and I am not in a bubble. I had to go out. So if people go out after 2 weeks, some will be infected and spread the infection over the next 2 weeks. It's simple math, each infection spreads to several more people. The options are clear, stop people from mixing until the new cases go down, or test everyone. China had to keep people in place because the government did dragged its heals. The Trump administration did likewise, we have little choice at this point with a shortage of tests.",Reader Picks,NY
"This approach brings me hope. As someone who runs a company and just laid off 55 people across the United States in my relatively small ten store retail store business, it was the safety of my employees and customers I had to prioritize when we closed our stores one week ago. Most of our employees are young and were worried about spreading the virus, more than catching it. As a conservative, I am appalled at how this was miss-managed early on by this administration and fear this is the perfect set up for this White House and their cronies to seize more power in the true spirit of authoritarianism. During 9/11, many things were swept under the rug, and rationalized as necessary for protecting the people, only to take more and more liberties away. This is perfect storm for this President and aids like Steven Miller to create their own grand solution. ""Beware of Darkness"" as we work together to find a way out. Let's look to Japan for a model. They appear to have stopped its spread and life is relatively normal there with restaurants open along with other businesses, yet the spread has stopped, for now. They have a new ""normal.""",Reader Picks,MA
"Shutting down for longer than two weeks is not sustainable anyway so we better figure out how to pivot to a more targeted approach. The cure may not be quite worse than the disease yet but we are rapidly approaching the point of intersection. Groupthink, as you say, or mass psychosis, as I would, have accelerated our stumbling approach to the pandemic and that is just too bad. The fun of blaming and complaining can wait until after the crisis. Next time perhaps this will be handled in the calm and routine manner of an office fire drill without all the collateral damage.",Reader Picks,IL 
"It is impossible to make any intelligent decision as to how to proceed unless we have the facts. But the President is a liar. He has misled Americans in every single one of his daily briefings. Testing only produces data that Trump dislikes because it reveals the truth, as we are seeing today in New York State. It is no coincidence that the federal government dragged its feet on testing and that Trump lies every day about its availability. Friedman?s suggestions are a nonstarter because we are literally flying blind, unsure what to believe, and confident only in knowing we cannot trust our President.",Reader Picks,CA
"We HAVE to get people back to work ASAP and earning the living they deserve. A one-time $1,000 handout from the government is a nice idea but won't pay for a week's worth of groceries, utilities, and supplies for a family of four. One frightening development that hasn't received enough attention is the sudden increase in gun buying, especially by first-time buyers (reported in the Times a few days ago). The scenario these buyers imagine must NOT come to pass, but if we plunge into a worldwide depression, I fear it will.",Reader Picks,
"As a person with cancer, one of the human sacrifices you?d approve of making, I have a somewhat different view, as millions of others and their families who need them. You can refer to us as a percent or two or four or six (depending on what you imagine will happen). But if you had to come to our homes and personally kill us painfully, you might?might?see it differently yourself. And given that anyone can get the virus and crash, you might even meet me, both of us in a hospital parking lot waiting to be sorted. Getting back to normal will be really tough for you then. But I think Thomas will most likely continue writing from home that other people should go out to work.",Reader Picks,OK
My sense in reading Friedman over the years is that he thinks he is the smartest person in the world and he is frequently wrong. Look where his support for the Iraq war got us. My advice is read Friedman and do the opposite.,Reader Picks,VT
"This is an irresponsible and dangerous article in suggesting the current plan, which will save lives, is a result of group think and presenting one that is based on a series of unknowns and false assumptions. While everyone appreciates thinking outside of the box to help the devastation happening, now isn't the time for this approach.",Reader Picks,NY
I always read Mr. Friedman as his articles are usually well thought out. This one is an exception. This country's health care system is so out of whack that leaving the vulnerable to their own devices is akin to stating that the older one is the less value they have. You want to put this country back to work? Teach a crash manufacturing course in making masks and testing kits!,Reader Picks,CA
"I'm skeptical that Americans are able to sit indoors for months. At some point, they will begin noticing that people aren't dropping over dead in the streets. They may know a some sick people, but more than likely those people will survive. So, they'll start calling for going back to work. Very few of us can go months without a paycheck, and the pittance offered by the federal government won't fill that hole. In the meanwhile, we seem to be watching our economy collapse. As Friedman points out, that will probably lead to more deaths than the virus itself in the form of suicides, drug overdoses, alcoholism, and homelessness. The two-week plan offered by Friedman might work in a perfect world with universal healthcare, ample testing kits, and a president who isn't a bloviating clown. But we don't have that. In another perfect world, where people had limitless food, medicine, and patience, the long-term sequester would probably work too. But that world doesn't exist either. My guess is that we're going to end up with a grim reality somewhere in the middle, with Americans eventually going out, getting sick, and some dying. The vast majority will survive. Given that likely reality, maybe we can at least save our economy by letting people go to work. We may even save more lives that would have been lost due to a long-term economic recession.",Reader Picks,IN
"I'm concerned that Mr. Friedman is being quite irresponsible at this juncture. The slowdown has been barely a couple of weeks. Your country is well on course for an exponentially-growing humanitarian disaster. Yes, concerns for the health of the economy must be entertained at a suitable time. But for heaven's sakes - give it at least another week or two before you start, yet again, prioritizing Mammon over real lives.",Reader Picks,Canada
"Is this Katz model based every individual isolated in their own separate 'pod' and not the realistic model of multiple individuals living together. If there are silent carriers, might multiple people in the same living area slowly, one at a time, pass the virus before one less fortunate individual becomes symptomatic? It might stretch the 'two week' model out significantly with respect to suppressing viral spread and complications. Too much still unknown about this. Differences in morbidity and mortality between countries already heavily involved with this virus. Too little testing here in this country.",Reader Picks,Wisconsin
"The premise of this article is that we have a functioning national public health surveillance infrastructure and system in our county. We DO NOT. Instead, we have a very fragmented system in place. Thus, the Governors are instituting their own fragmented approaches to respond to this public health emergency and to protect the residents of their respective states in the absence of a coordinated federal programs or policies and in the absence of a federal scientific task force producing and sharing information with all stakeholders to make informed and cost-effective decisions. The President's spending plan for 2021 included a 16 percent reduction in CDC funding from the 2020 spending levels. This is on top of decades long continual reduction in funding for governmental public health programs in federal, state, and local level over the years. What we are observing today clearly is the absence of a national public health infrastructure (masks, ventilators, hospital beds, coordinated public health emergency action plans, programs or policies). This stems from the anti-government (anti-public health) policies of, primarily the GOP, and other policy makers and political leaders who supported them and the citizens who elected them to the office in the first place.",Reader Picks,USA
"OK, Mr. Friedman, we hear you but how to make certain that all of our citizens (and non-citizens) self-quarantine for a period of two weeks, excluding only our health workers and those who are already in quarantine at medical facilities? Mobile testing and temperature-check systems sound like reasonable ideas but where will they be located and how will we ensure that everyone makes use of them once their period of quarantine is over? I wish that at such a time as this all Americans could be pressured into doing the right thing, for themselves as well as for the rest of us. And yet we're a nation of people who didn't fully trust their government even before a pathological liar was elected to the highest office in the land. And those self-styled libertarians who reside mostly in rural areas far from the presence of government ""intrusion,"" what are the chances that they will self-isolate, at least to the extent that they haven't done so for all of their adult lives? I suppose it's ironic that Rand Paul is now the first senator to announce that he's tested positive for Covid-19; perhaps this will persuade some of those who share his political philosophy to accept the fact that government can occasionally have its uses.",Reader Picks,NYC
why do you think the disease will leave in two weeks? It won?t. It will go on infecting people every day.,Reader Picks,OK
"This is the type of dialogue that needs to be happening. Timing is critical here. Right now, it's too early and we know too little about the virus and levels of infection in the US to even understand how overwhelmed health care will be and when things will stabilize to the point that care could even be administered to those that need it. Would you want your loved ones pushed out the door knowing that, if they got sick, there would be no one available to care for them and they would be left to die alone and untreated? Didn't think so. We should be talking and planning now but to think this will pass and it will be business as usual in 2-3 weeks is simply wishful thinking. The elephant in the room (the one not being attacked by the cat) is that at some point, economic meltdown will create social unrest, looting, and violence. What that balance should be is anyone's guess right now.",Reader Picks,PA
Trump made 33 false claims about coronavirus in the first weeks of March. We certainly can't rely on our government to help in a national health emergency.,Reader Picks,IA
"Finally, people are leaving panic mode and entering a rational analysis of the problem at hand and looking at an array of possible solutions that balance cost and benefit. With a few exceptions, there are no current shortages of medical equipment. There are PROJECTED shortages based on a model of possible infections. There are 795 severe to urgent corona virus patients presently in THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES.",Reader Picks,MA
"Mr. Friedman's points are mundane and obvious. Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, have been implementing this course of action since SARS, bird flu, swine flu. The rub is that our leadership did not monitor our temperature at airports, workplaces and malls from the get go early in January. That would have been vertical monitoring and interdiction at the appropriate time.",Reader Picks,CA
"Any strategy based on facts and science would have been better than no strategy, or even worse, the administration's pseudo-strategy. The scientific method was a product of the same 17th and 18th enlightenment that generated the ideas that fueled the birth of the U.S., and by many of the same thinkers. Our founders knew that it worked better than wishful thinking, but our current president and many of his followers don't. Calling for the federal government to make decisions and base its actions on science, facts, and math shouldn't be partisan. Or necessary.",Reader Picks,Wisconsin
"Donald Trump is a poor leader, but the greatness of the USA has always been in its ordinary people, not in its elite leadership class. I don't intend to wait around for some government official on this - I will personally follow the Friedman / Katz advice here and if some government official intends to prevent me, they will need coercive means far stronger than a press conference. I urge my fellow Americans to do the same.",Reader Picks,CA
Social Distancing has proved to be a critical method of stopping the spread of disease. The formula of how much distance over how much time needs to be determined ,Reader Picks,VA
"The current crisis demands not Trump portraying himself as a wartime president, launching his own model of the New Deal - he would love to see himself as another FDR - but sustainable solutions. While COVID-19 kills lives, it also kills the economy. What is controversial is that Republicans all of a sudden don't mimd a big government. The kind of financial help the Trump administration seeks to provide benefit mainly distressed industries, such as the major US airlines. The White House and Senate Republicans want several hundred billion dollars for impacted industries. Yet Keynesian economists maintain without big public investments, and big public-employment programmes the economy won't bounce back soon. Instead the country will have to grapple with another protracted jobless recovery.",Reader Picks,Switzerland
"how about the reverse: that everyone who is laid off/furloughed get their full -- or close to full -- salary, paid by the employer (The Bezos can certainly afford this for a while), by other benefactors -- say Mike Bloomberg -- or by the federal government. And how about no health care costs while we're at it? All seems so logical to me, and to many others, no doubt.",Reader Picks,Georgia
"I read this essay and also the essay by Katz. I agree that a more thoughtful and targeted approach would probably be a good idea. However, one thing that is assumed in both essays is that the case fatality rate is a low 1 percent. Maybe there is good evidence for this. But as I recall, Katz points to South Korea as an example of the 1 percent fatality rate. He claims this is because of good healthcare practices and widespread testing. But South Korea also has a much healthier population than the U.S. South Korea has much lower rates of obesity and significantly greater longevity than the U.S. (three or four years longer). So definitely, any targeted approach should take into account underlying conditions. The U.S. is not South Korea and we should not pretend it is.",Reader Picks,NM
"All the experts agree on everyone having two week quarantine at home being the first step. In fact, that's what Dr. Fauci said he would like to see happen. And yet, that's the hardest to implement and that's how we ended up with the laissez faire shelter-at-home orders. The question is, if the first step of two week quarantine is not possible, how should all the other steps be modified in order to preserve both public health and economy. As an epidemiologist, at this point it's difficult to tell whether the debate is around the scientific control measures or the logistics and policy measures. While these are related topics, I think many are conflating science and policy being made informed by science. Neither is replacement for the other.",Reader Picks,CA
"That 37-year-old is not nearly as smart as you (and she) think she is. Given the reality of the situation, she is pretty much a leading candidate for the Darwin Awards. To just be perfectly honest, I won't mourn her. But I will, and in fact already am, mourning whatever combination of factors resulted in a generation - the Millennial generation - of folks so stunted in terms of intelligence that they actually think that not only do not basic rules of science not apply to them personally, but that somehow being allowed to stay in business does not result in increased risk for every single person in this country.",Reader Picks,OR
This society does not care about all its members. In reality no society does. People care more about their direct family members more than other people. People care way way more about their own children than other people's children. It is just greedy grimy nature at work.,Reader Picks,CA
"I'm still waiting for Mr. Friedman to write a follow-up to his earlier prediction that the Democratic Party would officially split in two before the Convention?complete with a new organization, platform, and nominee. He loves to spitball prophecies, few of which ever come true",Reader Picks,NY
Two weeks is not enough time to release the general public out into large gatherings. It?s not feasible and possibly dangerous.,Reader Picks,Minnesota
"If we are going to put an emphasis on protecting the most vulnerable and let the virus run its course then we need a medical system that can handle it. From what we have seen we do not. Then there is the question of how do the effected pay the bill. With some 30 million without health insurance and many more having high deductibles and copays, unless the government picks up this cost,many will face an economic catastrophe.",Reader Picks,CT 
"Yes, we do have that right when the liberty of one threatens the lives of others. You don?t have the right to yell fire in a crowded theater unless there really is a fire. And the economic damage can be dealt with. We bailed out countless big companies before. We can bail out individuals and small companies now. Give our doctors and hospitals a fighting chance. Stay home now!",Reader Picks,Missouri
"Yes, we do have that right when the liberty of one threatens the lives of others. You don?t have the right to yell fire in a crowded theater unless there really is a fire. And the economic damage can be dealt with. We bailed out countless big companies before. We can bail out individuals and small companies now. Give our doctors and hospitals a fighting chance. Stay home now!",Reader Picks,MI
"I'm not normally a fan of the pollyanna-ish, ""unrestricted free trade is good for everyone"" Friedman, but I think he's doing a good turn here by publicizing some very workable alternatives to our current hysterical reaction re. coronavirus. It's pretty clear, isn't it, that we simply can't shut down all businesses and factories for 6 months and expect anything but an economic disaster. A calibrated approach that protects the elderly and others who might be the most vulnerable to die from this virus while also letting everybody else go back to work sounds absolutely right to me. So Mr Friedman, you get are very rare ""Bravo!"" from me. I hope some state governors out there read this and act.",Reader Picks,NB
"Friedman's preferred ""vertical interdiction"" is more commonly known as mitigation strategy and has been analyzed in the Imperial College paper. Mitigation strategies, when gamed out, still result in over-capaciting ERs and hospitals and hundreds of thousands of deaths. Friedman's calculations hinge on a mortality rate of < 1% but all evidence to-date points to a reproduction rate of 2.3 - 2.4 (10 people infect another 23 or 24) and population-wide mortality of higher than 3%. Can policy makers decide on data points that right now seem more hopeful than realistic - of course not. In reality, we know what needs to happen to save the economy. A massive stimulus plan centered on helping workers keep their jobs and small businesses stay afloat. Universal paid sick leave. Guarantee that if one loses insurance coverage due to a layoff, then they and their dependents are immediately enrolled in a basic ACA plan, with option to buy up if they want/can. Freeze all evictions. Stop all arrests/incarcerations for small non-violent crimes (that includes immigration offenses and things like marijuana smoking). Extend bridge loans to small businesses to keep them afloat and to insure they can guarantee to keep on their employees.",Reader Picks,MA
"It was only two weeks ago that we pivoted away from the preeminent experts at FOX, and Trump's ""hunches"", to a science based methodology to fight this virus. That pivot to science was nearly impossible. There are still remnants of non-qualified sycophants guiding this current pivot. For example, Jared Kushner's team has no business in any part of this discussion, unless they want to collectively volunteer as test dummies for one of their suggested cures. So, while this op-ed piece has merit, it's a huge stretch to believe that Trump would allow another pivot, or is capable of understanding the ""hunch"" required to make the pivot. Most importantly, he doesn't seem to have assembled a team of experts who would discuss these possible pivots.",Reader Picks,IL 
"From everything we have been told, 80% of people have mild symptoms after being infected by this virus. And most of that 80% is in the work force, or in school. Most of the remaining 20% are older, and have retired from the work force. So by shutting down the economy (as is being done), the 80% are being deprived of a livelihood, essentially to save the 20%. So this idea would allow the 80% to become infected, get well, and get back to work, while the 20% remains sheltered from infection. The part that I am not clear on is: how do you shelter the 20% from infection? In a country the size of the United States, you are talking about 66 million people.",Reader Picks,
"40%+ of Americans (and many Canadians) are obese. Some doctors think that this may be a ""co-morbidity"" present here that was not present in Asia. Could that be contributing to the higher percentage of younger people being seriously affected by the disease in NA? Unless you can rule this out, the proposed strategy seems like purposefully following the Italy route. Can we take that chance?",Reader Picks,Canada
"I appreciate this piece so much, thank you for being brave enough to speak the truth.",Reader Picks,PA
"Those of us who can self isolate are the lucky ones. (And I?m talking about us readers of the NYT.) But we aren?t the millions of workers risking their and their family?s lives every day. Doctors,nurses, first responders, home health aids, grocery workers, pharmacy workers, drivers delivering our online orders (pay-pal crashed today), workers delivering our meals, factory workers, and on and on. Some do it because it is their duty, and some do it because they are terrified of losing their jobs. Most of these jobs pay very little, which might be why many of us give little thought that these people are literally sacrificing themselves to keep the rest of us safe and comfortable. They don?t get to ?shelter in place.?",Reader Picks,CA
"When someone suggests a humane and potentially workable solution to a complicated problem, you can bet that a stubborn ""stable genius"" somewhere up the chain will decide to do the exact opposite.",Reader Picks,Tennessee
"The only thing I would question in this very interesting piece by TF is the severity of this catastrophic shock to the US economy. If the government did nothing, then the scenario of massive job losses to which TF refers would indeed happen. However, this pandemia is galvanizing governments all over the world, including the US, to apply the aggressive fiscal policy which has been lacking since the crisis of 2008/9, and which economists have been calling for, instead of relying exclusively on monetary stimulus, which now seems to have reached its limits. Maybe its wishful thinking, but I fail to see how a 2 trillion dollar stimulus if handled correctly can't do a lot to support the economy and avoid a serious recession. Hopefully, these measures, along with cheaper oil and zero interest rates can get us all over the next few months while the pandemia reaches its inflection point sometime in the third quarter.",Reader Picks,Mexico
"The gop is using the pandemic as an excuse in ant attempt topass another package that cuts taxes further for their billionaire donors-both corporations and individuals. the tax cuts they gave these parties-big and small business owners in 2017 is already a huge failure, and only dug us deeper into debt. Instead the stimulus should give direct relief to the many workers who have lost pay owing to lockdowns, and keep the small businesses they work in afloat through cheap loans.businesses should not get a bail out for bad management. They should have built up rainy day cash reserves. Bank cds, savings, munis and government bonds need to be propped up to protect retirement and savings accounts",Reader Picks,CA
"My friend is a nurse in Las Vegas. She told me today, that the hospital at which she works does not provide the nursing staff N95 masks, only surgical masks and gowns, and that the workers who clean the rooms of the covid19 patients are not properly protected. If we live in a country where the medical workers themselves cannot obtain adequate protection, I don?t know in what sense we can be called an advanced nation. I don?t know the right thing to do. I have felt the panic has been overblown, then have felt I was way wrong on that. Now I don?t know. I hope there is a way to help the economy. Many many poor people will be destroyed and their families will literally starve to death if we cannot get something going again. And they will not have had covid19. This I know: no work and no income will destroy the world faster than covid19.",Reader Picks,NY
"The reason to shut down is to prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed. If it is overwhelmed, there won?t be enough beds or ventilators to perform life saving surgeries for cancer patients, perform open heart surgery for heart attack patients etc and so not only will 1 million deaths occur from Coronavirus but millions more will occur from all the other diseases that we can?t treat because there won?t be any capacity to do so. However, if this shutdown goes on for a year, many will lose their jobs and many will die from not being able to pay for healthcare and choosing against getting treated at all. So, to optimize our situation, to find the best possible option among all bad options, we need to find a way to get people back into the economy while minimizing the spread of the virus. To do that, we will need to get our infection control doctors who understand viral transmission to group hack with restaurant owners and hoteliers and airline people to figure out a way for people to gather together safely. What if everybody just wore fresh robes and masks to the movie theater? Then put them in a hamper to be laundered before and after? same with airlines? The virus is spread by contacting high touch surfaces and the touching ones eyes or mouth or nose....so let?s figure out a way to block that! Let us consider setting up restaurants with barriers between tables, rules for all servers to wear masks all the time etc etc. allow people into museums with a mask etc.",Reader Picks,VA
"No, many people cannot. Many of us have constant close contact with customers. We are breathing the same air as our customers. No amount of the Purell that can?t be bought anymore anyway will help that.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"Perhaps we can manage a complete economic overhaul where sick workers can stay home, grandparents are not nannies, seasoned teachers can retire to a younger, fairly paid faculty. Until then, there can be no meaningful protective ?divide by age? policy.",Reader Picks,USA
"We also need serological testing to show which people now have the coronavirus antibody, and I would recommend that once a person is serologically tested confirmed to have the coronavirus immunity that they be given a ""Coronavirus Passport"" that would identify them as such. We could then expose those people in jobs to the population of yet infected but vulnerable. For example, imagine a nursing home where all of the staff have already had the virus and are fully recovered, and pose no threat to their patients. Additionally, as tens of millions of people get infected and fully recover we need allow these people to reopen the economy and to be able to get on with their lives, and that means reopening all of the businesses long before we all had the ""chance"" to go through that process.",Reader Picks,MA
"Great idea-once we have the test kits and supplies necessary for this. But since our government had shown little urgency in getting that done, we need to be shut down until it does.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"Here is a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation. If the US population is 327 million people and it cost $1,000 per Covid-19 test, that would be $327 billion dollars. And the pandemic would be able to be squelched in a matter of several weeks because we would know exactly who is infected and isolate them or treat them until the disease ran its course. The economy would go forward; the uninfected could go on with their lives. And $320 billion is much less that the rescue bills that Congress is proposing which may exceed $1 trillion. Yet, of course, it doesn?t cost $1,000 per test, and we wouldn?t have to test anything like every man, woman, and child. South Korea, whose example is wonderfully relevant as they had their first episode on the same days as ours, January 19th, is way ahead of us on testing and public health spending. And their Covid-19 case numbers are receding already. They had learned from the pandemics of SARS (2003) and MERS (2015) while we were seemingly unlearning those lessons. Covid-19 should be a lesson for the importance of public health measures for our future",Reader Picks,IL 
"You are assuming that we have leadership in this country from the federal government. We do not. This administration could not do targeted testing. And pretty glib to be throwing high-risk groups to the wolves. There was a story in this paper stating that 38 percent of the people in hospitals in this country with coronavirus are in the 20 to 54 age group. The elderly and immune-compromised are not by any means the only ones who are succumbing to this virus. Agreed that it is good to keep looking at what our best solutions could be from many viewpoints. But what are you seeing that makes you think this government could accomplish anything so deft as a targeted approach? Trump and the Republicans won't help Americans if it endangers their wealth and power. I don't think that you would write such an opinion as this if you or someone in your own family were ill, Mr. Friedman.",Reader Picks,NY
"Correct, we would need episodic testing so that the infection to detection interval is less that the infection to transmission interval. You want to cut the effective R0 from 2.3 without testing, to something less than 1.0 by reducing the number of days infected people are walking around. It takes some time for viral load to build up to maximum transmissibility and I believe you can get a test detection before you are infectious, but even if not stopping infected people from interacting for two weeks - or longer - will slash the transmission rate. Imagine ?hall passes? tied to your driver license that gives you access to broader society. The hall pass needs to be renewed every N days. If there are more infections detected, N goes down, more cases per population, N goes up.",Reader Picks,CA
"Oh thank heavens for this emerging voice of reason at the Times -- seemingly the only one here amidst the exhortations to hysteria. I had started to migrate over to wsj.com, frankly, because they seemed more willing to question the shut-off-the-economy-indefinitely strategy which while well-intentioned cannot be the answer -- and not only for the reasons Tom says in this column, but also because at around week four or so, more and more people will simply start to ignore our governors' orders, and the ensuing confrontation between citizens and law enforcement and consequent loss of goodwill and trust in government could be profound. The public can last four weeks -- maybe a bit more -- if the public is told now that's that what it will take. But ""stay at home"" until further notice is going to drive people nuts. (Can you imagine a 95-degree July afternoon in NYC, when half the population has no air conditioning?) We really do need to pivot to ""vertical interdiction"" before we enter the long term.",Reader Picks,PA
"Yes, indeed. We seem to prefer another Russian usually referred to as oligarchy. The politically connected steal the natural resources of the country- excuse me privatize the public lands, etc... When will the Press publish the real truth and stop bashing poor old Bernie. Tax breaks (by states-/cities and then the corporations don't do what they said they would do -- Foxcomm.. Amazon. etc. - ill conceived, special deals for chosen corporations.. I wonde who has th subway cleaning contracts-- some clean and some don/t,)",Reader Picks,
"TEST EVERYONE A.S.A.P. period. full stop. Without that, we do not know the dimension of this epidemic in the US. We don't even know whether a majority of Americans already would test positive but are asymptomatic. Right now, we are led by the blind and we too are blind because we are lacking the facts.",Reader Picks,CT 
we are not at all doing the things advocated for in this article - far from it. Business are closing and sliding towards bankrupcy. People are told to stay indoors.,Reader Picks,NY
"Has anyone shows that flatten the curve can even work? It's a strategy that results in everyone eventually getting the virus, but at a slow enough rate that hospitals can handle it. What rate is that - the maximum acute hospitalization rate at any given time? The U.S. has 534,964 staffed (operational) acute care beds, including 96,596 ICU beds. First, let's just assume we can magically double that capacity to about 1 million. Or 1 acute care bed for every 300 people. Second, let's assume the coronavirus infects only 25% of Americans and only results in acute hospitalizations in 10% of those cases. These are optimistic numbers (very well could be 70%/20%) but that's still 7.5 million cases. So how many months do we have to flatten the curve for our magic 1 million beds to cover 7.5 million cases spread over time. Well, looks like 7.5 months. Unfortunately by then every small business in American will be bankrupt. Every dentist. Every restaurant. Every real estate agency. Oh and Tesla, Boeing and Bank of America too. 7.5 months doesn't work. 3 months doesn't even work. We either lock down for 1 month or we need to take Friedman's advice, isolate the elderly and restart the country in 4 weeks.",Reader Picks,NY
I agree. We are expats in Singapore. This is basically what has happened here.,Reader Picks,MA
"This article nicely summarizes what I have been thinking since the shelter-in-place orders started coming out. Shutting down the economy seems to be an extreme over-reaction to a virus that we are only now learning about. The vertical approach makes infinitely more sense. I hope our political leadership is considering this. If they continue with total suppression, they will make this a much larger problem than it already is. Panic and hysteria have take over. Logic and reason need to reassert themselves.",Reader Picks,CA
"Ignore the virus and carry on and ""take the hit""? Look at Italy. Spain, and Iran. America is now on a similar trajectory. Why? Because we have no aggressive proactive plan to screen the public and isolate sick individuals. Rather than fighting community spread of the virus, all we have managed to do is to scramble to have the means to care for the sick. And over one month in, even that has yet to be actually delivered. So sure, if the federal government continues to take a passive approach, people will be forced to return to work at risk of contracting and accelerating the spread of the virus. The only way we are going to return to a semblance of normality is to take steps that reduce transmission of the virus and make it relatively safe to go out on the streets and return to work. We are not going to wish the virus away.",Reader Picks,MD
"Dr. Mark Lipsitch of the Harvard School of Public Health and his colleagues have used the actual data (as opposed to personal philosophies of government and economics) to project, credibly, that the suggestions outlined by Mr. Friedman would likely overwhelm the ICU capacity of the U.S. within a few weeks. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:42599304 These projections are supported by the work of Dr. Neil Ferguson and his group at Imperial College London, who project that a ""protect the most vulnerable but get back to work"" approach would overwhelm, several times over, the ICU capacity in the UK and the US. If Mr. Friedman has actual data to suggest otherwise, he should publish it.",Reader Picks,PA
Our current approach is an overreaction based on panic and is unsustainable. In about a month supermarket shelves will be empty and supply chains broken. By next fall the world will be in a depression and the US will be bankrupt. A targeted approach makes much more sense and will work. It has already in Singapore and South Korea.,Reader Picks,MA
"How is Governor Cuomo claiming 40-80 of NYC residents will get Covid? That's 4-8 million people! Wuhan, with a similar population and density, has had a total of 80,000 cases so far. The Chinese admittedly took draconian measures but if New York takes one-third of those draconian measures wouldn't that result in 240,000 cases? Or is Cuomo saying the city is so ill-prepared, its residents so non-compliant, and the federal government so non-responsive that 4-8 million is a real number? Even northern Italy, the poster child for ill-preparedness with a population of around 20 million, has 60,000 cases so far. Somebody help me out!",Reader Picks,Connecticut
"I have been advocating Dr. Katz?s solution for a few weeks now, with one additional and critical requirement: base our decisions on a credible epidemiological model, based on good experimental design, rather than loose speculation. Currently, we are guessing how many people have the virus, who gets how sick from the virus, and how it spreads, because we are only testing those who are seriously ill. We need controlled experiments to develop better models of contagion, morbidity, and mortality. Specifically, take a few ?populations,? e.g., a factory, office building, or university, test every single person and their families to determine infection and disease patterns, and build credible models to more accurately predict rates of infection, hospitalization, and death.",Reader Picks,IL 
"Yea! What Friedman is saying is what I and a few others have been pushing for in variations on selected internet comment boards and forums. Unfortunately, we too often get ganged up on by the fearful, hysterical, panicked population that ranges from the uneducated to medical professionals whose fear has been flamed by the 24x7 media. A few days ago I heard former US Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, acting as a medical consultant on MSNBC, predict that deaths in the USA could range from 2-3 million people! Say what? It's not unreasonable for regular people to hear statements like this from medical professionals and become scared! Trumps's Dr. Fauci is in the same boat, fanning the flames of fear about the worst case possibilities of the virus. Dr. Fauci also does not care about killing the economy to battle a virus that might ultimately be no worse than a strong flu. There is so much scaremongering that people have become convinced that if you get this virus, you will most likely wind up in the ICU and will have a good chance of dying, which is far from the truth! Most recover w/o problems. We need to follow Friedman's course of action, get everyone back to work and restart the economy ASAP. With every recession that we wind up in, there always seems to be some number of people hopefully talking up a ""V"" recovery. That is not going to happen in this case. The recovery is going to be slow and will take some time. The sooner we get started, the better for all!",Reader Picks,CA
"I think this is a gutsy article proposing a gutsy idea. If the ship of the Coronavirus has already sailed, as some experts suggest, then the rational strategy is a targeted, vertical isolation, after we go through the first initial weeks of general isolation. The shutting down of the economy for an unknown period of months, may bring a calamity worse than the Coronavirus. Widespread testing is needed for a targeted approach though.",Reader Picks,CA
"I think this is a gutsy article proposing a gutsy idea. If the ship of the Coronavirus has already sailed, as some experts suggest, then the rational strategy is a targeted, vertical isolation, after we go through the first initial weeks of general isolation. The shutting down of the economy for an unknown period of months, may bring a calamity worse than the Coronavirus. Widespread testing is needed for a targeted approach though.",Reader Picks,NJ
"We can wring our hands all we want to about which direction is least bad, but the fact is: shelter-in-place / ""stay home"" directives won't work, anyway. All of this conjecture assumes that millions of people will accept *certain* destitution. Today's model citizen who is shutting themselves inside, insisting that there is no other way, won't feel the same way when they can't pay the electric bill or can't work because there's no childcare. Or when they don't have a job at all. So, if we're going to have a ""plan"" at all, let's make sure it's realistic. Prolonged complete shutdowns are not realistic, period. I think this article is paying mind to that fact, and we shouldn't shun these other options just because we don't feel good about it.",Reader Picks,OR
"USE THE THERMOMETER! This provides frequent, real-time testing. PCR-based detection is great for conclusive diagnosis, but if we are to get the population back to work, we must be monitoring our temperatures multiple times a day. And some level of temperature monitoring to enter public buildings (schools, churches, banks, and especially our work places) will mitigate cheating. I know the naysayers will say you can spread virus without having a fever...nonsense! If you have covid-19, you will have a fever. But it is often quite mild (<38C/100F) so putting a hand to your forehead will not suffice. Buy a good thermometer and start taking your temperature 3 times a day. Protect yourself and your loved ones, and the rest of us too. We need to get the world back to work.",Reader Picks,NC
"The WHO suggested rate is 3.4 percent. There are two ways to calculate fatality rate from the data published at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ One is an upper estimate based on all of the active cases becoming a fatality, The lower estimate assumes all active cases result in survival. China high-low fatality rate 4.30% 4.03% Italy high-low fatality rate 43.81% 9.26% USA high-low fatality rate 71.75% 1.30% Germany h-l fatality rate 26.11% 0.38% China and S Korea have both shown you can break the back of Coronavirus in 3 or 4 weeks with aggressive social distancing. Now their new case rates are too low to be a threat to anyone. at 39 for China and 64 for S. Korea posted today, basically flat. US new cases are still increasing rapidly. High risk people (my daughter is one) should and will self-quarantine (if their workplace permits it)",Reader Picks,CA
"During the Spanish Flu New York City made a decision not to close the schools. Instead they assigned health workers to the schools and sent home any students that were sick. When it was over New York did far better than either Boston or Philadelphia. Today we need the same approach with all workers being checked for temperature ( and perhaps ability st smell odors). as they arrive for work. Those that test sick are sent home, healthy ones allowed to work. For more tips on how to deal with this virus we should be following the example of Taiwan. My thoughts.",Reader Picks,
"Every time I hear a leader claim that this virus could infect 40-80% of all people, I wonder what empirical evidence they are drawing upon. They never say. This is a serious catastrophe at the current level of a 1.4% case fatality rate. Escalating it to incomprehensible tragedy appears to be a political strategy, not a scientific one.",Reader Picks,MA
"Let the government that denied and bungled this threat find concrete, immediate, substantive and effective ways to compensate those who are most economically damaged and least able to withstand the disparate impact of the business shutdowns.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Here is a high-level idea to get society back to normalcy. With the approval of Cepheid?s rapid test and the potential for drug treatment of COVID-19, I think there is an opportunity to get herd immunity without overwhelming the healthcare system or sustaining unacceptable mortality rates. Outline: Set up large numbers of while-you-wait testing site, coupled with mobile units for hard to reach populations, where people with symptoms can get tested. Once the clinics are set up, slowly allow the population to get back to normal activities (the rate of restriction abatement would need to be modeled carefully so as not to overwhelm the system) When someone tests positive at the while-you-wait clinic, provide them with a first line treatment (e.g. hydroxycloroquine + azithromycin) and home isolation for 14 days. The non-responders would be admitted to the hospital and given more potent antivirals (remdesivir IV) and/or IL-1/IL-6 inhibitors. Clearly, treatment efficacy and testing/drug availability must be high for this to work but I think we have a path to get herd immunity and not wait for a vaccine.",Reader Picks,CA
"Thomas Friedman, do you even read the newspaper that you publish your stories in? Young people are making up 40% of those who are taking up hospital beds in NYC. There are 8 million people living in New York. The idea that only those at risk should be staying home is dangerous and insane. There aren't enough ventilators. And medical staff are being asked to make their own masks (not medical grade) and come out of retirement to help. If you want to save the economy-- then stop this virus in its tracks. Hit the pause button. Bail out those at those who have lost their livelihoods -- who can least afford to be without a paycheck. This is an emergency. A high percentage of people will die if we do not get respirators to the hospitals who need them.",Reader Picks,NY
"This cannot continue for much longer. We are learning more about the virus every day; how it spreads, who is at most risk, and how to contain it and protect those that are most vulnerable. And this isn't going to be the last time we face an issue like this. The chorus of ""if we can save one life it's worth it"" is starting to be heard louder and louder. My dad is 74-years old, suffers from COPD and diabetes. We don't need the entire economy to shut down to protect him. We don't need every child in America to be out of school. We don't need millions of layoffs of the most vulnerable wage earners. If you are at risk - stay at home. If you are sick - please stay home. Wash your hands, use common sense. And yes, people are going to get sick and some are going to die -this is what viruses do. It is amazing to me what amounts of our freedoms we are willing to give up for even the smallest, nonsensical sense of security.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Tom,you are ignoring the one overwhelming stress that kills people daily--no heath insurance. This is the first country without universal healthcare that the virus has hit. TENS OF MILLIONS of people in this country live with the stress of no health insurance and therefore no possibility of seeking medical care. Breast cancer survival rates have been unequivocally tied to health insurance availability. Most of the biggeat employers in this country deliberately employ strategies to keep employees on a co tract or part-time basis specifically so they will not have to provide health insurance. So while you worry about economic stresses shortening lives, don't ignore the one situation that's killing Americans on a daily basis and will continue to do so after this crisis is over.",Reader Picks,VA
"I feel disheartened that you would write this article when you lack public health expertise and failed to fully represent their perspective. I greatly fear the impact of America's economy crashing and the global implications this will have for our world's most vulnerable populations. However, I also fear the impact these types of articles are having as we take first steps toward mitigating this crisis. While our nation's experts are dealing with a new virus, they have the more tools than you to determine the harm it can cause. I would love to take a ""surgical approach"", but as many have said already, our parameters are different than Singapore's or South Korea's. In the future, I don't think you should sum up the perspective held by our nation's experts in epidemiology and infectious diseases as ""groupthink.""",Reader Picks,NC
"You want the United States to analyze all young people and determine which ones have hidden underlying conditions, in two weeks? Test all health care professionals in two weeks? This is a great wish list but the time for surgical precision was probably 5 years ago. We weren?t ready for this. Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea were.",Reader Picks,CA
"Shutting down the global economy makes no sense. People die in car accidents every day. Do we ban cars to protect people? No, we build safety features into cars, we maintain roads, we encourage good driving behaviors. Do I want to get sick? No I do not. But let?s stop panicking and protect the most vulnerable so the rest of us can contribute to the economy.",Reader Picks,Florida
"This is a spot on article, carefully weighing the benefits and costs of our current options. I just want to add one point. The 1 percentage fatality rate is conditional on enough medical resources(doctors and machines), and it already varies significantly among countries. For example, in Italy, the fatality rate is as high as 10 percent. Even within China, the rate varies a lot: the fatality rate in regions outside of Hubei is around 1 percent and hovers around 5 percent in Hubei during some difficult time presumably due to lack of resources. It is difficult to tell at this time whether the United States is more like Italy or not.",Reader Picks,NY
"Don't assume that infection will result in a significant immunity - even in the medium term: In Wuhan people who were cured (based on negative PCR tests) got re-infected with the virus shortly after with significant rates - up to 50% based on some numbers. What's more: Unless we have a much larger number base for who is infected / cured, the predictions come with an enormous error. Just letting the infection run its course and hope for the best is really careless. Also, there isn't a functioning vaccine against one of the other Corona viruses. Yes, with the effective containment of MERS and SARS there wasn't a long enough sustained effort, but there were attempts which didn't work. This means there is a real chance that there won't be a viable vaccine anytime soon, and this scenario has to be part of any prediction.",Reader Picks,Switzerland
"What about teachers? Many are in high-risk group, such as my husband. Are we going to sacrifice them, too?",Reader Picks,CA
"Yes, compassionate capitalism with a robust societal safety net and a measure of economic equity is the way to go. Unfortunately we have none of this right now.",Reader Picks,Canada
"Sounded like a reasonable idea a couple of days ago, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ?after studying more than 4,000 cases in the U.S., showed that about 40 percent of those who were hospitalized for the virus as of March 16 were ages 20 to 54. Among the most critical cases, 12 percent of intensive care admissions were among those ages 20 to 44, while 36 percent were for those 45 to 64.? The USA is NOT seeing cases ?highly concentrated among those age 60 and older? as Dr. Katz hypothesized would happen here. As such ?(t)reating the rest of society the way we have always dealt with familiar threats like the flu? will not work here as Friedman suggests. Those 20 to 54 are part of the ?rest of society.? No knock here on Dr. Katz or Mr. Freidman, their data from elsewhere are accurate, but alas the USA is not mimicking patterns observed elsewhere.",Reader Picks,NY
"I read Dr. Katz's piece when it first came out. It made sense to me. I am glad Mr. Friedman has focussed the spotlight on it. Dr. Katz's approach needs to be very carefully examined. I saw Governor Cuomo, this morning, acknowledge that the draconian shutdown in NY City is unsustainable for any extended period of time. I agree, but we all know that current approach to control the virus, does require an extensive period of social distancing and business shutdown. So I urge that our policy makers seriously consider Dr. Katz' approach and let the country get back to a more normal functioning.",Reader Picks,Maryland
Great theoretical argument but my daughter is a nurse and is running into the eye of this to help save lives without proper gear so excuse me if I?m not on the train to just let her rip. Science is often trampled upon when it becomes inconvenient. I think we can get the data we need by looking at Italy right now.,Reader Picks,Georgia
"None of these plans work without mass testing, both of active infections and previous but recovered infections. It is because of CDC's criminal failure on tests that gov'ts are taking drastic social distancing measures. If, like China and S. Korea, we could test widely, then public health could have identified family infections clusters and isolate them humanely, starting in late January. In the continuing absence of adequate test date, gov'ts have to act as though every one might be infected and close society. But even this is being done inadequately to be effective. Here in WA our governor is reluctant to enforce shelter in place and there are crowds in parks and beaches. This gives us the worst outcome: a shuttered economy with continued viral transmission. The fed and state gov'ts are failing repeatedly to take effective action, at the cost of health care workers well-being, unnecessary deaths, and economic collapse. Ioannides is not helping with his non-reality based statistics polemic; let him volunteer in Stanford's ER where his colleagues struggle with the reality of covid daily. Katz's armchair finger-wagging also is meaningless in the absence of mass testing and serious gov't action. In their absence, the reality is that we will experience waves of infection, distancing, tentative re-opening, another wave, etc until a vaccine is widely available. I wish I lived in Singapore!",Reader Picks,Washington
"""return to normal"" is misguided, selfish and dangerous thought as a pandemic rips through our communities. We are living in a time of climate crisis also. All bills come due. Change your life.",Reader Picks,NY
"why did they not want the WHO tests?Did the pres want to profit from a company of his choice, so he didnt accept available tests? thats totally unexcusable and we should over ride him and get the tests!. It makes no sense, as if we went back to work we should at least be tested daily before entering the work place so everybody there is virus free,,,then they can achieve some work normalcy! . w/o the tests its too risky...the infection could just get out of hand..",Reader Picks,CA
"So let?s walk through how this proposal would work. Our president, who many believe lacks any moral authority, integrity and legitimacy, issues an edict that everyone must shelter-in-place for 2 weeks. National Guard and Armed Forces are deployed to enforce the edict. Hundreds of people who have already been infected and recovered are recruited to participate in a clinical trial where they agree to be reinfected to evaluate their immunity so that everyone can go back to work convinced they are now immune. Really? Any theory is only as valid as its weakest link. As someone in a high risk category, purely by virtue of age, and also with a decimated 401k portfolio, I want a solution as much as anybody. I just don?t see how this one can work.",Reader Picks,Arizona
"Yet, another excellent analysis by Mr. Friedman. I did chuckle when he cited Dr. John P.A. Ioannidis for his warning that the current proposed 'cure' for the patient (humanity) could do more harm. In August of 2005, Dr. Ioannidis published an article in PLoS Medicine (Public Library of Science), entitled, ""Why Most Published Research Finding Are False"". He uses good logic and some higher math to explain that even top tier journals publish articles with inaccurate conclusions. I think many people forget that thousands of people still die from other diseases, opioid overdoses, car crashes, and gun violence every month. Keep up the good work, Thomas.",Reader Picks,Arizona
I have seen exactly no one advocating indefinite shut down. I have only seen people trying to keep the spike under our ability to provide treatment: try not to overwhelm the system so we don?t get a 10% fatality rate over the next month like Italy. In the meantime backstop wages for furloughed workers like Europe is moving to.,Reader Picks,DC
"It is beyond reason to go against what the professional health experts tell us to do and to think we have a better solution. Is a bout of illness that can lead to death to be ignored because we must work, work, work and earn, earn, earn or do we pay attention to our own bodies and minds that tell us to take care of ourselves no matter what. No one will die of a depressed economy, but they may well die of the viruses and bacterial that are winning the war against our immune systems. We can do without a lot of things, but we need health, from within and help from without.....food, shelter, care and education. Who pays? Each of us in our own way.....This economy is built on consumerism, materialism and profit.....extreme capatalism, which does not survive when people see how little they truly need and can provide for themselves or with a little help from their friends.",Reader Picks,NY
"While you may want to make that decision for yourself, this virus kills the young as well. Are you willing to make the same decision for younger Americans? I am not. You also should realize that the lack of hospital space impacts all of us. What about the younger people in the next car wreck? A lack of ventilators impacts them as well. Regardless of how you view your life, this virus will overwhelm the hospitals and first responders. We are in this mess because (1) corporate greed will not allow for universal healthcare; (2) an ignorant President refused to hear the sirens blaring the warnings for two months; and (3) corporate greed, which allowed a tax cut for companies and the wealthy, while forcing a large segment of the population to work non-salaried, lower-paying jobs, with few benefits and no sick leave.",Reader Picks,PA
"I appreciate Friedman's willingness to think apart from the herd. It is refreshing. That said, he'd garner more support from folks like me if he didn't reiterate proven lies like Trump treated the virus like a hoax at first. Really? So that's why he banned travel from China (to the condemnation of Friedman's side of the aisle at the time). Just stop with the never-ending ""Orange man bad"" nonsense and try to solve the problem.",Reader Picks,Washington
"Of course, just what we need now. Ayn Rand. Really? Geesh!",Reader Picks,
"I'm 79 years old living in a retirement community that has been indefinitely locked down since March 15. We can't go out to ANY business outside of our apartments or we will be in solitary confinement for 2 weeks. As it is we are in semi-solitary confinement. I would rather take my chances with Covid-19, and hope for a good recovery. If I die I die. I'm not willing to sacrifice the economy for my life, thank you all the same.",Reader Picks,OR
"By only isolating the least vulnerable for an additional two weeks, we are no longer ?flattening the curve?, and hence taking the risk of overwhelming our medical facilities. Even if only a small percentage of patients with coronavirus need hospitalization or ventilators, if this happens all at once that could create a sudden influx of critically ill patients. And the sooner this happens we are the least likely to have sufficient PPE for medical personnel. Or to have studies completed that could identify effective medical therapies that could shorten the course or lessen the severity of coronavirus infections.",Reader Picks,CA
"Two things are most urgent now in terms of shutting down the virus and opening up social and economic functioning. The first is this: determining with a much higher degree of accuracy what the fatality rate is for those who contract the disease. We just don't know. The best scientific estimates have been all over the map, from .025% (1/4 of 1%) to, in Wuhan based on early experience, to 3.4%. If the fatality rate is as high as .05% (one half of one percent), that's still much higher than the flu. The second is to do wider testing, for which we don't have the capacity at the moment. If we don't test a strong sample of the general population, how will we know if we are defeating the virus? If we don't know, how can we decide to loosen restrictions? In this regard, we are flying blind. We have restrictions with almost no source of information about the general population other than confirmed and usually dire cases. The third national emergency is to get ready, in case we fail, to ensure that hospitals and care facilities are not overwhelmed. Piece meal efforts won't get it. Nor will making more masks if they don't get to where they are needed. All hands on deck, every effort required. One report from S.Korea recently indicated that 99% of the cases are mild. If this were coupled with a lower rate of fatalities, the scope of what we face might be far lower.",Reader Picks,DC
"I am 78 years old. The worst that can happen to me is to accelerate the inevitable by a little while--no big deal. Give it a couple of weeks to put supplies on hospital shelves and follow Tom's advise. Seems to have that American pragmatic flavor. Thanks, Tom--good thinking.",Reader Picks,Michigan
"We should move forward as fast as possible with testing the population for many reasons and yes by using the data likely we can maximize health outcomes while at least keeping the economy on life support while doing so. We should move forward as fast as possible with manufacturing or acquiring all reasonably likely medical needs - sure there will be waste but in an actual war there always is lots of equipment that is acquired and sent to the front that actually is not used. Finally Johns Hopkins is doing great job on compiling data on infections and deaths worldwide As of a few minutes ago there have been 372,303 known cases worldwide and 16,381 deaths That calculates to a 4.4% mortality rate - which would be about 44 times that of regular influenza flu.",Reader Picks,NJ
"Dear Mr Friedmann - great article and good analysis by all. However there is one fundamental issue or concern that the herd immunity camp has not satisfactorily addressed. All numbers that I have been tracking all these days, if I look at the total number of deaths as a percentage of total confirmed cases continues to hover around 4 percent. Even if let?s say it drops to half that say 2 percent that would mean many millions of deaths in a country the size of the US alone just from one season of the virus. The herd immunity needs to do LOTS MORE to scientifically and mathematically sell the idea that if we take this route it will just be a very small increase over number or say flu deaths and not millions. Deaths in the millions from a single season is going to be a non starter. We need to demonstrate that will NOT HAPPEN if we let all healthy folks get back to work That I think is the challenging part of the argument. Otherwise I totally agree we are digging a deep economic hole as an overreaction Best regards",Reader Picks,NJ
"When I was at the Johnson School of Public Affairs, W.W. ""Walt"" Rostow, former White House National Security Advisor to presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson, had written a campaign narrative for the DNC, ""Let's Get This Country Moving Again,"" which became, at a later point, the ""Great Society"" program. It is not regarded as terribly successful; even counter-productive in the further centralization of what are normally separated powers and functions, and of course, budgets. The current covid-19 program shares a similar pedigree, intellectually, but is at a stage of technology and science that could only be dreamed of in the early 1960s.",Reader Picks,IL 
"The late Scottish science fiction writer Iain M Banks set most of his science fiction novels in a shared setting called The Culture. It was a high tech utopia ruled by benevolent artificially intelligent machines called Minds. The Culture has the technology for instant teleportation across great distances, which they call ""displacement"" but use it rarely because each displacement has a one in several million chance of going wrong and killing the transportee. The Minds, which rule trillions of people, calculate that using displacement on a daily basis throughout The Culture would be tantamount to constantly murdering people in their millions. So the citizens of the Culture normally use safer, slower, forms of transportation despite the risk being so low and the benefits so high. Relevance? The Minds do use displacement for emergencies, low priority cargo, and military purposes. They are selective. But The Culture is an imaginary ideal, and we live in a clunky real world. Blanket solutions are probably all we can pull off.",Reader Picks,NY
"A ""solution"" based on perfectly implemented social distancing for 14 days is unrealistic and as a result completely misleading. Ioannidis' analysis is simlarly erroneous- it is overly focused on the mortality rate based on data with sufficient hospital resources, his analysis ignores the actual hospitalzation rate, and lack of resources available for the projected needs. This piece is not well-thought out and a disservice to public health. Friedman needs to go to a hospital and see what's actual going on. Telling the country that we're 14 days from getting back to normal is scarily ill-informed.",Reader Picks,MA
"?Income is one of the stronger predictors of health outcomes"" as though this is some immutable law of the universe. Pull your head out of the 20th century.",Reader Picks,
"Dr Katz' piece read like after-the-fact entitled whining to me. As several have noted, we missed the opportunity to handle this outbreak in an organized manner. I am dismayed to see Friedman ignoring the hospitalization rate of younger adults, right alongside Katz. I do not understand why the Times provides a platform to integrative medicine quackademics such as Katz.",Reader Picks,CA
"The current situation cannot stand. You cannot ruin the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans with an N-month shutdown. 1 or 2 weeks, ok, after that, people just need to live with the risk and get back to normal.",Reader Picks,CA
"I am a firm vote against this nonsense. Tom, this idea is dangerously half-baked, and I expect more from you, and more for the USA. We are a developed country: let us follow the example of the developed world ? not throw open our doors to sickness and death, for the sake of our economy. No thank you, we must do better.",Reader Picks,CT 
"Theoretically, antibodies to the virus should be detectable, but this sort of testing may be difficult to obtain. There is controversy as to whether immunity is always conferred, and some evidence from other corona viruses that it wears off..",Reader Picks,NH
"Of course vertical-interdiction instead of horizontal interdiction makes sense. (And I am over 60). But we need to get over the mindset in this country that everyone needs to sacrifice for the few, e.g. no peanuts may be served on a flight because a few passengers may be allergic. For people to do without nuts on a flight is a minor inconvenience. But for everyone to be out of work because a small percentage cannot afford to become infected is simply nuts.",Reader Picks,Florida
"No, a test for the COVID-29 specific antibodies has not yet been developed. For now, we cannot identify those who have already had it, and we also don't know if previous COVID-19 patients have immunity. Can these be people be infected again, be carriers (but not express symptoms themselves), or have immunity for a limited period of time. We need to give scientists the tools and time to answer these questions.",Reader Picks,MA
"You?re underestimating the economic damage that WW2 caused to both Europe and Japan - essentially the developed world, ex US. Those economies didn?t recover until the late 60s. A situation which by the way led to a golden post war age in America.",Reader Picks,NY
What's your hourly pay?,Reader Picks,Michigan
"No offense but the ""surgical"" approach amounts to putting young people at risk while old people get pampered yet again. I know you've checked your 401k this week. The young who survive get left with another trillion in debt. No thanks. You're barking up the wrong tree. I'm on strike.",Reader Picks,Utah
"Any recovery plan should address the fearful hoarding, of not just paper products, but also of basic food items, such as milk, bread and eggs, and other daily living necessities. In addition to depriving others of nutrition and hygiene, hoarders by creating scarcity drive price increases and gouging. Given that many small and medium businesses are on the brink of closing, and are laying off workers, there will be increased poverty and all the social ills associated with poverty. Hoarders magnify the problem, especially for the poor. It is sad to see how the fear and greed of some, makes life worse for so many others ... and sooner or later for all of us.",Reader Picks,CA
"I read Dr. John P.A. Ioannidis's piece. He more or less says that we should be willing to sacrifice those ""with shorter life expectancies"" for the younger and healthier among us. His tone, his conclusions, his general attitude are all cold, distant, even cruel-but yes, if adopted by others, would help the economy.",Reader Picks,MA
The fact that you tested negative at a point in time does not mean you won?t get in the following week,Reader Picks,NY
"Maybe what the country needs is some kind of infrastructure jobs corp where people can get back to work, but in such a way where some distance is maintained between individuals working and the public at large. Some of our national and state parks need upkeep and renewal. Working outdoors on campgrounds, trails, and picnic areas while being 6 feet apart from others working might be a start. Some of our highways need a lot of work, and some of that work can be done from and by heavy equipment operators and road crews working at a safe distance from one another - and while there are fewer vehicles on the roads. Outside building maintenance or upkeep on city, county and state facilities - power washing, window washing, landscaping - can be done without being in close proximity with others. But, please - let's not advocate cramming people back to work in restaurants, small retail spaces, or gymnasiums for a while, but instead help them find jobs that need being done, that the government needs to help pay for, and ones that will provide a financial resource as well as a mental health benefit for people.",Reader Picks,OR
"I stopped reading at ?1%?. Are you insane? Do you have the slightest idea how many people 1% is? Big picture: it is over 3 **million** Americans, not mention how our grand adventure in herd immunity would help the virus ricochet even further across the world. Small picture: we would all know at least a few people who would die, probably many of our parents and grandparents. We would in essence have chosen to sacrifice them, given how skewed the mortality rates are. Even if we are to look at this through a purely economic lens, losing 1% of the population is, in and of itself, an enormous economic shock. I normally like this author. This column, not so much.",Reader Picks,CA
"Couldn?t we also put laid off folks to work doing some of the jobs that might be necessary in the short and long term? A lot of service industry people have experience sanitizing restaurants etc., with training (I.e., donning and doffing PPE, how to safely use the necessary disinfectants, etc.) it may help in minimizing the spread. Just a thought.",Reader Picks,LA
"I also advocate isolation of the vulnerable and elderly, and letting the younger healthier people weather the storm to develop a herd immunity. Some may say that it would be a bit like throwing our youth to the covid wolves, but this current situation cannot go on until a vaccine is developed, and that can take a year. I live with an adult son, and I wouldn't consider this a sacrifice. He is a biolgy major and agrees with this scenario. There needs to be however, a way for either healthy individuals to leave a household easily, or the same with an elderly or compromised loved one. The two cannot mingle. Given the high cost of housing, maybe landlords can be subsidized and can cut the rate for temporary quarters until it gets better. Even a tax cut for providing this can be given. We should stay away from close cramped communal living for the younger ones for a while, as we don't want to force it too fast. But a reintroduction into the community may be the thing we need, while protecting the most vulnerable. This is all great if we are positive about how this will play out as far as immunity goes, Last I read it was still being researched. Also, extra care needs to be exercized if this is a possible solution. Once the virus is more active in the community at a higher level, it seems like the chances the vulnerable may face can increase for a while, if care is not duly taken.",Reader Picks,NY
"I think Mr. Friedman raises many good points. Are we cutting off our proverbial noses to spite ourselves. And are we reacting too broadly. However, I would offer an alternative view. I see a silver lining and and an extraordinary opportunity in this crisis and in our response - Can we use this to not just go back to business as usual. As a consequence of our mass shutdown, pollution has dropped, traffic has dropped, the Venice canals are clean and dolphins have returned. There is a glimpse of the vision we need to have to think about a post consumerist, post industrial and sustainable world. As Friedman says and as is always the case it is the poor and most economically vulnerable who are and will feel the terrible brunt of our world economy stopping, but the opportunity to create a new vision of how our economy works is upon us. Let us not waste this opportunity",Reader Picks,MA
"A banner idea. But banner ideas are not embraced or acted upon by any branch of government. America has become the richest third-world nation on earth and is destined to become just a garden variety third world nation. Other countries, whose populace are better educated and have therefore elected more thoughtful leaders, will take the lead. All it took was hatred and racism and a man named Trump to get us here.",Reader Picks,Georgia
"The solution proposed by Dr. Katz makes sense to me. What we are trying to do is kill the potential coronavirus-infected patient by other means - isolation, loss of job, loneliness, social cruelty, et cetera. No risk, no gain. If we shut the economy down and start depending on government handouts, how long will the euphoria last? For a very short period, I am afraid. For all the testing we have done so far, there has not been a single False Positive but many False Negatives. Risk and uncertainty can never be ruled out for even the simplest activities of life. So let's not turn our Brave New World into a Scary New World where everyone lives in fear and hate builds up for the Other - the elderly, the vulnerable, and most disappointingly, Asian-Americans, particularly Chinese-Americans. Surely we are better than that!",Reader Picks,CA
"?Income is one of the stronger predictors of health outcomes ? and of how long we live,?? Woolf said. ?Lost wages and job layoffs are leaving many workers without health insurance and forcing many families to forego health care and medications to pay for food, housing, and other basic needs. People of color and the poor, who have suffered for generations with higher death rates, will be hurt the most and probably helped the least. They are the housekeepers in the closed hotels and the families without options when public transit closes. Low-income workers who manage to save the money for groceries and reach the store may find empty shelves, left behind by panic shoppers with the resources for hoarding.?? With this being quoted here, am amazed why people do not or have not embraced Bernie Sanders in 2020.",Reader Picks,NY
"As an 87-year old, I would like to add that the elderly should be allowed a little freedom if they wear suitable masks (and possibly gloves). I would not go to a concert or the theatre, not because I am unwilling to face my maker but because I would (i) like to die in dignity, and (ii) would not like to be an unnecessary burden on an overtaxed health care system.",Reader Picks,Israel
"There was a famous National Lampoon cover showing a dog with a pistol pointed at its head. The caption was ""If you don't buy this magazine, we'll kill this dog"". Obviously this message was not lost on the airline execs who were probably teens when it first came out.",Reader Picks,NY
"Don?t we need a lot of people to become exposed, survive and then build up their immunity to stop the spread? Can?t we have certain people volunteer to get exposed to it, in order to become immune and start increasing the number of people that can go out and about to work, or to volunteer or whatever is needed? I understand first and foremost, our immediate goal is to protect our bravest and beloved healthcare professionals. But shouldn?t we soon start increasing the number of people who we know are immune(assuming of course that this means the can?t spread it at that point).. I?d volunteeer if it was determined I would have a very low chance of a dire outcome. I never get anything and have only had one cold in 10 years, have no heath problems, so I think I?d survive it....I agree with the idea that we can?t all stay home and kill our economy and stop living for months on end, we need a plan for phase 2.",Reader Picks,MN
"This proposal would require 50 million people aged 65 or older, plus medically vulnerable under 65, to go into isolation... for months. I can't imagine that political parties would risk the resentment of 50 million voters, a majority of which are republicans . And there is a reasonable question to ask about fairness--is it fair to put the whole burden of the pandemic and associated economic problems on the backs of retirees ?",Reader Picks,CA
"only if they start testing for the antibodies. so, with current testing, no.",Reader Picks,Ohio
"Every day I use Agile Scrum to manage projects at corporations; it?s based on empericism https://www.scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html Three pillars uphold every implementation of empirical process control: transparency, inspection, and adaptation. If all of Washington was run using the scrum framework the virus in the US would be as controlled as Taiwan and Singapore, because everyone would have listened to science, studied what was working, and iterated after small failures. Dr. Katz ignores empiricism. He?s like a doctor who barely listens to patients and then writes a prescription (similar to our president). While Dr Katz agrees the current actions are helpful for the next 2 weeks to avoid contact (but he doesn?t see not everyone is following the guidelines), BUT then he says he already knows the answers for what to do next - just go back to work and focus on those already sick or at risk. Maybe he should look at Italy and the rest of Europe right now, so he can see what 2 weeks in the future might look like and continue to evaluate our US status ongoing and not jump to a conclusion already. So it?s great to have a hypothesis (guess) about what to do in 2 weeks (and I would be overjoyed if cases aren?t increasing then), let?s not set false expectations now. Practice: transparency, inspection, and adaptation.",Reader Picks,RI
"I agree that that medical and biological preparedness is just as important as preparedness for hurricanes and other localized disasters. FEMA was established to deal with the latter. Presently the US or the world, for that matter, does not have a mechanism to deal with the former. We cannot expect private medical institutions that depend on economic efficiency in order to thrive in a capitalistic system to set aside enough resources, at their own expense, to address a situation that may not materialize. It is the function of government to either have those resources available or to require others, as part of doing business to have the records available.",Reader Picks,MA
"Yes, Dr. Katz is a genius and his plan is the only way forward that makes any sense, thank you, Tom, for highlighting this!",Reader Picks,CO
no it does not require massive testing - we already know who the most vulnerable are: elderly and pre-existing conditions.,Reader Picks,NY
"Indeed. Any thought on not shutting everything and everybody for an indefinite period of time deserves attention, and that 'indefiniteness' is the mainstream opinion today, not unreasonably. Apparently, a selection based on who and why will not work in the most affected cities but there are large areas of US where measures as 'complete halt' may substantially backfire. Besides, we simply cannot allow our economy to come to a complete halt for a long period of time. That will amount to a death by other means, for all intents and purposes. If necessary, we would go out and about with gloves and masks. If that massive testing ever becomes so easy and available as predicted (and let us not bash the govt for this, as it is a formidable task), so people can at least be certain about their condition, then definitely the idea of shutting every one in must relax.",Reader Picks,MA
"As you point out, to responsibly embrace a herd immunity policy, we need to have confidence that those who have been infected and recovered are thereafter immune and no longer capable of infecting others. What do you know of whether the tests, such as there are, identify antibodies? If we were able to ascertain that many, many more have recovered from the disease than we had supposed, we?d be able, surely, to time wholesale economic re-engagement with confidence. It seems like we need to test everyone, symptomatic or not - to know not only who has it, but how many have already had it and have recovered.",Reader Picks,Washington
"Ha ha ha ha 'That means we would tell them to be respectful of others when coughing or sneezing, wash their hands regularly and if they feel sick to stay home and get over it' Neither you nor Katz seem to understand the human psyche much. Unless they're forced, they'll do nothing, they'll just carry on as usual, going to the parks, the beaches, their friends......getting infected and infecting everyone else. The current economic model is the problem.",Reader Picks,UK
"I think Friedman, and the prescriptions of David Katz, are spot on. The data need to be examined carefully and updated regularly as we learn more, but what seems to be overwhelmingly evident at this point, from the Diamond Princess cruise ship result, from Italian autopsy results, from the data coming from South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, is that Coronavirus is extremely dangerous for the old and younger people with compromised immune systems or certain preexisting conditions. Those groups of people should be isolated and cared for and supported financially through this crisis. Younger healthy people need to keep the economy running. We need to expand testing dramatically, including the antibody testing to see who is immune, and to see more comprehensive data. But Friedman is right, we are very likely to do more long-term damage to America by shutting the economy down for too long than what is likely to be the impact from the Coronavirus.",Reader Picks,Washington
"The real question is what is the endgame here? In the beginning Dr Faucci and others were championing social distancing and quarantine as a means to bending and flattening the curve. But as states like NY and California increasingly begin to give up on testing for covid-19 except for those who are critically ill and who?s management might be altered by confirmation of disease, the numbers being collected are become meaningless. Ie. At this point how would we know if we are truly bending the curve or not? The chance for mitigation has come and gone due to the failures of the Trump administration. All we can do now is accept the fact that most Americans will become infected and that many will die and try to save the economy and local governments from complete collapse ruin.",Reader Picks,CA
We did have that expert exercise. It was called Crimson Contagion. It was performed in 2017 and showed us as ready for nothing. The outcome? Trump shut it down and downsized the relevant agency staff. He had zero interest.,Reader Picks,Colorado
"Narrowly focusing federal money to rapidly expand treatment facilities, respirators, drug treatments, protective equipment and supplies for health care workers and first responding personnel would address the loss of life very quickly. That should be the first priority. The Presidential must nationalize the supply chain to make these fully available quickly. Second, support unemployment insurance and small business assistance to protect workers and small businesses who are most likely to become desperate or insolvent quickly. The massive losses to our real economy from these people will easily sink the opportunities for big business to recover their revenues on their own. Third, avail big and small enterprises of loans to begin recovering when the emergency is past it's peak. The Republicans are salivating with the opportunity to enrich themselves by exploiting the country into giving vast amounts of taxpayer backed borrowed money to their private business supporters by holding back money needed now, and it's a disgrace. They are showing that even lives of people mean less to them than money and power.",Reader Picks,CA
"There are people not in the group of those thought to be most at risk who are becoming ill enough to require hospitalization. In the absence of the testing you advocate, which is not happening, would you have those people roll the dice with their lives?",Reader Picks,CA
"The talk is about flattening the curve. We are in that mode to reduce the strain our medical systems face. Slowing the speed at which the virus is transmitted is our only option for the immediate future. Pull out all the stops on supplying the needs demanded by the health care systems The curve that must increase exponentially is our knowledge about this virus. The information that is distributed by those in leadership roles has to be accurate to a fault. No more half baked ideas can be thrown out in an effort to placate the electorate. Many people are going to die. At 70 with an underlying condition, I could very well be one of them. Many more are going to survive and can not go on in a world that is locked down.",Reader Picks,OR
I just told my wife that I hope we go back to driving and boats around the world. Flying has become such a horrible experience that I don?t care if I never do it again.,Reader Picks,Canada
"This epidemic could very well be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Citizens, I think, will be balking at the high cost of their deductible they have to pay before their insurance covers them and if they compare their cost with what Europeans have to pay, there might finally be an insurance uprising. FINALLY.",Reader Picks,
"This is an excellent approach, especially to save the world economy from Depression. However, some with the cowboy mentality will find their way around the restrictions, i.e., ""no one is going to tell me what to do."" Trump has already encouraged non-compliance - depending on his daily mood - and all his followers will follow.",Reader Picks,SC
You and Dr. Katz are both failing to realize that the exponential curve of the virus's transmission applies to the margin of error. There is no such thing as a mitigated risk in this circumstance. Even a 1% error threshold results in complete failure. This is why any targetted approach that doesn't err on the side of being extremely aggressive will fail. We've already seen this in action: It's why every failure to-date has resulted in our current situation.,Reader Picks,NY
"It's unfair to say we care about money over people, as killing the economy has real impacts on real people. A overly slowed economy doesn't produce and delivery as much needed things, too. While the spiked curve is no joy, if we're all going to get it anyway, how good is all that medical intervention? What percent who get to the ventilator stage recover fully? The problem is we're all dealing with a novel virus, and so there's no clear path, but lots of motivation to press forward with various agendas that may or may not be productive.",Reader Picks,Washington
"The ideas presented in Friedman's piece are largely those of David Katz at Yale. Dr. Katz is a well-respected, thoughtful medical professional with directly applicable expertise in this area. To simply dismiss these ideas misses the point of Friedman's piece. He is clearly advocating for more expansive thinking about what the current response to the virus is doing to those who are vulnerable from a health perspective and those who are vulnerable from an economic perspective. Have we reached a point in our polarized society where we can't even explore different approaches to unparalleled problems?",Reader Picks,NY
"The best point here is see a light at the end of the tunnel. It is difficult to imagine months of seriously reduced economy and forced hibernation. Perhaps a one month prescription would do the trick better than two weeks, but we have to be able to see that end-the-tunnel light.",Reader Picks,Brazil
"There are two parts to this piece - an observation that we need to rethink the current total lockdown approach, and a discussion of some alternative approaches. The former should be a subject of the national discourse. We are facing some tough decisions and should apply a risk-management based approach. It needs to strike a balance between the economic harm - which is tangible, certain, and will likely be massive - and danger to people?s lives from the virus epidemic, which is currently based on projections and models fed by a small and incomplete data sets that makes them unreliable and spread all over the spectrum from minor to catastrophic. Medical professionals and epidemiological models, who are dominating the public attention, are focusing on saving lives endangered by infections. That is good, but it is only one aspect of the problem. Economy affects everybody, its prolonged disruption is certain to endanger the livelihood of many. We as a society need to discuss and prudently weigh the potential harm from each, and devise a considered balance between the two evils that will hurt less. Total lockdown is not that balance.",Reader Picks,CA
"Yeouch! Scorching-hot criticism. It fits and is thus highly defensible, but we all speak from our silo, don't we? Yours may be bigger, broader, and deeper than most, but all of them are limited. Above all, we want to make sure that we survive and thrive, if possible; then, and only then, can others crowd onto the island, but their visas are temporary: ""Only mine has no expiration date,"" says Everyman. Arguments are interminable. Don't billionaires have the right to their own money? But who needs all that cash? Answer: nobody; they just want it. Should we tax them out of existence? Would such maneuvers damage economic growth? Depends upon whom you ask. When people, weakened already, feel threatened, it gets ugly fast. Cf. the Korean War POWs: They devolved to the point where they had little or no regard for others; it was pretty much totally egocentric. Life was on the line, and they had no backup and little hope. Desperate people do desperate things. May desperation not spread with this virus!",Reader Picks,NM
"We do not yet know even if people develop permanent or even long-term immunity once infected and returned to health. Would getting infected a second time be worse or less severe? Rather than throw out a lot of potentially dangerous ideas, why not just say, ""everyone self-isolate as much as possible for two weeks, and then we will see what further information we have?"" Don't get expectations up, and then have to force compliance. Yet, don't say we know we will be shut down for 4 months or longer. We can watch China and see what happens there for the next 10 days. Too many ""experts"" are throwing out possibilities, when we need coordinated policy.",Reader Picks,Texas
Italy has the 2nd highest raited healthcare system in the world and they are overwhelmed. The USA ranks 37th. This will be a apocalypse.,Reader Picks,Florida
"Wait a moment Mary I am 84 in good health as measured by common medical indicators blood et al, I exercise very vigorously EVERY DAY 2000 fast repetition on a rubber band ,since these days I can no longer go rowing my dinghy on the Hudson as I used to do it in winter as well. My brain works well except frustrating lapses in short term memory. My current interests these day at home is reading European and Asian multi country newspapers to find out what?s going on outside. Now WHO is to decide I AM AN ELDERLY and should be treated accordingly.? Mr. Friedman your rationale makes sense STILL I would like your response t my question.",Reader Picks,CA
"A public health plan should be the first order of business not an eye toward quickly resuming the economy. Fixing the economy will take massive sequential stimulus on a parallel track with the medical issues but the economy can always be fixed whereas death can't. from The Guardian (UK version) ""What is the mortality rate of the new coronavirus? It is probably about or a bit less than 1%. Much higher figures have been flying about, but the chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, is one of those who believes it will prove to be 1% or lower. The World Health Organization?s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, talked of 3.4%, but his figure was calculated by dividing the number of deaths by the number of officially confirmed cases. We know there are many more mild cases that do not get to hospital and are not being counted, which would bring the mortality rate significantly down. Deaths are highest in the elderly, with very low rates among younger people, although medical staff who treat patients and get exposed to a lot of virus are thought to be more at risk. But even among the over-80s, 90% will recover."" Losing even 10% of those infected over 80 is unacceptable. The economy can wait.",Reader Picks,CA
"Appreciate your concerns, but the best way to keep the base of the economy ready to spring back to life is to put money in the hands of all the people laid off so they can eat and pay rent. We don't need to save bankers and cruise ship lines and airlines. If something called United Air Lines ceases to exist, all the planes and people who know how to fly them will still be there, and we can reorganize all of that into a functioning air travel system. hmmmm Maybe the employees could own the new airline company. Couldn't do worse than, let's say, Boeing. It's possible that an employee owned company would never have made the decision to build a plane as dangerous as the 737 Max 8, or keep fighting to keep it flying long after it is known to be fundamentally bad at flying.",Reader Picks,CA
"Yeah, sure, we'll probably do something like this. This is America. Americans won't stay in their houses for much more than another six weeks at most. And it would be great if we could quickly test and evaluate 250 million people for immunity. I doubt that we can do that. And if we had test kits and masks and ventilators, we wouldn't be in this crisis. But we didn't prepare for a pandemic before and there is no evidence that we have the leadership to manage a graceful, safe restart of normal social interaction in the future. But we will attempt it. If the death toll is high, we will accept it. The stock market will stabilize, Trump will claim credit, and we'll get another poll telling us that 55% of Americans approve of the way he has handled the crisis. Sigh.",Reader Picks,IL 
"Convincing argument but very much conditional on precisely determining to what extent people 18-40 are at risk of severe affliction and long term effects. Today, I heard from a friend that one of her HEALTHY 18 year old students has COVID and is rapidly deteriorating in a hospital in Connecticut. How fast can we run these studies? If rushed or ignored, we could be endangering the entire future workforce of the USA.",Reader Picks,DC
"This is an excellent article that offers a sound way forward. I have been a risk manager for many years. No one ever sets their risk tolerance to zero losses. That's true even when the unit of risk is a human life, possibly one's own, and the stakes cannot be higher. The basic standard needs to be ""the greatest good for the greatest number"" and we must recognise that at some level extreme economic dislocation will cause more suffering and death than Covid-19. We need to apply our very best judgement and expertise to chart a course through all the uncertainty to achieve the least worst outcome.",Reader Picks,OR
"The NYP-Columbia Chief of Surgery has written a letter about the current hospital situation that is unfolding. It's dire. Perhaps ask him and his colleagues what they think will happen if we tell the majority to go back to work/school in two weeks. I'd trust their in-the-trenches opinion over the ""experts"" cited in this article.",Reader Picks,NC
"Over 90% of those infected will not have any symptoms. They will also be at risk of contaminating others unknowingly. This will last for months, not weeks. Testing is still out of reach for most people. The economy is now in a recession. It will get even worse. What we are now seeing is just the beginning. People need to figure out ways to protect themselves and others and above all keep calm. We are in this for the long haul.",Reader Picks,MD
"Tom, this was a joy to read compared to the so many others I have read. A calm reasoned approach, little to no politics, and I agree with the comment of one below concerning the need to know those who may have overcame the virus. And, please keep my little (not so little) handicapped brother in your prayers. His group home is on lockdown and he loves to go with his sister for pizza, tacos, and ice cream. (And play the radio!)",Reader Picks,IA
"Let the airlines pay for their crimes against all of us. Let them go bankrupt and offer them only the most stringent terms to get back on their feet. They are part of the problem, not the solution.",Reader Picks,MD
"My fear is human nature. How, exactly, are we supposed to protect the elderly and vulnerable? As college students flocking to spring break on Florida beaches clearly demonstrates, those are lower risk from contracting the virus have little interest in the consequences their contact may have with those at greater risk. Changing to a vertical containment strategy carries the huge probability that even more vulnerable people will be exposed.",Reader Picks,Washington
"I like the philosophy expressed here, but (you knew there had to be a 'but') I think we need two things first. Number One: we don't really need to determine who has the virus, we need to determine who HAD it. We need a test that measures whether we have the anti-bodies to the virus, immunity, a serological test. If you HAD it, you don't have to worry about getting it or giving it. So we can all get back to work. And we can help others, especially the most vulnerable. The test would have to be widely available, ideally OTC at the local pharmacy. Number Two: we need a real President. A real leader. One who doesn't yell at a reporter when asked, ""Mr. President, what would you say to all the Americans who are worried and anxious?"" A president who could at least go one day without bragging about ""China"", a president who doesn't make the experts (Dr Fauci) cringe. In order for the economy to recover we need to get back to work and we need to get rid of Trump. I know, easier said than done. But hey, we've faced tough times before. Thank you for starting this conversation.",Reader Picks,NY
"I also think it is obvious, once you stop and think. To mix columns and news- it's how, in a matter of a couple of days- Bernie Sanders went from frontrunner to- this isn't the guy we need for the situation at hand. The scientifically based judgments on how to restart 'normal' life are what's needed now. This is actually a thread of thought that has quite a bit of run in the sports online media. Why couldn't NASCAR and Indy car start up immediately; and why couldn't the NBA start up by next week. With their 'reasonably' controlled environment and work force that are the healthiest humans on the planet.",Reader Picks,IN
I think this is a good plan considering the numbers. I think because of our media we are witnessing mass hysteria. High-risk people will stay home and those who can easilyÿsurvive the flu can go back to work. This will play out if we refuse to panic,Reader Picks,IN
What we need is scaled-up testing. Not just to isolate people surgically and reduce community spread. We need it to prove that someone HAD the virus and is now considered immune for the next little while (a year or so). We need it to give kids little green buttons to put on their jackets and send them back to school or to Grandma and Grandpa. We need it to send people to the frontlines of fighting the virus without needing to wear PPE. Nothing can be done without testing en masse.,Reader Picks,CA
"Yet the latest figures show most coronavirus hospital beds are taken up by people under 60. Is it really feasible to only protect the over 65's given that statistic? I notice that in Wuhan where the outbreak was held to 81,000 about 15 % ended up in a serious or critical condition and over 3200 died. Most of the optimistic estimates are coming from Americans who have yet to experience it in a significant way.",Reader Picks,UK
"So basically Friedman has formed a position and found a limited supply of credible sounding opinions that support it, when what he?s really saying is that he doesn?t understand the current challenge and that if he does, he thinks the economy is more important than a significant number of people?s lives. It?s not just about CoVid. It?s about All Cause Mortality. Poorly managing this pandemic will see America?s health system stretched to breaking in such a way that acute treatable conditions - heart attacks, strokes, asthma attacks etc - presenting at emergency wards will not be treated and preventable deaths will occur. And the 2-week inconvenience to the economy utopia scenario doesn?t even warrant debunking. The ?ideas? Friedman presents here indicate a willingness for contrary discussion that has a place in times of safe intellectual banter, not in an impending crisis where two of the major issues are already disinformation and misinformation.",Reader Picks,Australia
"the question becomes, how do we pivot with a federal government that apparently is well beyond incompetent? How do we assure ALL Americans that they would be covered for testing and/or treatment, not just those in states that voted for Trump? Until the Republican politics is taken out of the Puiblic Health component, I am afraid this surgical treatment might actually be far far worse.",Reader Picks,NY
"This is not like the flu: one can get a flu vaccine shot, whereas here one cannot.",Reader Picks,NY
"It is like ? back to the future?. We have China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea experiences and case studies more than six weeks ahead of us. They are all wiling to share their experiences with us. Why ignore it? Such arrogance. Doesn?t Trump know that ? virus without borders ??",Reader Picks,CA
"I agree with this approach. Have a complete lockdown with a clear end date (whether two weeks or a month) to get cases down then move to targeted individual mitigation while letting the rest of the economy restart. We can't shut down the economy and travel for months or we'll get another Great Depression. In fact, stocks and GDP estimates are already falling faster than they did at the beginning of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was much worse than the Spanish Flu. In addition to the suffering it caused directly, it led to fascism and World War II, whereas the Spanish Flu was quickly forgotten and did not have a lasting negative impact. Better to have another Spanish Flu than another Great Depression.",Reader Picks,Ohio
"I agree with this approach. Have a complete lockdown with a clear end date (whether two weeks or a month) to get cases down then move to targeted individual mitigation while letting the rest of the economy restart. We can't shut down the economy and travel for months or we'll get another Great Depression. In fact, stocks and GDP estimates are already falling faster than they did at the beginning of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was much worse than the Spanish Flu. In addition to the suffering it caused directly, it led to fascism and World War II, whereas the Spanish Flu was quickly forgotten and did not have a lasting negative impact. Better to have another Spanish Flu than another Great Depression.",Reader Picks,NY
"Very important! Katz' arguments should be forcefully made to the powers that be. In addition, one wonders whether the principal segment of society we are asking to shoulder the burden of these reactionary decisions is the millennial demographic. In 2008, they were forced to delay their careers, their accumulation of wealth and their first homes purchases (due to the poor decisions of baby boomers and gen-x-ers). Now, when they have just begun to recover, we saddle them and their children with a trillion or more of debt.",Reader Picks,NM
So much love for this article. It?s the only way forward. Increase temporary care capacity while letting the low risk back out there to work.,Reader Picks,
"Reading Friedman calls to mind Gen Buck Turgidson's caveat to the President about perspective: ""I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks.""",Reader Picks,MI
"Viewing society holistically, the current shelter-in-place approach makes sense only if it is done with Dr. Katz's plan in mind. The broad impacts of a long-term economic shutdown would be severe. Of course, the best approach would be to test everyone and require only the infected to self-quarantine. If this approach is feasible, we should pursue it relentlessly.",Reader Picks,USA
This is the most logical and coherent approach to this pandemic that I have seen. Share it with everyone you know,Reader Picks,Florida
"Funny how everyone that works for the governments - city, county, state and federal - that are closing everything down will be paid in full to not work for a few months. Why don?t they have layoffs or take a furlough?",Reader Picks,CA
"While I appreciate your analogy in general, you've got the third thing wrong. The third disaster is every government that is NOT implementing a shutdown right now.",Reader Picks,OR
"The long-term approach to mitigating the effects of the coronavirus should be planned by an inter-disciplinary group that includes infectious disease experts and epidemiologists but also economists, behavioral scientists and politicians who understand the realities of enacting policies on a mass scale. Currently, the administration is advised by some very good scientists in infectious disease, and they have started listening to epidemiologists, but Trump's economists are a joke. And who thinks that people with broad expertise and experience are meeting to talk through long-term options considering the pros and cons? They are pushing through an ill-considered economic package to create the impression that they are responding to the crisis. It will waste alot of money, and will be guided by self-dealing and insider influence. Even at one trillion dollars, it will be insufficient to stimulate demand. While they are making a bad situation worse, and squandering limited resources to respond to what may be a huge collapse in economic activitity, it is useful to consider options for long-term response to all aspects of the pandemic and associated economic collapse. Better than having policy by Trump's instincts that something he heard about on Fox and Friends may save the day.",Reader Picks,Washington
This will only work if Trump and the GOP stop being insane and work on common sense approaches to the economy and medical environment. I don?t know if it?s possible for the GOP to act like adults.,Reader Picks,KS
"Tom, you are not just a ""reporter"", but rather one of the keenest analysts of the juxtaposition of global culture, economics, politics and the human condition. We Americans are unfortunately finding that the grand experiment over the past forty years of virulent capitalism wrapped up in conservative Republican ideology funded by oligarchs has nearly destroyed the country's capacity to manage itself responsibly. One of the country's premier hospitals (UCSF Medical Center) doesn't even have any coronavirus test kits! Destroying the middle class in favor of enriching oligarchs was not a good thing! That Republicans are pushing additional business tax cuts at our country's most vulnerable situation since WWII under the direction of a megalomaniac president and ideologically driven Senate Majority Leader is evidence that the country may be lost.",Reader Picks,Maine
It is hard to argue with how bad this shutdown is for everyone. But the death rate argument in that article is just not correct. there are definitely a symptomatic people (see recent research article in Science magazine about the prevalence of asymptomatic transmission) but also people who have died and not been counted as victims ,Reader Picks,MD
"The problem when groups of people panic is they don't realize they're panicking. When everyone around them is making decisions out of panic, they think they must be rational. We call this groupthink, and it affects us all. History has never looked back kindly on groups who suspend the rights of their neighbors in times of fear. As Democrats, aren't we supposed care about the poor and working class? Yet look how quickly we've suspended their right to liberty and thrown them into unemployment out of fear of an invisible threat, just because our liberal peers and leaders are doing so. If you're afraid of the coronavirus, you're free to self-quarantine as long as you wish. But no group has any right to indefinitely suspend the right of healthy, innocent people to live freely and work as they need to out of fear of an invisible threat. I encourage those who support mass quarantines on healthy workers to tread lightly. Looking back, you may not be so proud of the actions you supported back when you were scared.",Reader Picks,Georgia
That?s usually the way it works. This society still judges a person?s worth based in the size of their wallet.,Reader Picks,Missouri
"I have made exactly the same point and been dismissed as a monster who only cares about money. I hope that fear subsides soon. If it doesn't, I don't hold out much hope for sane public policy.",Reader Picks,Canada
"Just remember - today's statistics are at least a week old. They reflect what was the situation last Sunday. Wait a week and we'll see where we stand. But of course, even then, the statistics will only reflect today.",Reader Picks,CA
"Clearly the most sensible plan is 2-week shelter in place/bank holiday. It should have happened 2 weeks ago, but not too late to save lives.",Reader Picks,MA
"President Franklin D. Roosevelt I think what Friedman is saying is that the current ""group think""---that we have to do whatever the doctors say because to do or think otherwise will lead to death--is counterproductive, and potentially irresponsible, in a free society. That should be celebrated, not mocked.",Reader Picks,CA
"The fact that nursing home residents in Seattle,WA were the first patients in USA shows that noone really knows how Covid 19 infects or spreads. Because those folks did not travel and as far as we know they had no contact with someone who had traveled to high risk countries. So every precaution we are taking is based on past epidemics and the data coming out of China. We are told an asymptomatic person may transmit the virus. But everyone is not being tested(to test the entire country would be impossible anyway). So it is right to ask how long are the people expected to stay indoors and business shut down. No one knows the answer but indefinite closure will cost the country a lot and few checks sent to people here and there will neither help the people nor the economy.",Reader Picks,MD
But it?s not just making the vulnerable sick. Did you not pay attention to the reports from New York that most infections are between 18-49 years old? Younger people spread this just as much as older people. Do the right thing and stay home! We can fix an economy. We can?t fix dead people.,Reader Picks,Missouri
"I don't understand this article too well. Maybe it's just me. The reason why I find it very difficult to follow is that as I write, I have learned from a family member in the NYC hospital system that they are getting slammed already; since he works in the ER, I take his opinion quite seriously and when he tells me that they are almost out of ventilators, I shudder to think what would happen if we just let out everyone and sequester those we believe are most vulnerable. We still don't know enough of who those are, how many they are, and how they can be accommodated if exposure to them is increased by not practicing social distancing and self-isolation. If this is an emergency as are times of war, then I argue that we should make some sacrifices (being with family and friends even in the comfort of our homes and via virtual connections sure beats dodging V2 rockets in WW2 Britain) and let the economy go for now. The projections even at 1% or lower, as stated by Mr. Friedman, over an infection rate of 40% (3 billion) is an unbearable 30 million dead in the world. AIDS by comparison has accounted for 32 million dead through 2019. It pains me to know that I may not have employment in the fall if this keeps up, that my 401k savings have been decimated by the stock market crash (and will become more meager as I likely tap them to make ends meet for the foreseeable future), but I am NOT willing to get back to what I had if it means that I could have prevented these deaths.",Reader Picks,Florida
"I read the original editorial and found it confusing. I read this now and still found it confusing. I don't get how this plan in actual application (with all the human error that is inevitable) wouldn't result in a situation like what is occurring in Italy. Add Trump's chaotic style into the mix and you'd end up with vast numbers of people getting the signal that this is no big deal and that it's ok to go to life as usual. How many 58 year olds out there who think they're very strong and healthy wouldn't just get on with their lives? Is that really safe? I think it's very dangerous to propose such a complicated idea and risk that in implementing it, the Neanderthals who run this country wouldn't make a mess that would then be impossible to undo. What happens if it backfires? How do you change your tune again? This is insane.",Reader Picks,IL 
This is likely. Epidemics often come in waves.,Reader Picks,Missouri
"The fatality rate of coronavirus, most likely is something like this: Children = ~ZERO Prime age adults with no serious health issues =~ same as the flu Old adults or those with serious co morbidity = high The proper response is simply for those, and only, those, in the high risk group to be isolated, while everyone else goes about life as before. What we are doing is total madness. We are destroying our economy because a few million very old or already very ill Americans have a high risk. Insanity. Thank you Mr. Friedman for having the courage to speak outside of group think.",Reader Picks,CT 
"Kobe Bryant's tragedy comes to mind. When the flying weather is bad, you either 1) ground your aircraft or 2) only fly if you have the the right instruments. Unfortunately we're flying blind. We don't have tests (radar) to actually tell how bad the weather is and we don't have enough of the right instruments (ventilators, masks) to weather the storm. So we're in the worst of both worlds. Too many people will die and we'll wreck the economy at the same time.",Reader Picks,Cincinnati
"""Lost wages and job layoffs are leaving many workers without health insurance and forcing many families to forego health care and medications to pay for food, housing, and other basic needs. Many workers when WORKING don't have health insurance, medications, and enough food. This is a wake-up call to switch our economy over to being human-focused and human-sized.",Reader Picks,
"In Mr. Firedman's next article, I wish he would help to shed light on how it is even remotely possible that the rate of infections in China is now zero? First of all, I find this statistic both staggering and immensely hopeful. But how can, for example, there be no new infections in Wuhan, a city of 11 million? I simply cannot believe that the entire rate of infection in China is zero because they isolated themselves perfectly. There has to be some other dynamic in play. And I ask, how would Mr. Firedman's two week timeframe overlay on what might be a similar trajectory for the virus in the US?",Reader Picks,NY
"""Or a patient with advanced emphysema who dies for lack of a facility with a ventilator.?? The use of social distancing and shutting down factories etc. will only help ventilators be available, that is the worse logic I have seen anyone put into print on the NYT in quite some time.",Reader Picks,NC
"The data on the virus only really harming the elderly and those with underlying conditions is vague at best. The problem with letting the younger ones back into normal lives now or two weeks from now, is that they then succumb more severely and in greater numbers than estimated. Then the medical system is put to the utmost test - saving the young versus the old, or not so young (at 65, I put myself in this latter category). I say we spend a few more weeks with this mode of all being shut down and isolated to ""flatten the curve"" as best we can until we have more data. Flattening the curve should be everyone's mission for the sake of humanity. There will be other viruses with no planned response, because it will be different. Learning how to flatten the curve will best serve all generations to come.",Reader Picks,VT
"The situation in America where innocents are dying and the Country is at a lockdown mode, is hundred percent trump`s doing. Making fun of China , then saying it will disappear in April, when trump was warned in January. After three months just look at us, we do not have equipments, people are losing jobs, children are home schooling and trump`s adviser is Jared. Friday night in Washington week, someone from Politico said about Jared has absolutely no experience. Like having your yard man do some surgery.",Reader Picks,Cincinnati
"I read the article by Dr. Katz on Friday, and immediately thought ? Eureka.? Herd immunity is precisely what is required, and what he recommends is the way to go. I hope he gets a chance to go on national television to elaborate on this for the general public.",Reader Picks,IL 
"The answer to this is not to throw millions of people to the wolves because we are worried over the economy. This is why the government needs an adequate stimulus now. We can do that if we want to. The danger is we won?t do enough when everybody starts worrying about the debt. Like they did last time in 2008. They didn?t do stimulus for the regular people and we paid for it with a protracted recovery. We don?t have to repeat the mistakes of 2008. Do what needs to be done now to keep people safe, make people stay home & pay people and businesses so they can start back up after this is over.",Reader Picks,Missouri
Testing is crucial. Wide-spread testing. I believe South Korea was a model for this type of strategy. I think that if leaders focused on testing this could be our best shot of not having such a huge long-term and devastating economic impact.,Reader Picks,Canada
"What people don't seem to get is that NYT reporting is based on the reaction of our medical community, a community that doesn't want, and shouldn't be required, to choose who can receive treatment because there are just too many sick people for the equipment we have on hand. That is the bottom line here--there are too many patients who need ICU beds and ventilators. Our medical community is upset, and not irrationally. When I saw a photo in the NYT of twenty backhoes in a pit desperately excavating for new hospitals in Wuhan, I knew this was not a run of the mill germ. That the press has reacted this way is not unreasonable. If our medical community didn't think this is a huge problem, neither would they. We are not all going to die. But, our medical system is going to be overwhelmed. Doctors are going to have to decide who gets a ventilator and who doesn't. They're going to have to work to exhaustion because there aren't enough medical workers. They're going to get sick themselves because there isn't enough PPE. That is the consensus of our medical community. Don't blame the NYT for reporting it. Governors of states are not doing what they are doing because of what they're reading in the NYT.",Reader Picks,MA
"A national plan that addresses public health and economic challenges would give us all hope and settle much of the volatility in the markets. Picking up on the suggestions in this article, the following plan envisions an 8-week transition back to an economy that can sustain us until a vaccine is available in about 18-24 months. 1. National quarantine or self-isolation of every individual not engaged in medical or essential services for at least two weeks. After that, individuals should remain in isolation until they test negative for the virus. All individuals who have been exposed as well as those who are most vulnerable to the virus should continue self-isolation. 2. Federal incentives for private sector companies to produce and distribute sufficient personal protection equipment (PPE) such as N95 masks, tests and ventilators to protect all medical personnel, treat all Americans who fall ill, and allow healthy people to go back to work. If private companies cannot do this within 8 weeks, the federal government needs to step up and make it happen. 3. Zero-interest federal loans to all companies that need cash infusions to stay in business. These funds should be designated for operating expenses and for salaries. 4. Federal payments to all individuals without means of support because of the virus support, such as those who lose their jobs or whose income drastically declines. Let?s give this a shot ASAP. We can adjust as we go along.",Reader Picks,MD
"A lot to say but let's start with the blame game. Our leadership missed the boat early and often. As with most of his life, he thought he could bluff his way through anything. Perhaps is for the best it got this bad. Now for the reality check and what we've learned. We should learn from South Korea and Singapore. We should not learn from China, US or Italy. China, not sure they are telling the whole truth. US and Italy, different things. Lack of truth and lack of plan. The best thing would have been to massively test to build models of how the virus spreads and who is impacted. You could have focused the test on NY and Seattle/SF, whatever. A dense population of evenly distributed population. We missed 2 month by not learning but blustering. With that learning you can get back to work, school or life. You know what you're dealing with and you can begin to address the issue. Nature rules that every health calamity will have casualties. The reality is that we have a very important worker bee segment of our population who keep things running but are woefully unprotected. They can't afford to take a day or 2 days off because the have no safety net. None. So voluntary isolation will not work with them, because they still have to pay rent and eat. They have no medical insurance. Smart scholars and politicians should take this opportunity to fully assess where our weaknesses are. It's not in keeping Trump's hotels a float or paying CEOs more.",Reader Picks,CA
"Read the following article in the Atlantic. I have no great hope of the US following their lead, but it's an eminently sensible approach to preserving the economy while preventing all the preventable economic misery that's coming. And for God's sake let's all stop thinking that social isolation is optional. The US is on a path to follow Italy, at the very least. ",Reader Picks,Canada
"Read the following article in the Atlantic. I have no great hope of the US following their lead, but it's an eminently sensible approach to preserving the economy while preventing all the preventable economic misery that's coming. And for God's sake let's all stop thinking that social isolation is optional. The US is on a path to follow Italy, at the very least. ",Reader Picks,Missouri
"For all who think this is a good idea, then why not try this in a state with relatively low cases such as Ohio, Maine, North Dakota, Wyoming, North Carolina, etc.? If this kind of approach works, which I doubt it will, then implement it gradually to other states.",Reader Picks,NY
"""Put a dome of protection around high risk people""... magical thinking... we don't even understand the factors that make people high risk and there is a great number of people with no discernable issue that are dead. There is no real way to implement selective protection right now and there won't be based evidence based understanding anytime soon. If we say we can define and implement such measures in any short-term scenario, it will be a lie. That is a lie many will not be willing to swallow no matter how aggressively it is served.",Reader Picks,
People have been asking for the tests. And they can?t them. Doctors can?t even get them after they have been exposed. And the tests don?t just appear from thin air after we want them. They have to be made and that takes time. It?ll be weeks at the earliest before we have enough tests and PPE to even think about doing this.,Reader Picks,
its good to see that perhaps cooler heads might prevail. there have been a number of us who have questioned the advisability of blowing up the entire economy in an effort to save even the worst case number of lives as the virus spreads. since our dear leader bungled the initial opportunity to ramp up our response to the virus by producing an adequate number of test kits the spread of the virus has been basically out of our control. with the stock market in free fall a political decision was made to abandon the economy in favor of what it was hoped would be perceived as a humanitarian response: send every one home for an undetermined length of time. the economy cannot survive being shut down for an indeterminate amount of time. when two weeks of shelter in place are done with we have to get back to work and our lives no mater what the cost in terms of mortality from the coronavirus.,Reader Picks,CA
"That?d be great, but at this late date I doubt we have the space, supplies, medical personnel and equipment to do this. Had we started preparing when this first came to light it might have been different.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"The number of new cases of Coronavirus in the US is doubling every 3 days. New York City?s health care system is nearing the breaking point. Our health care workers are more and more risking their lives to care for the sick. Trump is calling for masks to be sanitized, a unproven and overtly high risk strategy, states are supposed to compete with each other for scarce respirators, and our President is a ?fan? of several unproven anti malaria drugs. And now from the ivory tower comes the advice to open the flood gates in a couple of weeks. As John McEnroe once said, ?You cannot be serious?. James Simons MD (retired)",Reader Picks,CA
"Broadly speaking this is a crisis of fear. Even before lock downs, there was panic buying and patronage at restaurants, gyms etc was roughly down by thirty or forty percent. It will be very difficult to control this basic emotion embedded in all of us. The economy will contract even if there were no lock downs. Flattening the curve will give people their confidence back again and help restore the economy.",Reader Picks,Australia
"The elderly, the poor, the ill, and the people of color are the most vulnerable at any time and under any circumstance. They were the most vulnerable pre- and post-corona virus. The virus has just shifted the risk curve, but it did not change the slope. In other words, the virus is not really the problem. Rather, it is the weakened and permeable safety net that this country has which continues to let down more and more of the vulnerable. The equation of catastrophe has no virus variable in it, rather public policy failure as a constant. My sincere thoughts to the vulnerable.",Reader Picks,ID
How am I supposed to go back to work and not expose my vulnerable family if I catch it there? And both my bosses are also in the vulnerable group. How can they keep their business open without endangering themselves??,Reader Picks,Missouri
"And I agree about the PPE. That was criminal, not ramping up production immediately once this came to light. Test kits and ventilators too. That needed to start two months ago.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"trump is being called out for denying a problem existed and not getting the Fed. Govt. prepared by ramping up testing, equipment and facility procurement etc. and for continuing to this day to gaslight us by asserting it is all being done now........the evidence for those assertion being scant or non-existent.",Reader Picks,CA
"Just now in the Sunday Trump press conference, they talked about getting 1000gal of alcohol from a liquor distiller for hand sanitizer. 1000gal will easily fit on a small semi van, and is good for what?.....15 seconds of hand sanitizer in the US? There are plants producing ethanol by the millions of gallons for use in gasoline. Who's getting a truck load of liquor in exchange for routing a govt contract to the liquor distiller? Also they said that about 140,000 ventilators were being shipped to WA (full disclose, I live in WA). There's only about 10,000 cases in the entire USA. Why would they send 140,000 ventilators to WA? Sounds like the political cartoon about Russian communism in the 1950s.....the politburo ordered that the Russian economy produce 100,000lbs of nails for building houses.....so the steel mill made 1, 100,000lb nail because it was the easiest way to make their numbers!",Reader Picks,Washington
"You are right on the money, Tom. If we let the economy go by shutting everything down, the damage to the country and to us will be much worse than it will be if we keep this up much longer. As you say, the trick is to balance, and your proposal with Dr. Katz makes an awful lot of sense. These kinds of crises don't have rule books or operations manuals to tell leaders what to do. We have to find our way with this one, and mistakes will be made. It seems to me that so many are spoiled in expecting perfection from leaders. That's not the real world. And it's certainly less so under turbulent times like these. As a sidelight, all this talk about if we only had a single payer system, everything would be better, is absurd. Italy and most of Europe have a single payer system, and they're not doing any better than we are. Probably worse. This is not the time to agitate for some dream but to buckle down and try to get this problem solved reasonably quickly and thoroughly",Reader Picks,CA
"Unfortunately, when faced with an obvious under reaction (it?s a hoax!) the logical reaction is over reaction. When faced with a complete leadership void, everyone scrambles to figure it out on his own. Two weeks seems aspirational given that after one week we are still so far behind in testing.",Reader Picks,MD
"With our lack of universal healthcare, a large homeless population, and a larger contingent of poor people, we are likely to wind up worse than Italy.",Reader Picks,Washington
"It is simple. Like all issues that presents itself in science, one first has to identify the problem. Until we have adequate test to even sample the population as to the incidence of Covid19, we are poking in the dark. We had time to gear up, but our Federal leadership blew precious time calling it a ""hoax"", ""we have it under control,"" ""it will go away."" This is NOT about politics I am speaking, it is about leadership which is currently demonstrated by some of the best Governors in the nation. Due to this lack of action by our Federal Gov't we are in ""reactive"" mode in response to Covid19. We will get past this, but the lesson learned is what it takes to be a proactive leader who tells the unvarnished truth, a leader who offers compassion and hope and selflessness. Leadership matters. Lives matter.",Reader Picks,Georgia
I doubt very much that Trump had $900 billion of his own money.,Reader Picks,NY
"This 2-week strategy can be effective under the following conditions. Imagine a family member has a fever (top symptom of COVID-19). That person should get tested. If that person has the corona virus, then family members in the same home might be infected and should be tested. They will then know if they are infected or not. If that person is not tested, then everyone assumes that the person with a fever is infected. Hence, a family member in the same home might get infected at any later time, and needs to wait until the ill person recovers plus the ~10 days in which a recovered person can still infect others. There are 12 major COVID-19 symptoms (fever, dry cough, fatigue ...). https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/3/12/21172040/coronavirus-covid-19-virus-charts Millions of Americans are likely to have at least one such symptom, so many family members will need to self-quarantine for long periods of time, especially as illness symptoms spread within the family. For rich families, this is an annoyance. For poor families who live week to week, they will need substantial financial assistance. Without it, they will work while sick and infect others. While this strategy is workable, it requires financial assistance for the poor, and widespread testing would sharply reduce the costs",Reader Picks,HK
"Trump is promoting himself as a ""wartime president."" Yes, for the past 3 years he has been making war on 99% of us Americans.",Reader Picks,CA
"this is why mass production of masks and ventilators should be part of any plan. Testing is of secondary importance in my opinion, since it does not save anybody's life and is mainly a statistical tool for tracking the epidemic. If you have the flu rather than corona, you should also not go out and infect anybody. I am not an expert.",Reader Picks,NY
"1 - number 1 we could do without. 2 - the fatality rate is likely between 0.4 and 0.8 percent based on data from Germany, South Korea and Japan, where extremely widespread testing was done. Italy only tests the already severely sick, that's why they have a fatality rate of 10%. Nobody knows for sure, but there is no strong facts that it is above 1 percent. 3 - old and sick people will overwhelmingly protect themselves by isolating themselves. 4 - this is bound to happen because everybody is freaked out. 5 - there is nothing to indicate otherwise, and it is the case for similar diseases. 6 - young people are a minority of people with serious symptoms, and when admitted to the hospital have an extremely low risk of dying, many many times lower than an old person. If we wait for all the facts, until it's completely safe, it will take 1-2 years and will be an autopsy of what is left of our country. We already know a lot, and will know even more in a few weeks. But the shutdown must not continue for an extended period of time.",Reader Picks,NY
"An Italian town with population of 3,000 lost one member due to COVID-19 and then tested everyone in town. Every man, woman, child. They found 3 percent of the population to be positive, and those people were isolated, even if asymptomatic. In 10 days, they tested everyone again and found only .3 percent positive. I believe they used the antibody test, not throat swabs. This story appeared in the Financial Times 3/17/20 or 3/18/20 titled: Experiment in Italian town to test, test, test cuts new infections to zero",Reader Picks,CA
"Thank you, thank you for saying so thoughtfully what I have been thinking and telling others in my family. There seems to have been little thought to the injury that might be inflicted by the draconian lock downs, and herd behavior is exactly the right characterization.",Reader Picks,Connecticut
Has this and Dr. Katz's op-ed and idea been sent to Dr. Fauci? I CERTAINLY hope so! Thank you Mr. Friedman...always an intelligent voice of calm and good ideas...,Reader Picks,CA
"I had read Katz?s opinion piece on Saturday (what Friedman references) and I agree with the ?strategy? to get the ship righted. Where I am horribly concerned is around the execution of that strategy. Executing it will require extreme COMPETENCE. Testing will have to expand faster than the virus and we are no where near where we need to be on that curve. I have very limited faith that the infected would self quarantine. China locked people up, Singapore does electronic monitoring and neighborhood watch. Are we going to do scout?s honor when people aren?t following the self isolation today and there is no paid sick leave? It also isn?t clear how a senior citizen's facilities are going to be protected. If random people keep going in and out of these facilities at some point they all become like the rest home in Seattle. The dereliction of duty and extreme INCOMPETENCE of the past 8 weeks has left us in a very bad place. We will default into Katz?s heard immunity option, we will execute very poorly and there will 0.5-2.0Mil deaths unless this thing goes away in the spring or it mutates in a way favorable to us.",Reader Picks,DC
"As always Friedman gets it right in raising the biggest issue. Are we killing everything we know economically despite the fact that some will die anyway. The horizontal approach does NOT make sense. Not in a globalized economy. The result will be massive government debt and an economy that hurts everyone, but especially the poor.",Reader Picks,Texas
"Taken from the WaPo comments: ?Has anyone been paying attention since the president declared a national state of emergency on 3/13? The president declared a national state of emergency. Under a national state of emergency, the president has 136 statutory powers, but only 17 of them are subject to congressional approval. This was the most important and potentially dangerous thing the president has ever done. He enacted the National Emergencies Act.",Reader Picks,CA
I am not certain if restricting social distancing to only those deemed vulnerable is sufficient. Who will determine vulnerability? What about healthy people who live with or are close to vulnerable people? China had the most effective solution. Mandatory social distancing in places like Wuhan worked.,Reader Picks,
"I'm scared of what the future holds in this indefinite shutdown, and deeply grieving things I've had my whole life: the ability to hug a friend, get on a plane to see my family, or even just pick up groceries at the store without worrying about the virus. That being said, I think the argument being made here relies on the virus being less deadly than it is. With 15% or more people-- including those who are not part of a high risk group-- who contract this ending up in the hospital, if we all resume normal life while this is spreading many more people than you're discussing will end up hospitalized, or, without proper care, perhaps dead. I agree a permanent shutdown until the vaccine is developed is not the answer, and hope we can pivot to a modified strategy once this initial peak has passed. But to do it in two weeks would be foolish in so many ways.",Reader Picks,NY
"Ioannidis and Friedman are on to something very important here. Being a 70 year old I am more than willing to take measures to social distance, isolate, etc. in order to let the uninfected people work. Without work and money there is no society, no economy; the consequences of that are worse than the virus. People are going to die, and that cannot be prevented; how much money we direct toward the dying rather than the living is too much? Our doctors and nurses are risking their lives treating these ill people who are likely to die especially given the lack of appropriate supplies; how many health professionals are we willing to lose?",Reader Picks,Florida
"I?m afraid that not enough is known about the coronavirus to implement an effective strategy based on ?risk-stratification.? Exactly who is and who isn?t vulnerable to life-threatening symptoms? People on immune-modulating medication? Are patients who recover immune? Can they still infect others? The UK wanted to go down the road of only shielding the most vulnerable, while allowing herd immunity to develop among the rest. They quickly back-pedaled. Furthermore, the timing of the outbreak was terrible due to increased travel heading into the lunar new year period. That exacerbated the consequences of the delay in actions and the limited testing. For an effective strategy based on ?risk-stratification,? global policy makers would have had to coordinate and ramp up testing dramatically in January already. The virus spread in the two months since then without our understanding of the virus improving at the rate it could have. It is still not clear how many asymptomatic infected people might be spreading the virus, including to the most vulnerable whoever they are. Bottom line, I agree that ?there is no way of avoiding the fact that many, many Americans are going to get the coronavirus or already have it. That ship has sailed.? Another ship that has sailed is that of using the past two months to build a better understanding of the virus to allow effective implementation of a strategy based on ?risk-stratification.? Ramp up testing now and pivot the strategy later.",Reader Picks,NY
"Very useful thoughts. Just way too early when hospitals and doctors are becoming overwhelmed, the death rate continues to increase at 18% per day, equipment is in short supply, we do not yet know how much ""stay at home"" will affect the curve, and major population centers in the U.S. have not even begun to see the virus. Let's pick this up a few weeks down the road.",Reader Picks,CA
"While I understand that this is a credible attempt at containing the damage from the virus and our economy, it seems a bit too naive. Let's start with the two week quarantine: even in those two weeks you are likely to get the mail (or receive packages), put out and retrieve garbage, and need groceries. Any of those things could expose you to the virus, even if you have groceries delivered. So each time this happens, you have to start the 14 day clock over. Then suppose that people at low risk for complications are told to return to work, but they live with people of higher risk, or they are simply out and about mingling with those of higher risk who have no choice but to go out. The latter can happen for a number of reasons, such as the need to get medication, or an inability to afford grocery delivery. And yes, my family is wiping down everything: the mailbox, the mail, packages, delivered groceries, etc. When we absolutely must go out we wear an N95 mask and constantly sanitize everything. At 58 I will wait for a vaccine and/or a treatment before going back to business as usual. However, I also don't want my 13, 14 and 24 year old daughters going out either. They are lower risk, but why take that risk? The truth is that we need to get more serious about the flu too--our attitudes toward flu are killing people and causing a huge loss in productivity. Until then we need the government to adopt a monthly MBI for those who can longer work.",Reader Picks,Texas
"YES, YES, YES, this ""cure"" is worse than the disease! We need to consider the costs, including adverse health outcomes, of shutting down a global economy. Dr. Katz makes the point that we are actually making matters worse. We should pivot to protecting vulnerable populations and get the rest of society back to work.",Reader Picks,NY
"The American economy can come back in short order, if governors take the steps the federal govenrment will not. California Governor Gavin Newsom was early in callng for a quarantine on the ate of California. One reason COVID-19 casees are 1/10th of New York's despite the larger population. The key to getting the ecomomy back faster is to recognize that 2-months of social distancing and home treatment will stop the spread of the pandemic. Keeping small and large businesses from firing people is essential in this particular crisis. This is not 2009. If this takes secured convertible debt for large corporations conditioned and industries with this string ,and low interest long-term government loans to small businesses with the same requirement, it makes sense overr the expected horizon. It will reduce government stabilizers and speed recovery.",Reader Picks,CA
"I'm not saying anything here is wrong, but the problem is that this plan renders every person over the age of 60 or with an underlying medical condition unemployed. With life back to normal, their boss will want their position covered. If they can't do it, then someone else will. What income and insurance will they have? How will they pay their bills? What becomes of all of those people in 18 months when there is a vaccine?",Reader Picks,Mississippi
The critical assumption is testing and clearly we don?t have that capability for widespread and fast results. How can these articles questioning the current approach have any viability of being even somewhat reasonable? So weird!,Reader Picks,CA
"The economy was already sick. May be there was a veneer of near full employment, debatable in gig economy with few safety nets. But that was all debt and deficit financed at grotesque levels of asset prices and collaterals. Even the bull market was net purchased by companies using tax cuts and cheap money doing share buybacks, not any real economic progress. Apple almost doubled in 2019, while losing just giving away iPhones, 2 for 1. Ponzi scheme in all but name. It all had to tumble and fall. The virus was the black swan event - but could have been anything. We are where we are. China and Korea had it worse. They seemed to have pulled through quickly. There is really no need for profound debates - just do what they did.",Reader Picks,CA
"As I wait 5 days for my COVID test after exposure, I want to relay to you that front line medicine is most optimally practiced by utilizing tools diagnose with certainty rather than the opposite. Using point of contact testing with rapid turn around time, physicians can act on a confirmed diagnosis. We need to utilize both nasal swabs for the presence of viral RNA (45 minutes) and also venous blood testing for IgM, IgG levels (15 minutes). These tests are available and ready to use in every doctors office now (companies in CA and NC). Once we confirm each patient?s status; (actively infected, not yet infected, immunity achieved) the responsibility will naturally fall on the negative or immune patients to herd together and socially pressure those who have not yet tested, encouraging them to do so and declare their status. Shutting down the country for 15 days X ? multiples will have dire unintended consequences. We need the ability to diagnose quickly, triage appropriately, treat with effective meds(coming soon) isolate the most vulnerable and get back to work.",Reader Picks,CA
"Mr. Friedman offers a great synopsis of good practices, going forward. Some of what?s suggested is already in process: pushing for expanded testing; attention being given to the extent of immunity after recovery; brisk work on vaccine development. (69 existing candidates are already being tested.) That has to be complemented by a wiser approach to income supports for the coming months. The two have to go together: ?surgical-vertical? public health leadership and better approach to income supports for the long term. I was excited today by reading Andrew Ross Sorkin?s ?This is the only way??: a bridge loan system backing a first stage flood of money to folks?not multiple cycles of floods of cash. (Sorkin?s sources don?t recommend the first cash cycle, but it?s necessary, while the public comes to understand the benefit of a bridge-loan system.) I fantasized that the legislation hang-up in Congress with Democrats today was that Sorkins? advisors? plan was the way to go, and that?s what they need to legislate. We need comprehensive leadership. Republican leadership can support Biden for 2021 in good conscience: Biden is a wise, tested, and demonstrably bipartisan moderate who knows genuine leadership.",Reader Picks,CA
"Al Capone operated a soup kitchen during the Depression that fed three meals a day to hungry, homeless and unemployed Chicagoans. Many thousands of people took their meals there. Al visited the kitchen regularly to insure that his guests were being properly served and encouraged their efforts to continue to seek employment. There is no evidence that suggests that Al ever benefited financially from the operation of the kitchen. He did it out of the goodness of his heart. I see nothing in the record of our current Public Enemy No. 1 that comes close to matching it for clarity of purpose and skill and decency of operation.",Reader Picks,Texas
"Like many others say, the complexity of this issue is well above my expertise. That said, the situation looks dire and epidemiologist and economists have to work together to save lives and the economy at the same time to the best of their abilities. It won?t be perfect. I don?t see a long term lockdown viable. People often say that economies recover; sometimes they don?t. And in the process, economic depression kills people too, at alarming rates and for sustained periods, just in a more invisible way. Weak economies destroy the health care system as well, let?s not forget. We need to be very creative and rational right now. I think Dr Katz approach is sensible and it should be attempted. I fear we have the most incompetent government however, which will make intelligent measures difficult to apply. That?s terrifying, I?m terrified.",Reader Picks,MA
If only we had some leadership,Reader Picks,Michigan
"That we may be over-reacting is indicated by the much lower mortality reported yesterday from Germany: they have been testing people with even mild symptoms at a rate of 12 000 tests per day. With their much larger and more correct estimate of the total number of people infected by Covid-19, they find the mortality is only 0.3%, close to that of normal influenza. Returning to work soon would thus not be very risky.",Reader Picks,France
Thank you Mr. Friedman. We need to build a path back to work. We can do this sooner than later.,Reader Picks,Ohio
"Fichtenkort Great points, John. We also need to institute random testing to gauge a better idea of total numbers exposed/infected and then the percentage of those who are 1) symptomatic, 2) hospitalized and 3) don't recover/pass away and then the ability to further breakdown by age, pre-existing condition, etc. This gives us much needed perspective and the ability to measure overall risk in comparison to other threats (E.g., the flu, auto travel. etc.) that we inherently deal with and accept on a day-to-day basis.",Reader Picks,IL 
"This piece, no matter how well-intentioned, is frighteningly myopic. Speculative statistics about lower fatality rates -- with the rest of the world in deadly chaos, including highly advanced European nations -- inappropriately minimizes the threat's scope, still amorphous. This knee-jerk focus on economic catastrophe is dangerously in sync with an administration reductively characterizing a public health crisis as a strictly financial one. Mr. Friedman is respected and admired for his wisdom, honesty, and clarity. But if he feels the need to scold us as doomsayers already -- only 10 days into the Trump team's admission of a crisis -- we must look elsewhere for advice and guidance.",Reader Picks,NJ
"First time ever I agree with Ton Friedman. But, even in these deadly serious times, he could not resist delivering his message without taking a poke at the President. And for what? For following the advice of the academia know it all know nothings - Tom's favorite people.",Reader Picks,USA
We bailed out the banks - right now we need to start thinking about bailing out the people.,Reader Picks,MI
Well it seems the problem in Congress is that the republicans are looking out for big business more and the Democrats are looking out for the working class .,Reader Picks,MA
"Predictably, Friedman places the economy over the people whose labor comprises it, which benefits, no surprise, the plutocracy. ?We would also want carefully to confirm that, once you recover from Covid-19, you are immune from getting it or spreading it again for a period of time. Most experts believe that to be true, said Katz, but there have been some reports of reinfection, and the matter is not settled. ?Confirming that individuals are fully recovered, truly immune, and not capable of transmitting is a crucial element in protecting our loved ones most vulnerable to severe infection,? Katz said.? How are we to separate Katz? belief that those who have been infected become immune to reinfection from actual conditions IN REAL LIFE? It is likely to take the months that Friedman risibly claims that we don?t have to establish that situation in fact. In fact, some patients might develop immunity while others do not. In that asymmetrical scenario, we will need to harvest antibodies from the immune in order to protect those who do not. There is no way to speed up this process, sir. The economy can be supported by a massive spending influx under the condition of keeping employees both on payroll and covered by health insurance. Then we will all have the wherewithal to pick up more or less where we left off AFTER THE MEDICAL CRISIS HAS BEEN SATISFACTORILY RESOLVED.",Reader Picks,NY
"The way that the government solves this is the massive infusion of money into an economy stopped by tripping an emergency brake. The way forward is to send money to businesses small and large to keep employees on the payroll and with health insurance on the condition that businesses must keep em0loyees paid and covered, and that those funds can not be diverted to stock buybacks, top executive compensation ( say over $5 million/year), or to companies still at work, such as Amazon. The idea, demanded by McConnell, that vast sums be distributed with no strings attached by Trump through his sock puppet Mnuchin is the very definition of irrational.",Reader Picks,NY
"I respect Mr. Friedman?s thinking even when I disagree, but this column was different. It reminded me of an incident from 2009. During the ACA debates, a Boston-area-university economics professor wrote that his research proved the supremacy of individual responsibility: Some people and companies had to suffer for the greater good. A year earlier, a major publisher had released my book, The Spider?s Strategy. I?d argued for a reality that is now accepted but was new then: We are networked, not just digitally, but organizationally and individually. My online comment in the Boston Globe essentially asked, ?Will the good professor consider resigning his tenure to demonstrate how individual responsibility for healthcare should work?? Howls of outrage at my betrayal (I too studied business and held a doctorate from a top school) followed. Recently, the MIT Press and Sloan Management Review published my book, Leading in the Digital World. After researching what is and isn?t working in the networked world, I argued that when a crisis can move with blinding speed and spread across the world, leadership demands collaboration and inclusivity. Moreover, leadership today must pursue creativity. Mr. Friedman and the contrarian experts he interviewed ignore the need for collaboration and inclusivity. Moreover, their proposed ?some people say? path forward is devoid of creativity. Amit Mukherjee Professor of Leadership and Strategy, Hult",Reader Picks,MA
"Mr Friedman, does Dr. Katz has evidence or just using the situation to create evidence? Because all leaders need to base their decision in evidence. tks from brazil.",Reader Picks,Brazil
"The big hurdle is still the same: testing. My guess is that I?m infected. That?s been my suspicion since March third. The few tests we have are as good as no tests at all, in which case we have two choices: isolate or not. Once we have enough tests for everybody, then we can start to strategize the next step. So my question to you, Mr. Friedman, is what ideas can you come up with to get us all tested?",Reader Picks,MN
"The long term consequences of keeping people locked in, stay at home, are unimaginable. It will have as far reaching consequences, social disruption, and realignment as the emergence of internet. Businesses will get used to having employees working from home. Large businesses will begin giving up expensive real estate. This will impact everything - real estate, housing, transportation, auto, travel, and other industries.",Reader Picks,Wisconsin
"So let the tidal wave wash over us and the ones who can ride the wave can then turn around and help protect the people who weren?t killed by the wave, but who might still be at risk when the second wave comes through. Um, just one small detail....they will already be dead or very much injured. Oh, and the hospitals will be so overwhelmed by the ones who were not at risk but who got really injured anyway. Hmmm. Point being is throw a life preserver to all the out of work people you can, then tuck in and ride out the storm. The effort to clean up can come later.",Reader Picks,MD
"Friedman complains about ?what we are doing to our future generation?? Here is testimony from that future generation, one who was healthy, in shape, and ended up in the hospital. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/opinion/coronavirus-young-people.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage Her op-ed defeats the entire thesis of Friedman?s desire to save the economy and its plutocrats rather than the society writ large.",Reader Picks,NY
"For once, I agree with Thomas Friedman. The ""targeted approach"" was supported by the data from day one. When people were comparing this to the Flu, this is what they meant. The only question now, is why did we lose our heads and lock everyone down, instead of the most vulnerable?",Reader Picks,VA
"Not buying it this time - if you have friends on the front lines they are telling you that this is not just the elderly being struck down, nor the already sick. We still don't have enough of a handle on what makes some people die fast and some not =- that and shoring up the current US healthcare system in the short run are the priorities. Just too soon to think we know who to protect yet",Reader Picks,PA
I am 78-- no health care worker should be infected treating us. How shortsighted is Cuomo with his 88-year-old Mother law? Almost EVERYONE is replaceable -- certainly Cuomo is-but our Medical Professionals are not. We have insufficient MDs now. This is just politicians and media hysteria.,Reader Picks,NY
"Dr. Katz' proposal is predicated on near total isolation for two weeks, which is probably impossible in a society like ours. There would be a high percentage of non-compliance which would doom the plan to failure. Theoretical constructs which do not conform to reality are not very helpful.",Reader Picks,NJ
"The vertical approach to handle the coronavirus is the first hopeful information in the sea of doubt. The daily onslaught of one dire outcome after another whether through the media or armchair theorists has jolted my world to the point of near hysteria. It's affecting my sleep, diet, family interactions and feeds into my ongoing battle with depression. I see the problem as cutting through the red tape and getting the word out to the people in charge i,e, the CDC, WHO, local and national leadership concerned with a remedy to this crisis. From the get go, we've been hampered by the lack of test kits, medical safeguards and the ability to address the severely ill. But given that some portion of the population could return to work and start to bring about some relief and most importantly hope it certainly is more than welcome. I think the most important aspect of the ""return to normalcy"" route is the collection of data determining who would be eligible and how is that implemented. Is this risk factor one takes when a leap of faith is implied? Everyone cannot be tested but if guidelines of the return to work population could be monitored so that the non hot spots are the first group to return it is workable. These are my thoughts as I sit in my bedroom wondering is this our Spanish flu and will I be alive in two months. I am a senior citizen who is healthy however I'm 77 years old and would like to live as long as possible.",Reader Picks,NY
"There's a big difference between encouraging people to get back to living after a crisis, and encouraging them to do so during a crisis. One is sensible, the other is irresponsible and will get people killed. If you don't practice social distancing, there's a good chance you'll unwittingly spread this infection, from which many people will die. Please help others stay safe by staying safe yourself.",Reader Picks,NY
"It's hard to work when you are dead. Only the living may be able to work, someday. It's not hard to believe that ""work is more important than life"" as this article suggests. While is important to face facts, not lies, the public health comes first, the rest will rebuild itself that exists and stands the ""test of time."" The billionaire class and corporations that have saved for a ""rainy day"" will survive. Just push play when we can go back to work, until then, the pause button should remain in place until the rainy day has passed. This virus is that rainy day. Our leader of the free world is blind when he spouts prophecies that infer that ""he is the anointed one,"" when in fact he is not a God, King, of anything, just a self-indulged disinformation propagandist.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"I think the ideas proposed here are interesting and could mitigate the mental health impact of prolonged isolation and unemployment that seems underestimated in discussions about strategy going forward. My concern for these ideas is that they require a level of precision, clarity, leadership, and cooperation that I haven't yet seen in the response to the pandemic. Additionally, this strategy assumes that a spike in ""low-rise"" cases would not overwhelm the health system because presumably the cases would not be very serious. Recent data shows that this disease is unpredictable and that it can be severe even in cases that do not fall into a high risk category. Until the data show that our health care system can support a spike of low risk cases, it seems irresponsible to follow any strategy not focused on flattening the curve. The proposed strategy is especially concerning because our health care system does not promote preventive care. People without insurance may not realize that they are immune compromised because they haven't seen a doctor in years. I agree we need to be smart with how the pandemic is handled so that there is a normal to return to. I also think that measures like continuing to work from home when possible and spending less time in crowds may reduce risk without having as large an economic impact as other strategies. Until people see the seriousness of the situation, though, I worry that any nuanced solution will not go far enough.",Reader Picks,MA
"I hope many other readers access your link to Dr. David Katz’ enlightening article on resolving our current national hysteria over Covid-19. Having survived the 1950’s polio crisis, four decades of nicotine and alcohol use, various flu and other health threats, and the Vietnam War, I’m not too troubled by the odds presented by the current health threat. But there are other concerns over what is now happening in our nation. As a people that find great deprivation over the loss of internet service, it becomes a question of how long before the lootin’ and shootin’ starts over frozen waffles and bathroom tissue. So at this point, Dr. Katz’ recommendations seem at least workable; let’s hope someone has the good sense to try them.",Reader Picks,PA
"It is time we start listening to the scientific community. The era of radio/web personality ""experts"" and media hysteria has come to an end. If we are going to declare war on this virus, so be it. But what we need most in a war is a leadership that provides us a clear vision of the future for the nation to rally behind. While the ideas in this editorial have several flaws, it is nonetheless providing a framework for the future based on reason. To shelter in place indefinitely is not a solution, it could cause the greatest economic collapse in history. Any plan would be better than no plan. But I do have my concerns with this one. First of all I am concerned that, with the little information we have, sending the ""less vulnerable"" back to work could overwhelm the healthcare system. I am also afraid this may cause the fatality rate to skyrocket both due to the virus and the lack of services. Secondly, I am concerned with enforcement of quarantine and self isolation. Let's say we do take a two week reset. How then do we enforce quarantine and self isolation? It would seem a nationwide martial law would have to take effect and even then how do we enforce afterwards without knowing for sure who was infected or not?",Reader Picks,CA
"I am so glad you and Dr. Katz are saying this. Your analogy of an elephant attacked by a cat is spot on. (There’s a video by Naftali Bennett of Israel saying the same thing) It is irrational to ask younger people and poor people to give up the entire economy. Older people, rich people, and those at risk should self isolate till there’s herd immunity. Others should just go about their jobs with the flu like odds of dying. We can’t bring the whole economy down.",Reader Picks,NY
Great article Tom. I'm appalled at the many learned critics responding negatively to your piece. Closed and frightened minds are exactly what we don't need. Outside the box thinking is needed here. There is a middle way. Isn't that the point of the article?,Reader Picks,Canada
Very interesting analysis. I see some critical points: -not enough test available -people do not follow easily raccomendations -young people don't die but still can report lunge demages But of course we should analyse a solution to avoid months of lockdown and the direction suggested is the correct one,Reader Picks,Italy
Old people should self isolate; the country should help them if they can’t. Cheaper and better for the economy. Young people should take over the economy.,Reader Picks,NY
"I like your thinking on this one Tom and I wish it could be put into execution, however, the flaw that I see is that it is premised on people thinking logically and with forethought. Our political leaders certainly have shown a predilection not to be able to think that way and the vast majority of people in the US also seem unable to think much beyond a very small circle of their social network. While I believe that what you propose is solid, it requires more cohesion and willingness of many Americans than they are able to muster. It’s a shame too...this could be the catalyzing event that could help mend the fences among Red and Blue America as well as the younger and the older generations. Unfortunately I cannot see them being willing to extend their hands to one another to overcome the years of partisan and generational rancor to achieve such an audacious solution as this op-Ed provides. I wish it weren’t so...I really do. I, for one, will try my best - but you and I am only individual voices in a chorus that seems too unwilling to take direction from a choirmaster.",Reader Picks,MD
"Perhaps if our Dear Leader wasn’t more worried about the PR problem and the ‘hoax’ and was more reliant on experts and multiple considered opinions as to the best course of action considering medical as well as economic consequences, and was able to coherently speak to the nation rather than lie we might have been in a better place.",Reader Picks,NY
"I guess your spouse isn’t immunocompromised. It’s a little more real for those of us who have more to lose than money. Money can be made again. Once people are gone, they are gone forever.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"As I finish reading this article, I'm looking at the decision Los Angeles has recently made. In light of the fact we don't have enough test kits, LA is now forgoing tests. Only those who come to the hospital will be given a test, in determining a correct diagnosis, so they can decide what procedure to take. This plan makes perfect sense had we been prepared with the test kits (look at how well S. Korea has handled the virus). Since we are now at the second stage in this pandemic, we need to be concentrating on manufacturing the equipment needed for the ones who will be ending up in the ICU.",Reader Picks,CA
"This requires leadership that considers all information, makes good decisions, acts quickly, and is willing to change. The current administration and its toadies have none of these qualities.",Reader Picks,IW
"Testing requires kits, supplies and medical personnel. Despite Trump’s blather, I see no sign of imminent increases in these three things.",Reader Picks,Missouri
"Biliionaire welfare, and enriching the elite republicans on wall street further, as trump and the senate are attempting in the stimulus package, will not work. It will exacerbate economic inequality even further and increase the deficit by trillions further destabilizing markets",Reader Picks,CA
"There certainly needs to be a plan to get people back to work within weeks. Many people can still practice social distancing at work and keep plenty of Purell on hand. My concern is about sending children back to school, where they can bring the virus back to their homes. After these few weeks of self quarantine, how can we make sure our children practice social distancing, washing their hands and not touching their face so we don't have to do this all over again?",Reader Picks,CA
"You assert that those who have recovered from Covid-19 are be immune. But is that actually true? It wasn't known with certainty a few days ago. The Chinese may have the data by now. If it is, then perhaps INTENTIONALLY infecting volunteers from low risk groups (housing them in currently unused college dorms, perhaps) would, in a few weeks, provide a documented cadre of immunes to start reactivating our economy sooner rather than later. Also, surgically isolating the high risk groups is probably impossible, since they, to a large degree live in the midst of the rest of us, depending on family or, e.g. nursing home staff for support.",Reader Picks,Kansas
I think you are underestimating your economic value. You do spend money and that contributes to the economy. I notice you reside in Canada so health care is not an issue but in the States we are light years behind the rest of the first world in this area.,Reader Picks,RI
"Anyone with an underlying health condition is at risk in any flu season. Those who are healthy have a better chance to ward it off, but with covid-19 and no vaccine, the odds are in nobody’s favor. The situation as it stands now, is like trying to square the circle, until a proven vaccine is developed, then we’ll have the option, should I get a flu shot.",Reader Picks,NY
Don’t suppose we can push up the date of the presidential election?,Reader Picks,NY
"Ask Katz, What is required for herd immunity? Let's say 70%. 70% of Americans x 235M Americans = 164 M Americans w/ COVID 19. Assume 1% death rate = 1.64M Americans. Interesting thought experiment. Why waste time! Lets just inoculate the healthiest 164M Americans with active COVID19 viral cultures and then in 3 weeks everything is back to normal less some unlucky ones. Katz & Friedman - Are in in it to win it?",Reader Picks,Arizona
"Bottom line: none of the “experts” seem to have any idea of what we’re confronting, nor how to solve it. Italy should be a good example of what happens when there’s a wholesale contagion. Talk about an elephant seating in a mouse.",Reader Picks,NY
Testing is the key. We cannot improve what we cannot measure. The current horizontal interjection has confounded an already feeble and anxious market.,Reader Picks,NJ
"Exactly my thinking. Those who have already had it and recovered should be tested and tracked. They could jump into the workforce as needed during this crises, and the numbers themselves would tell us a lot about the virus's behavior. Not to mention, John Hopkins is looking at using antibodies from recovered patients as life saving treatment that doesn't take nearly as long as developing a vaccine.",Reader Picks,CA
"I wholly agree with this, however the US lacks the one thing required to make it work, it lacks credible competent leadership. Vertical approach can’t work at the state level, it must happen at the federal level. For that to happen we must acknowledge our mistakes so we can correct them, ie testing. That’s not going to happen.",Reader Picks,CA
"I, for one, would be traveling, virus or no virus. People who are not at risk would still do some traveling. (and they still are, young people are going to parties in many parts of the country) It would be the difference between a recession, and the complete destruction of the US economy. The idea that you can print enough money to make up for the losses, if the shutdown endures for more than 2 months, is utterly ludicrous. It would add something like 15-20 trillion to the national debt in a single year, and likely cause a dramatic devaluation of the US-Dollar. Not to mention that it would never pass congress anyway. So we're just looking at mass poverty. Sure, people would get laid off anyway, but way fewer. The economical problem is a direct result of the steps taken to combat the disease. And they make things worse.",Reader Picks,NY
"Thank you for this. We need to be reasonable in our approach to this--not absurd. Imprisoning a billion people in their homes for some indefinite period of time is just not an option. I believe we have a lot of community immunity already. We need to test for antibodies and we need random testing ASAP to understand what percentage of society has this and is simply asymptomatic. My hunch is that for every case out there that qualifies for an actual test there are at least five others so mild that don't meet the test standards. The death rate will likely not be much worse than the regular flu. The media also needs to do their part by not billboarding the anecdotal one offs. I know the math isn't sexy and doesn't make headlines, but right now the media needs to not be contributing to the fear. The world as we know it depends on that.",Reader Picks,NY
Now is the time for these billionaires to truly show their mettle and just directly give to the American people.,Reader Picks,Alabama
All Americans should be ordered to stay indoors or on their property for 2 weeks. Send every American a check for $1000 below a set income level in the next week. Then another if needed. No exceptions except emergencies that require a hospital visit. Penalties for those who break the law should be severe. For those without food it will be provided by the military. For those who need medicine it will be delivered. Close all the borders for 30 days and massive screening thereafter. The virus will have nowhere to go after 2 weeks.,,Florida
"How about getting America back to work NOW to produce the amount of PPE we would need for people who are fighting on the frontlines? How about helping out people who are working and fighting almost 24/7, our doctors and nurses instead of talking about economy machine and big picture worrisome? Those who are worrying about their own livelihood, the author and likeminds, could be helping those who are fighting for everyone else and make a living at the same time. The arrogance and ignorance of this article stunned me. We're just not there yet, before the like-minds could be screaming ""money,"" there could be months' effort to even contain the virus in the first place. If the medical system fails, there is quite no difference of working and having a medical insurance or not.",Reader Picks,NY
"It is vital that we take measures to address the serious threat posed by the spread of COVID 19. But we do need to balance risks and be targeted and effective in our interventions. The shuttering of large swaths of productive human economic activity with rolling authoritarian decrees will have severe, long lasting consequences. The very serious risks to our stable and productive society must be part of the discussion and should not be lost in the important and well intentioned rush to slow the spread of a dangerous virus and to buy time to recover from our embarrassing state of preparedness. Let us not forget that rapidly and broadly spreading economic hardships bring increases in the uninsured, poverty, crime, violence, drug use and addiction, depression, suicide, malnutrition, homelessness, gangs, blight and other downward spirals of all sorts, not to mention steep reductions in resources to fight or escape all of the foregoing. These too bring about suffering and death and are hard to contain once unleashed. Stop, hey, what’s that sound, everybody look what’s going down ",Reader Picks,PA
"that's all great, but clearly written by a person with privilege. What of the many millions who will not be able to put food on the table anymore? Who will lose their home? And don't tell me that congress will save them all -- that is not happening beyond getting $1000 once or twice. We live in reality",Reader Picks,NY