{"id":76853,"date":"2020-09-28T03:25:41","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T00:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/your-lockdowns-cause-deaths-too\/"},"modified":"2020-09-28T03:25:41","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T00:25:41","slug":"your-lockdowns-cause-deaths-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/your-lockdowns-cause-deaths-too\/","title":{"rendered":"#Your lockdowns cause deaths, too"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Your lockdowns cause deaths, too<\/strong>”
\n<\/p>\n

\n Michael hasn\u2019t touched \u00adanother human being since March, and he doesn\u2019t know when he will again. He hasn\u2019t seen his wife, two children or \u00adaging parents in six months. When he does see them again, it will only be for an hour, every two weeks, with no physical contact allowed. The price for keeping Michael safe from COVID-19 is very steep.<\/p>\n

Michael is in a federal correctional facility upstate. He is serving a long sentence for a financial crime. The prison is locked down to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. But like many of the guidelines of our panicked moment, the rules are arbitrary. Michael is my longtime friend, and he has been writing to me about his experience.<\/p>\n

From March until August, he was allowed outdoors for only an hour every three days. Now the inmates are allowed outside for an hour a day. Shouldn\u2019t outdoor time be maximized, since we now know outdoor transmission is minimal, often nonexistent?<\/p>\n

The inmates have had no rehabilitative, educational or recreational activities since March. Medical care is limited. Dental visits are completely shut down. No group religious services are allowed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s too easy to dismiss the well-being of prisoners. But this treatment is plainly inhumane and an \u00adillustration of how we have shut down life to stave off COVID-19 death. We want to protect our most vulnerable populations. But other things matter, too.<\/p>\n

In August, a friend of mine named Matthew visited his grandmother at her nursing home. He app<\/a>lied for the lottery, which would grant him visitation, a week in advance. The three slots an hour fill up quickly. If your relatives are slow to respond, too bad.<\/p>\n

The half-hour visit, held in a \u00adgiant ballroom so three residents could each have two visitors, was over quickly. Matthew\u2019s grandmother didn\u2019t understand why they had to stay six feet apart and wear masks.<\/p>\n

Matthew says positive things about the procedures at the home, and his paramount worry is getting his grandmother sick. But as he tells me in an interview, \u201cyou need a reason to live, and when you lose interaction, you lose that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

We are caught up in what is \u00ad\u201cessential,\u201d and what is \u201cnonessential,\u201d during a pandemic. But those words don\u2019t capture the full, textured reality of human life.<\/p>\n

At least, not as our public authorities define them. Personal contact and human interaction are essential. And we face serious consequences from cutting people off.<\/p>\n

Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are still largely holding virtual meetings. As Sarah Pulliam Bailey reported in The Washington Post, the groups are struggling to find new members in this virtual space. Holding hands during prayer and hugging is a large part of the in-person meetings. The physical connection matters so much.<\/p>\n

In April, Gov. Cuomo dismissed a range of concerns on the ground that none is as bad as death: \u201cEconomic hardship, yes, very bad, not death. Emotional stress from being locked in a house, very bad, not death. Domestic violence on the increase, very bad, not death.\u201d<\/p>\n

But people do die from loneliness. Prisoners, nursing-home residents and those struggling with \u00adaddiction have been forgotten.<\/p>\n

In some states, such as Minnesota, \u201cCOVID-19 social<\/a> isolation\u201d is listed as one of the causes of death on death certificates. And the AARP says that without family visitation, coupled with a lack of communal meals and groups in nursing homes, \u201cfeelings of loneliness, abandonment, despair and fear among residents \u2014 and their toll on physical and neurological health \u2014 are only pushing the pandemic\u2019s death toll higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, yes, governor, death.<\/p>\n

While nationwide statistics on the suicide rate in prisons for 2020 aren\u2019t yet available, there\u2019s a lot of evidence predicting a spike. Studies have previously shown links between social isolation and suicide, particularly in our jails. So, yes, governor, death again.<\/p>\n

And White House drug czar Jim Carroll told me he\u2019s worried about drug overdose numbers for this year. \u201cLast year, overdose deaths dropped for the first time in 29 years under the Trump administration. Now that number is likely going to go up.\u201d Carroll added, \u201cIt\u2019s easy to get caught up in numbers, but these are people.\u201d So, yes, governor, death, death, death.<\/p>\n

We need a more humane way forward. Death from COVID-19 isn\u2019t the only thing we need to fear.\n <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

For forums sites go to Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

If you want to read more News<\/a> articles, you can visit our News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#Your lockdowns cause deaths, too” Michael hasn\u2019t touched \u00adanother human being since March, and he doesn\u2019t know when he will again. He hasn\u2019t seen his wife, two children or \u00adaging parents in six months. When he does see them again, it will only be for an hour, every two weeks, with no physical contact allowed….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/09\/Coronavirus_New_York.8.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[73120,70344,73248,67243,71431],"class_list":["post-76853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-9-27-20","tag-coronavirus-in-ny","tag-elderly-care","tag-lockdown","tag-mental-illness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}