A22 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.FRIDAy, MARCH 27 , 2020
letters to tHe eDItor[email protected]loCAl oPINIoNsWhen D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and
Schools Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee announced
that D.C. Public Schools classes would not resume
for 4 0 days, friends asked for ideas to help
home-school their own children. As a high school
teacher, I shared some online resources and also
recommended exploring more project-based learn-
ing that takes several days or weeks to complete.
As with many parents, my wife and I created a
schedule for our boys, carving out portions of the
day to work in their math or language workbooks,
to exercise outside and to indulge in s creen time. A s
most kids say, screen time is “never enough” and
academic activities are not always so engaging. So
what’s a parent to do?
In this unprecedented time, with people strug-
gling to find toilet paper, stressing over groceriesand practicing social distancing, there are bigger
lessons here. Discuss and plan how to ration food.
Generate priority lists, discerning what are essen-
tial and what are extraneous p roducts of consumer-
ism. Have children write to themselves or record
video messages about life in t his m oment. Ask them
to articulate what is most valuable in life. Plant a
victory garden, and allow kids to design the space
while researching a nd determining what seeds are
best suited for our climate. Curate recipes for the
vegetables that will eventually be harvested and
enjoyed at dinner.
W hile anxiety seems to be ever present in our
lives, parents can hopefully become active learners
with their children, emerging with a deeper
understanding of human needs.
Marc Minsker , Be thesdaHome-learning in these strange times
V
ENTILATORS ARE the most critical device
that can save lives in the struggle against the
coronavirus. They are also the scarcest. No
international authority governs the global
allocation of ventilators; in the United States, no
federal agency can satisfy any state’s full demand for
the d evices. For now, t here i s only c haotic scrounging.
Hence the recent back-and-forth over ventilators
between President Trump and Gov. Andrew M.
Cuomo (D) of New York, where a wave of covid-19
cases is projected to crest over the coming few
weeks. “He’s supposed to be buying his o wn v entila-
tors,” Mr. Trump said of the governor. “You pick the
26,000 p eople w ho a re going to d ie b ecause you only
sent 400 ventilators,” s aid Mr. Cuomo.
Washington is now sending an additional
4,000 ventilators to New York, and the governor, in
calmer tones, has acknowledged that no entity, in-
cluding the federal government, can meet the state’s
demand. That’s a larming because N ew York has man-
aged to procure only half of the 30,000 ventilators itexpects to need by m id-April; other states are l ikely to
face similarly dire predicaments.
Before the pandemic, demand for ventilators was
static. Now it’s incalculable, and manufacturers have
no means to meet it in the coming months. T hat helps
explain Mr. Trump’s reluctance to invoke the Defense
Production A ct o f 1950, w hich empowers him to o rder
production of equipment. In the case of ventilators,
the order would be meaningless on the schedule
required by New York and o ther states.
Existing ventilator manufacturers appear to be
ramping up fast. Non-medical companies —
Mr. Trump has mentioned big automakers — would
need many months, at best, to produce a ventilator
costing $50,000, composed of 1,750 unique parts and
1 million lines of software code. The president said
automakers were a lready doing so; t hey are not.
New York’s n eed is unquestionably urgent. Mr. Cuo-
mo is begging for ventilators f rom any source, promis-
ing to redeploy them where they are needed after his
state manages the t sunami it e xpects next month.In fact, that shouldn’t be the governor’s job. It
should be managed by the federal government — by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for in-
stance, the Defense Logistics Agency or the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services. Inevitably, the
job will be ethically excruciating. But it can be man-
aged, to a degree, by surging the supply to meet the
demand when a nd where i t arises.
Even with perfect administrative acumen, there
may not be enough devices. A major manufacturer,
Medtronic, is going all-out to quintuple production,
with a weekly goal of 500 acute u nits made at i ts plant
in Ireland in the coming weeks. Most of that, though
not all, will probably go to the United States. Other
major producers are also ramping up. That’s good for
states bracing for the worst. It is also probably inade-
quate to satisfy aggregate demand in a timely way.
That leaves states in what amounts to a procure-
ment free-for-all. The federal government can’t mi-
raculously solve the supply problem. For now, it
doesn’t a ppear to even be managing it.Wanted: Ventilators
We don’t have enough, and the federal government is failing to address this urgent need.
B
AD AS it has been, the damage the covid-19
epidemic is inflicting on the United States
and Europe could soon be overtaken by
catastrophes in poorer and more distressed
parts of the world. In a reas of Africa, the Middle East
and Latin America, escaping the new coronavirus
through social distancing or even hand-washing will
not be an option — and obtaining treatment from
health-care services will be next to impossible. The
result could be staggering death tolls, major social
disruptions and new waves of refugees headed for
the United States and Europe.
The virus has been slower to arrive in countries
south of the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas,
but hopes that it would not spread in warmer
countries haven’t been borne out. The first cases
were reported this week in the Gaza Strip, where
nearly 2 million Palestinians are crammed into an
area only twice the size of the District of Columbia,
and where hospitals normally maintain only 40 in-
tensive care beds. Several dozen more cases have
been recorded in the nearby West Bank. Cases also
have been reported in perpetually war-ravaged
Somalia and Congo.
Aid workers worry even more about the sprawling
refugee camps that now contain millions of people
around the world, including the 1 million Rohingya
who fled Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh. In
the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib are more
than 1 million people who have been driven from
their homes in recent months by Russian and Syrian
government bombing, much of which has been
deliberately aimed at hospitals. In northeastern
Syria, the al-Hol camp contains 70,000 people, most
of them women and children who fled the Islamic
State and who lack adequate food and water, not to
mention medical services.
“These are places where people who have been
forced to flee their homes because of bombs, violence
or floods are living under plastic sheets in fields or
crammed into refugee camps or informal settle-
ments,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres
said Wednesday. “They do not have homes in which
to socially distance or self-isolate. They lack clean
water and soap with which to do that most basic actof self-protection against the virus — washing their
hands. And should they become critically ill, they
have no way of accessing a health care system that
can provide a hospital bed and a ventilator.”
Preoccupied with fighting the virus at home, the
United States and other rich nations have done little
to head off these potential covid-19 disaster zones.
But as Mr. Guterres pointed out, doing so is not only
a moral imperative; it is also crucial to ending the
pandemic. Without action, he said, “the virus will
establish a foothold in the most fragile countries,
leaving the whole world vulnerable as it continues to
circle the planet.” Inevitably, too, an uncontrolledoutbreak in these areas will propel new waves of
desperate refugees northward.
Mr. Guterres unveiled a response plan put togeth-
er by the World Health Organization and U.N. hu-
manitarian agencies as well as nongovernment
groups. The $2 billion in funding they are seeking
would provide tests, supplies for medical workers,
and water and sanitation to places that now lack it.
The requested resources, the secretary general
pointed out, are a drop in the bucket compared with
what Western governments are spending on their
own citizens. But they are critical to defeating the
disease.A crucial step
Rich countries must help
head off disaster in poorer nations.ABCDE
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the Washington Post
1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 (202) 334-6000Steven Pearlstein, in his March 22 Business
column, “Giving every American $1,200 to buoy the
economy is a really bad idea,” argued that although
financial support is needed, it should be given only
to those who n eed it because m ost of the population
will certainly maintain their income.
The plan to send money to every American may
not be economically sound in normal circumstanc-
es, but it is an appropriate response to the
economic hardships caused by this pandemic. And
it could help curb the spread of the disease.
True, many people will maintain their income,
but what about the short-term burden people will
face because of the pandemic? What about the
employee who already lost her j ob a nd needs t o care
for her children? What about elderly people who
have no one to rely on and who cannot stock up on
food?
These people need cash now to face the addition-
al (temporary) economic burden caused by the
epidemic.
More important, they need it now to heed the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
guidelines: Stay home for a long enough period to
break the transmission chain of the disease.
Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley , ArlingtonI really do not understand the economic
rationale behind the Republicans’ proposal to pay
millions of American $1,200. Though the coronavi-
rus crisis will certainly be devastating for the
roughly 80 million workers who will lose their jobs
as a result of it, it will have a different effect on the
100 million workers who will continue to receive
their salaries and benefits.
In fact, for those who are now allowed to work
from home, t he current s ituation may even produce
real savings. This past week of telework, for
example, was a real blessing for my family’s budget.
My husband and I did not have to pay for
commuting and parking, for coffee and lunches
outside the house, and for the usual family dinner
and a movie on Friday night. Working from home,
and avoiding leaving the house, also meant that we
abstained from nonessential shopping and from
using the services of our babysitter. Overall, these
non-expenses allowed us to balance the budget this
week, something we are rarely able to do.
I will gladly receive a check from the federal
government. But I do not need it right now. What I
and my family need much more is to know that
should I or my husband get infected, lose a job or
become unable to pay the mortgage that there will
be paid sick leave, free testing, and medical help
and unemployment insurance to take us through
this brewing crisis.
Klara Bilgin , FairfaxWith China owning 20 percent of our current
debt and the rest of the world reeling from the
virus, who do we think will provide the funds for
our s timulus? I really don’t t hink matters have b een
thought through as far as what is happening. Could
we mount a program to employ people for
infrastructure improvement by depending on in-
ternal funding? Are there other options? I’m
concerned for our future.
Theodora K. Watts , LusbyThe March 21 news article “Crisis tests the
limits of American sacrifice” was deeply depress-
ing. The naysayers who think that the danger of the
coronavirus is overblown should check the data
coming out of Italy. The folks in Italy do not care
about U. S. politics or President Trump. The death
toll in Italy has exceeded the reported death toll in
China.
Every health expert will tell you that the
coronavirus is highly contagious, and those who
have it can spread it even if they don’t exhibit
symptoms. The only way to stop its spread is to
practice social distancing and hygiene. If those of
us who are vulnerable get the coronavirus from
someone while we’re shopping for essentials at the
store, it will very likely kill us. That’s really about as
simple as it gets.
When I read news reports that the nation is
deeply divided over whether to forsake normal
routines to avoid spreading the coronavirus, I can
only conclude that m any people are g oing to die as a
result of our indifference to this threat. The
skeptics who are laughing over lunch and declaring
that it’s all “nonsense” might want to take a close
and sobering look at what has already happened in
other countries before they continue with their
daily routines.
J ohn B. Allen , AlexandriaThe Sports section is full of the effects of the
absence of live sports to our society. While all true,
here is a simple idea to partially address this
problem: Te levision stations could show great
games and events from the past.
We could see Willie Mays play again! Arnold
Palmer could charge the green! Martina Navratilo-
va and Chris Evert could captivate us all. As George
Michael used to say here in the District, “Let’s go to
the tape!”
R ick Goodman , Silver SpringA necessary step
The list of signatories on the March 22 op-ed “A
dangerous purge” was impressive. Collectively,
these men have served in some o f the highest offices
of our intelligence agencies and military. They
bemoaned, among other things, the recent sacking
of senior leadership by President Tr ump. As an
example, they cited the d ismissal of Russell Travers.
They m entioned Mr. Travers’s more than 40 years o f
experience, starting as an Army intelligence officer.
They urged Congress to “preserve what is left of the
country’s prized apolitical intelligence community.
Post-9/11 reforms happened for a reason: The
U. S. bureaucracy wasn’t prepared for a new era of
threats.”
Really? Forgive me, but I am among millions of
Americans who have been left wondering how we
have gotten involved in conflict after conflict
post-9/11, much of it based on questionable intelli-
gence and recommendations of these “nonpartisan
experts.”
The reality is that too much of our military and
intelligence decision-making happens behind the
curtain, protected by “national security” confiden-
tiality. Ordinary citizens simply have to hope and
pray that behind those closed doors, elected and
appointed officials are making sane decisions.
W hether that has happened post-9/11 is ques-
tionable at best.
Irfan K. Ali , HerndonQuestionable counsel
W
AS IT only three weeks ago that the Labor
Department reported the net creation of
273,000 jobs during February, and an
unemployment rate of just 3.5 percent?
Yes, it was — m aking the fact that 3.28 million p eople
applied for new unemployment benefits in the week
that ended March 21 all the more tragic for its
suddenness. Overnight, the coronavirus crisis has
changed the problem facing the U.S. economy from
spot labor shortages to mass joblessness, possibly on
a scale not seen since the Greatest Generation were
little children.
There is no real good news in all of this, only a ray
of hope and a dose of palliation, provided by the
$2 trillion economic rescue plan that passed the
Senate late Wednesday night a nd now heads to the
House. Sprawling, hastily drafted, full of design
imperfections known and yet to be discovered, this
legislation is nevertheless a thing of beauty, because
it passed 96 to 0, with the votes of everyone from
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the left to Sen. Ben
Sasse (R-Neb.) on the right. Pragmatism prevailed in
a crisis, which means there is life in democracy —American-style, yet. People did the right thing when
they could have just played politics.
In policy terms, the bill provides at least short-
term aid where it is needed most: to state govern-
ments, hospitals, small businesses, the newly unem-
ployed, public transit. Except for necessary restraint
imposed on stock buybacks and executive compen-
sation for companies that receive loans and grants, it
reflects the no-fault nature of the crisis, seeking to
keep everyone in the economy going during a crisis
for which no one is especially to blame. More aid
may well be needed if the public health crisis
lengthens, as many expect.
Potentially the most powerful provision is the one
creating enough backing in the U.S. Treasury to
support $4 trillion or more in Federal Reserve credit
— for states, municipalities and companies not
specifically covered by the law’s programs for air-
lines and small business. The Fed already signaled
on Monday that it is preparing such a “Main Street
Business Lending Program”; both the central bank
and the Treasury Department must keep working to
get it ready as soon as the bill officially becomes law.This lender-of-last-resort function may be crucial to
ensure there will still be an economy left by the time
the legislation’s direct cash support to consumers
begins to have an impact.
The economic crash now upon us is not the result
of a discrete institutional malfunction; to the con-
trary, it is happening because so many individuals
and firms are doing the right thing for public health.
Still, the coronavirus crisis has exposed structural
vulnerabilities across government and the private
sector, from an unconscionably unwieldy patchwork
of unemployment insurance systems to, yes, the lack
of health coverage unlinked to employment. Wisely,
lawmakers chose not to try to solve those chronic
problems in the heat of this moment. After the crisis
abates, all of them, and more, will need to be
addressed, while shoring up the long-term financial
stability of governments — state, local and federal.
Then, too, Americans will need a spirit that empha-
sizes results over recriminations, having learned
from this still-unfinished ordeal that, whether in
times of comfort or catastrophe, we are all in this
together.Congress to the rescue — for now
A unanimous vote reflects the no-fault nature of the crisis.
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