After the pause

Two close advisers of Gov. Cuomo are heading a task force called NY-FORWARD to determine how and when New York’s economy should emerge from its coronavirus-imposed hibernation. The effort demands transparency, rigor and above all, speed.

As the virus tore across the globe, causing escalating carnage in Italy because leaders there delayed a clampdown on gatherings, New York took the only sane step: ordering social distancing of populations.

As we follow through, it is imperative for the state and nation to gauge how these measures are working, and if, so, how long they should remain before we’re out of the darkest woods.

How quickly are infections and fatalities rising (assuming the growth rate can be decoupled from escalating test availability)? Just how lethal is the virus? (Its current statewide rate is about 0.5% of confirmed cases, far below the 3.4% rate the World Health Organization cited in early days.) How well are the state’s intensive care units managing the increasing caseload, immediate and projected?

The rising damage done by the virus and the benefits of the clampdown must be weighed against the economic and public health harm done by prolonging the economic freeze. Lost lives matter most; shattered livelihoods matter too.

Midnight Sunday, President Trump had a Twitter fit: “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF,” adding that “AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!”

That immaturity and impatience aside, this much is true: There must be a balance, and a future.