As leaders in Dane County developed their Forward Dane opening plan, they faced a "Sophie’s Choice." From the film of the same name, "Sophie’s Choice" comes as she arrives at Auschwitz with her two children and a doctor tells her that she must choose which is to be killed -- failure to choose will result in the death of both children.
The Forward Dane plan has been criticized by public health professionals as going too far too fast. And business leaders have complained that the provisions are too strict, with regulations that make it impossible to open their businesses and become profitable.
Our public health leaders made a difficult but wise decision -- to strike a balance between remaining in a universal quarantine to protect the public’s health and going back to business as usual to resolve the highest rate of unemployment since the Great Depression.
People are also reading…
And the response from critics suggests that they have gotten it right, as neither side is pleased.
Forward Dane is not a perfect plan, but it uses the scientific evidence, and can be adapted over time if it does not achieve its intended outcome: the best health outcomes possible while providing economic opportunities for all.
Patrick Remington, Madison