Social Distancing and Covid-19: Is It Ethical?
The CDC recommended social distancing of 6 feet in public and quarantine for exposed individuals for 14-20 days at the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) The vast history of public health validates the need and effectiveness of social distancing over*99*\8*...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Riphah International University, Islamabad
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Islamic International Medical College |
| Online Access: | https://journals.riphah.edu.pk/index.php/jiimc/article/view/1315 |
| Summary: | The CDC recommended social distancing of 6 feet in public and quarantine for exposed individuals for 14-20 days at the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) The vast history of public health validates the need and effectiveness of social distancing over*99*\8* the course of documented history. (Qian 259-261) However, the widely debated question i/s whether it is ethical to impose the social and economic burdens that accompany social distancing, on the general population, in the midst of a Pandemic such as COVID-19?
The value of imposing social distancing is not the conclusion of a debate rather the beginning of a very important discussion in the context of public health ethics. The burdens that come with social distancing fall disproportionately on different cohorts of society. While convenient for people in one domain of physical location, for example software engineers in the tech industry who have the privilege of working from home while having negligible effects on their work outcomes, it can take away the livelihood of a daily wage worker who has to go out every day in search of work and depends on engaging with strangers to be employed and earn a livelihood. This has highlighted the need of being sensitive to the distributive inequity associated with federal and public health policies related to policies regarding social distancing.
The most important question we can bring up in trying to resolve this dilemma is to ask what do we as policy makers and public health professionals owe to the general public most affected by these policies? In trying to reach an answer, we need to categorize the individuals into two categories of harms incurred; the harm that an individual incurs in having toquarantine/isolate for a significant period of time and the harm the broader industries incur in having to implement social distancing as a policy. In trying to reach a balance where “fewest harms” are incurred, we need to address the responsibility that the government has towards the people. To lessen the socio-economic burdens of social distancing, we need to make sure that that person is cared for; food is provided, phone and internet is available for staying connected to loved ones, income is replaced and security is provided on an employer and government level. Albeit a grand expectation, in my opinion it is not just the responsibility of the elected government but the due right of its people. |
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| ISSN: | 1815-4018 2410-5422 |