Science and the Constitution say: End the lockdowns

Across the nation, protesters are taking to the streets and business owners are filing lawsuits objecting to the shutdown rules. As the shutdown drags on, it’s causing job losses, bankruptcies and a sense that people are being robbed of their rights.

The liberal media label the protesters virus deniers. But the protesters have science and the US Constitution on their side.

Not to mention common sense. As Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday, “This is not a sustainable situation. Close down everything, close down the economy, lock yourself in the house.”

Start with the science. Data show almost all coronavirus fatalities are among the elderly and those with serious health problems. A staggering 68 percent of deaths in Pennsylvania have been nursing-home residents; in Rhode Island, it’s 70 percent. Shutting stores and restaurants didn’t save them.

A lockdown targeted to protecting the highest-risk group, people 65 and over, instead of confining all age groups would slash deaths by half but at only half the economic cost of a total shutdown, according to new National Bureau of Economic Research findings.