Juliette Kayyem on WNHH’s “Dateline New Haven.”
Juliette Kayyem is not ready to eat at an outdoor restaurant — but believes that people who take proper precautions are probably making a reasonably informed decision.
“There’s no right answer,” she said.
Kayyem makes her living figuring out the best ways to respond to a pandemic or other health disaster when no right answer exists. She played that role as an Obama Administration-era Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary during the H1N1 pandemic and the BP oil spill. She advises private companies and helps future government leaders make such assessments as a lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. (She’s also a regular CNN on-air security analyst.)
Kayyem shared her take about how to approach the new phase of the Covid-19 pandemic during an appearance Monday on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” program.
She argued that states are reopening for business too quickly without meeting important benchmarks in case load or testing preparedness. “This is going to be bad,” she said. “I wouldn’t be shocked if we’re at 400,000 [deaths] by the end of the year.”
On the other hand, much remains unknown about the coronavirus, and the American people have done a good job donning masks, working from home, and maintaining social distance, Kayyem said. She noted that overwhelming majorities support wearing masks and reopening slowly. “Fox and Trump are complete outliers on the mask issue,” she said. And while cable TV highlights scenes of maskless mobs in bars and on beaches, in fact most Americans are exercising caution.
Given that, the U.S. can do a lot to manage the “adaptive recovery stage” we’re in now to limit the spread and make smart decisions to limit risk, Kayyem argued.
“The American people are impatient. The president is impatient. Let’s do this safely,” she said. In crisis management, “you take the world as it is — not the way you want it to be.”
“We’re not at a no-risk” stage, she observed. “We’re at risk mitigation. We will be at that for a long time.”
So continue working from home if you can, remaining six feet apart from other people, and working remotely if possible, Kayyem advised.
Outdoor dining? “Not for me — my risk tolerance is low,” she said. But if people keep proper distancing and generally be careful, it’s probably OK now, she said.
Indoor prayer services? Too dangerous. Outside prayer services? OK with masking and distancing.
Backyard birthday parties with a dozen people? Bad idea.
A few friends over in the backyard bringing their own food and staying far apart? She and her husband did that, and it went well.
Unlike other Democrats and “never Trumpers” critical of President Trump, Kayyem did not express concern about the November election. She predicted it will definitely take place. She predicted that “white elderly people will wake up to the fact that he’s not protecting him,” and Trump will lose. While he will claim the election was rigged, and “the transition will be horrible,” she predicted Trump will actually leave office. Though she doubts he will show up at his successor’s inauguration.
Click on the video to watch the full interview with Juliette Kayyem on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven.”