Despite the evidence that Covid-19 is a real infection and very dangerous, people still either deny the existence of the disease or how contagious it is. Many people refuse to wear face masks or take other protective measures to either protect themselves or prevent the transmission of the disease (John's Hopkins). Further, the federal government in the U.S. is cutting funding for testing despite the fact that the infection counts are rising (EcoWatch). And as if this isn’t enough, a new phenomenon known as a “Covid Party” has appeared, where the participants invite a person known to be infected with the disease to a large gathering of people and the other partygoers try to contract the disease from the infected person, apparently trying to ascertain for themselves whether the disease is real or a hoax (The Guardian). Clearly, safe reopening efforts cannot be achieved if safety precautions are not going to be followed, or if people are going to go out of their way to become infected. To help curb the spread of the disease, Covid infection should be treated as a crime.
Enacting criminal measures against coronavirus infection will have the following benefits:
1- The infected can be jailed and forcibly isolated from the rest of society. To-date, self-isolation is a strictly voluntary act of an infected person and there is no way to compel this type of prevention. And if Covid Parties are any indicator, knowledgeable carriers are not cooperating. Criminal actions against Covid infection can forcibly remove a person from society during their infection. This will comply with basic health recommendations that should be followed, anyway (U.S. CDC). And
2 - Criminal measures will also lead to a broader range of enforcement measures to remove the infected from society. Law enforcement will have the authority to search and seize other persons in close affiliation with the infected. Anyone living within the same residence as the infected person can be forced to take a test to confirm if they have the disease. This can be treated in much the same manner as a search warrant since there will be justifiable reason to believe that the person could be infected. This will also give law enforcement the ability to search phone records and other contact details for more information about the contacts and recent whereabouts of the infected person. This will create a cascade effect that will lead to further searches, tests and arrests to prevent the infected from spreading the disease. And since Covid-19 has the potential of killing the infected person and anyone else that they have contact with, it could be treated much like a homicide case where bail or other early release can be denied. This will insure that the infected cannot leave jail / quarantine until they have fully recovered.
This will also promote social distancing, sanitation, and other protective measures. Since any arrest process will likely lead to an event where the defendant will come into contact with a Covid patient (such as booking), this will provide a reason for anyone to practice good-hygiene and protective measures to help minimize their chances of becoming infected in the first place. Further, this will also enforce social distancing and other personal protective measures that are known to help prevent the spread. Any kind of event where recommended protective measures are not taken, especially a Covid Party, could be raided by police and all participants jailed. This will lead to further enforcement measures of forced testing and isolation in the interest of public safety since the accused is now viewed as a suspect and not simply a patient.
Additional benefits to the market such as an increased demand for N95 respirators and face masks, increased workplace safety and productivity from a healthy work environment, new jobs in corrections as an infectious disease guard, and other possibilities will also emerge as the infected are removed from society until it can be scientifically proven that it is safe for them to return to society as Covid-free. Employers could also safely reopen since Covid testing could be viewed in a similar fashion as drug testing and treated as a safe-workplace practice. These factors will all aid in reopening efforts.
If reopening measures are necessary for countries to get back on their feet, then aggressive measures to curb the spread of Covid infection must be implemented. Treating infection as a preventable crime will help reinforce already established safety guidelines, which can lead to increased public safety.
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