During an interview with “The NPR Politics Podcast” recorded on Monday and released on Wednesday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) argued that the psychological impact of coronavirus restrictions wasn’t discussed enough and “it’s important to take into account, in addition to people’s physical health, in addition to people’s economic well-being, people’s happiness.”
Polis said, [relevant remarks begin around 8:45] “I think Democrats focused, of course, rightly so, on the health side of this crisis. Many Republicans also focused on health and talked about the economic side of this. But one side that I wish was talked about more, because, frankly, I think it’s the — hits closest to home for people is just the psychological impact of these measures, right? Like can you see your friends? Can your kid have a birthday party? Can you visit grandma? I mean, to many people, economics is important, risk is important. But living your lives in a fulfilling way is probably even above those two for most people. And through a lot of this, neither party really spoke to that. We did from the beginning.”
He continued, “I mean, we kind of really tried to focus on that lived experience that people have first and foremost, saying, yes, visiting grandma or not, here [are] your risk parameters, here’s how you make the decision. But obviously, the answer was never to say, no, you can’t be with your loved ones in any way. So as we look forward to the future, I think it’s important to take into account, in addition to people’s physical health, in addition to people’s economic well-being, people’s happiness.”
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