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WORLD Mrs. Woopen, when will there be everyday life as we knew it until mid-March?
Christiane Woopen: Allow me a provocative answer: I really don’t want the everyday life we had before.
WORLD How?
Woopen: In this daily life there were also elements that overwhelmed us, that were not beautiful and that we could leave behind.
WORLD What do you mean exactly?
Woopen: Like me, you will certainly experience greater friendliness in dealing with each other in many areas, more consideration and attention to the concerns and needs of others. We can save that after the crisis. We experience great willingness to help out in the neighborhood, creative ideas to make us happy and supportive.
There is flexibility towards the home office, an adjustment of working conditions to be there for the children. Work processes are restructured to avoid contagion. We can keep that. The economy can also change.
Christiane Woopen, 57, is professor of ethics and theory of medicine at the University of Cologne and is a member of the “Corona Expert Council” in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Source: pa / Geisler-Fotopress / Christoph Hardt
WORLD Do you want less globalization?
Woopen: I am far from any economic scolding. Our economy is an essential foundation of our social life and prosperity. However, you can see how you can make some processes more sustainable and work conditions more person-friendly. Parts of globalization have detrimental effects when it comes to relocating production facilities to save costs.
This is understandable from a purely economic logic, but there is an even greater responsibility: the economy is there for people, including local people. We are now experiencing that we are no longer receiving medicines from India in sufficient quantities, including protective masks from China. A little less globalization would be good in some places. We need a new national and European sovereignty.
WORLD The practical problems of paralyzed public life are even more in the foreground for people.
Woopen: That is more than understandable. People got their livelihood, got stronger, were able to support themselves and the family, and suddenly ended up unemployed or bankrupt, without fault. Suddenly someone who could take care of themselves depends on social support. This can be difficult psychologically.
My long-term concern is that social inequality will worsen, resulting in a social divide because too many people will become socioeconomically weak and feel marginalized. We have to put a lot of effort in preventing this.
WORLD Older people who consider themselves vulnerable and need to be protected are particularly affected. You are the most affected by the contact ban.
Woopen: We must not provoke a new generation conflict. Not all older people automatically belong to the high-risk group. They are mainly people with previous illnesses, and they can also be between 20 and 30 years old. We can’t just talk about older people as if they weren’t self-determined and couldn’t protect themselves. You should also be able to weigh things up for yourself. The state must not make the final decision.
For me, it is a genuinely ethical debate. Whenever possible, nursing homes should open spaces for encounters where the risk of infection is kept as low as possible.
WORLD How can initial constraints be relaxed?
Woopen: In a committee coordinated by Ifo President Clemens Fuest and physician Martin Lohse, we proposed a risk-tailored strategy that could be implemented step-by-step. This is very important step by step because an immediate reopening of all areas in turn would lead to an excessive increase in infections. So we have to tackle it together.
What is decisive is how high the risk of infection and serious disease is in certain areas, for certain groups of people and in different regions, and how relevant the respective areas are for social and economic life. Another criterion is how well effective protection measures can be implemented, such as wearing masks, installing partition walls, and observing distance regulations.
WORLD So big events would have no chance in the foreseeable future?
Woopen: Concerts or theatrical performances would be possible if it is clear that only a certain number of people can come and are at a certain distance from each other. Spectators then ideally sit there wearing a breathing mask. This is feasible, and everyone can decide for themselves whether to accept the remaining risk. This is very different from a full soccer stadium or other major events. They will probably have to wait longer.
WORLD How do you, as a scientist, experience politics? Do you act appropriately and prudently?
Woopen: It would be important to establish working groups at the state and federal levels, because there are a number of risks to consider. These are not only virological and epidemiological aspects, but also social, economic, social, cultural and ethical. In general, we can be very grateful for how prudent the Federal Government is and how it will not use extreme invasions of fundamental rights to permanently undermine democracy. You have to worry completely differently in Hungary. At the moment, the main objective is to reduce the infection rate with these significant restrictions. I think it’s right
WORLD Could expert advice that NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet created such a plan?
Woopen: At first, yes, but you can expand on that. We still have a lot of uncertainty, we need more data and practical experience. All of this has to be put together. Such a working group, which is interdisciplinary and networked with relevant authorities and associations on the site, can observe, evaluate and make recommendations. Ultimately, politics has to make decisions and communicate them intelligently. We will have a debate on why certain areas can open earlier and regions can move faster. You have to explain that well.
WORLD Everyone waits a while after the pandemic, but we probably won’t get rid of this crisis so quickly.
Woopen: What we experience will shape us all, with all the positives and negatives. We are experiencing collective trauma, but it can nevertheless become collective empowerment. Hopefully in a few years we can tell the story that we all kept together, that the strong were there for the weak and that we became more human.
