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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke for many when he took a moment during one of his recent news conferences to go beyond the COVID-19 numbers and speak to how dispiriting it’s been for Americans to have their lives and livelihoods turned upside down with so little to show for it.

“The anxiety is what is the most oppressive here,” Mr. Cuomo said. “Not knowing. Not knowing I’m positive, if my friend is positive, if my loved one is positive. Not knowing when this is going to end. The anxiety of dealing with the isolation day after day after day. It’s like a bad ‘Groundhog [Day]’ movie.”

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Epidemiologists say coronavirus won’t be defeated until either a vaccine is developed or it peters out when enough Americans are infected that the virus has difficulty finding vulnerable people to infect. Many rightly worry how long that could take and whether the economy can remain shut that long without, as the president says, making the cure worse than the disease.

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But what if there were a middle way, in which we would get 90 percent of our lives (and economy) back? It’s not perfect. But it would be a giant step forward over what we have now.

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING WILLIAM McGURN'S COLUMN IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL