In the fight against COVID-19, Senator Scott Jensen (R-Chaska) issued a statement emphasizing the potential adverse consequences of extreme efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus.

“We must protect our seniors, those with significant illnesses, and the vulnerable. We can do that successfully without playing into a rhetoric of fear.

“My concern is that we may be unnecessarily causing harm in an effort to do good when we actually could be more laser focused on what is going to help us get through this terrible time. Endangering businesses, compromising supply chains, and generating extraordinary stress in people around the world may be unavoidable, but let’s be attentive to the voices of all Minnesotans.

“Not everyone who dies during this pandemic will be counted. We readily see numbers on a dashboard identifying confirmed cases and deaths. But we won’t see those who die because their support structure, medications, surgeries, and basic needs are interrupted. We have to be aware of the collateral damage that may come from our initiatives.

“I ask myself these questions: What are we doing to ourselves, to our economy, and to the next generation? Are we overreaching? Will the social and financial consequences be catastrophic?

“I urge our leaders to continue to be thoughtful. As much as is possible, mitigation and suppression efforts should be driven by reproducible data and demonstrated effectiveness, not a smattering of potentially hoped-for outcomes. In short order – if not already – we will be feeling the tsunami impact of unintended consequences. We need to be judicious and careful.”

To view Senator Jensen’s video, click here.