As nation reopens, a historic referendum on risk begins

MICHAEL TACKETT

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - We are becoming a nation of amateur actuaries, calculating the risk of restarting our lives.

Can we go outside? Can we go back to work? Can we go to a restaurant or bar? Can we go to the beach? Can our children go back to school? Can we visit grandma?

The questions have an infinite run. The answers are less a product of math and hard science than one of highly variable, and often emotional assessment of the benefit relative to the cost.

We know the odds of pre-coronavirus daily living. The lifetime chances of getting struck by lightning in the...