Dr. Katarina Lindley, D.O. FACOFP, is a physician in Texas and a partner of the Job Creators Network Foundation, argues that the continued shutdown in Texas, and nationwide, is “killing our kids and destroying our liberties.”

In an op-ed published by the Center Square newswire, she argues, “Students need to return to their classrooms and athletic fields. The scholastic, social and physical well-being of the younger generation depends on it.”

“The consequences of keeping children cooped-up at home far outweighs the risk of the virus. While the chance of a school-age child dying of COVID-19 is less likely than being struck by lightning, isolation is eating away at the mental health of our youth and even pushing some to do the unthinkable. Last month, an El Paso teen tragically took her own life; her mother noted pandemic-induced isolation was partly to blame.”

The CDC has also reported that suicide numbers surpass coronavirus-related deaths. CDC director Robert Redfield said July, “there has been another [lockdown] cost that we’ve seen, particularly in high schools. We’re seeing … far greater suicides now than we are deaths from COVID.”

In Chicago, she notes, suicides have increased by 13 percent compared to the same time last year. In Fresno, California, suicides increased by 70 percent.

“But keeping classrooms on lockdown and suspending youth athletics is only the tip of the iceberg,” she says. “COVID-19 has been used as a tool by governors and local leaders to trample basic liberties. If left unaddressed, the continuing breaches of individual rights will further sabotage our children’s future.”