I noticed it early on during the coronavirus pandemic crisis.

Democrats across the nation began sounding the alarm about the potential for mass illness and death; Republicans were, um, a bit more serene about it.

The pattern has continued even as the nation’s economy has ground to a halt, even as governors take varying degrees of steps to fight the virus. Democrats have declared statewide mandates to stay at home, maintain social distance, closing off indoor and outdoor activities; Republicans have expressed more openly their concerns about the impact of all these measures on the economy.

I am not suggesting that Republicans do not care about the health of Americans. I am suggesting that their publicly stated comments focus more on economic health than on individuals’ physical health.

From whom or what are they taking their cue? Gosh, my best guess is that it’s coming from president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

You heard Trump say early on that the nation had 15 cases of the COVID-19 infection and that it would vanish to zero. As they say … oops! Not so!

We’ve logged nearly 40,000 deaths in the United States. We have a full-blown health crisis on our hands. Yet we keep hearing from Republican governors that they want to reopen their states as quickly as possible. Democrats, meanwhile, suggest a go-slower approach to this, seeking more testing, more data, more science to guide their decisions.

Are members of one political party smarter than members of the other one? I won’t go there. I just am concerned about the partisan divide that even a crisis as massive and dangerous as the one we’re experiencing cannot erase.

In truth, though, I am siding with the Democrats on this one. Their concern is the more appropriate response to this worldwide crisis.