Sure.
But the standard row-stagger is asymmetrical; the way a hand types with the left hand is not mirrored by the right hand.
I'd be very surprised if that was as ergonomic as a symmetrical layout.
The body is complex, and movements build on top of that. It's hard to reason about it as a system in this way.
For now though, what matters is it's more fun to type on an ortholinear keyboard. I wish the focus was on that aspect and not health benefits until there's data.
As an anecdote, I'll say I find my ortho keyboard using a Dvorak layout much more comfortable to type on than row-stagger QWERTY; and certainly looking at videos show that the latter looks much busier at the same WPM.
The main thing I'd argue is that many of the design features of a standard keyboard (asymmetry; big spacebar; row stagger, with different stagger for each row..) don't seem to be good design decisions compared to even a grid of keys all the same size.
How is it asymmetrical? Unless you consider the right hand typing on the numpad/cursor keys.
So ortho fixes this, but could it then introduce problems for other pairs? It seems hard to believe that there is a layout which is 100% better for all combinations.
Regarding symmetry, our hands are already asymmetrical due to handiness (left-handed, right-handed), and the brain naturally adapts, and there is also the risk of Hawthorne effect if you A/B test ortho/staggered. Some real studies on layouts would really be useful.
Ortho layouts are also most often used on compact boards, and the Preonic (5x12 grid, '50%' form factor) is probably the most 'plug and use' friendly ortho I've come across.
On the LHS, the index-finger RFV. The finger rests on the homing key F, with R to the left.
On the RHS, the index-finger column is UJM. The finger rests on the homing key F, with U also to the left of F.
I'd consider (say) a Katana keyboard to have a symmetrical row-stagger.
The Zlant is a uniform-stagger board I got once as a fun project, but you'll see the stagger difference right away: https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/blob/master/keyboards/zl...