Covid Pandemic Colonizing Your Own People

Understanding the Economic Shock of Coronavirus | Harvard Business Review |

As the coronavirus continues its march around the world, governments have turned to proven public health measures, such as social distancing, to physically disrupt the contagion. Yet, doing so has severed the flow of goods and people, stalled economies, and is in the process of delivering a global recession. Economic contagion is now spreading as fast as the disease itself.

This didn't look plausible even a few weeks ago. As the virus began to spread, politicians, policy makers, and markets, informed by the pattern of historical outbreaks, looked on while the early (and thus more effective and less costly) window for social distancing closed. Now, much further along the disease trajectory, the economic costs are much higher, and predicting the path ahead has become nearly impossible, as multiple dimensions of the crisis are unprecedented and unknowable.

Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan - Interview CNN

Many economists interviewed on CNBC urged federal and state policy to be set to contain the virus and mitigate its damage to society. That's the first priority ...

It's not just the vaccine. There are many causes for hope in the fight against Covid - Devi Sridhar

This is why it's so important to reduce transmission now. Some have argued that enforcing lockdown restrictions in the present just means delaying the future death toll, but this ignores the role of scientific progress, and the treatments and vaccines that are becoming available. Now, if you're admitted to hospital with Covid, you're much more likely to survive than nine months ago. Every time we stop someone getting infected, it gives them a chance to live into an era where better therapies and treatments are available.

... The ultimate exit strategy from this pandemic will involve a safe and effective vaccine, treatments for those who have Covid-19, and cheap mass testing. We already have some of these tools, with more expected in the coming months. Although winter will be challenging, with shorter, darker days, colder weather and an overstretched health service, the progress of science means we will have a window of opportunity to break this destructive cycle of lockdowns in the spring. That should give us all cause for hope and optimism.

_{Schengen is toast!}

Togetherness can raise morale. In a certain European country, city inspectors are going around town and advising bar owners on how to circumvent the 10pm alcohol restriction. They tell the publicans to just reopen at 11pm and serve low alcohol drinks and food. Hallelujah!

_{Schengen is toast!}

Covid world map: which countries have the most coronavirus cases and deaths? [_link]

— The Guardian (@guardian) November 21, 2020

Ireland has had two very distinct Covid-19 waves. A Zero covid strategy was possible last June had we had an all island strategy and good controls at ports and airports together with an enforced quarantine period, but is it now?  The public are tiring of lock-downs and many businesses will start to go bust. But can we hang in their until safe and efficient vaccine arrive n sufficient numbers to generate herd immunity?

Index of Frank's Diaries

The recent OECD study confirms... we are among the best of the bad. Yippeeee! That should tide us over the minimal Christmas festivities.

`To be forced to lock down the economy once may be regarded as a misfortune; to do so twice looks like carelessness'

But the bigger international picture is far less flattering. While Europeans like to think that their societies are the epitome of global sophistication and progress, both their governments and their economies are dealing with the pandemic much worse than China and East Asia are.

Indeed, scarcely a decade after the 2008-09 financial meltdown and the ensuing crisis in the eurozone shredded Europe's reputation for sound economic management and speeded its relative economic decline, the coronavirus pandemic is destroying its reputation for good governance and accelerating that economic decline.

_{Schengen is toast!}