A task force to plan economic recovery in the US after this is over has been recommended. Here is an extract from the article. What are other countries doing to address this issue? America is throwing huge amounts of money at the problem? But there's no specific plan. There should be. How are business owners doing here?
"....according to a recent poll 24 percent of small business owners who have seen their shops closed by the nearly nationwide shutdown expect they will never be able to reopen for business.
What is required and what has been sorely lacking is an effort to balance the medical and economic impact of this crisis. In far too many cases those who even attempt to address the immediate and potentially generational harmful impact this crisis could have on American workers and businesses have been portrayed as heartless ghouls who only care about the stock market, not human lives. But this is not the case.
In fact, the myriad potential for disastrous effects that a second great depression could have on our nation are an emergency in their own right which requires just as much attention as the pandemic itself. Entire communities are poised to be plunged into a nightmare of joblessness, empty storefronts, addiction and even suicide if we do not find a way to get America back working soon..."
https://thefederalist.com/2020/04/04/we-need-a-white-house-task-force-on-reopening-the-economy/
Alan, this will get political pretty fast. Not something for this thread.
Each country will take the measures that are supposed to benefit the economy of that specific country. Different countries, different ways to optimize. What works for one, doesn't have to work for others. And some governments are more clever, or better prepared for financial/economical setbacks than others.
In general, it seems like a good idea to ramp up serum testing, i.e. determining the presence and amount of antibodies. Those who are (probably) immune to the virus, and are (probably) not contagious anymore, are the first to get back to work on the economy.
But there are still a number of issues with that.
1. The peak has not been reached yet, in almost any country.
2. With limited serum test capacity, healthcare workers need to get priority.
3. Once 1 and 2 are solved, there is still a risk of secondary contamination (touching contaminated surfaces and spreading it to new patients).
4. It is likely, but not yet proven, that people with anti-bodies are unable to get reinfected (and again contagious). The amount of antibodies may also play a role.
5. This is a new virus, so a lot is not yet fully understood, and we're learning as we go.
A daily newsflash was just issued in my country, 115 more dead people have been reported yesterday, but that's fewer than the day before. So the curve is flattening. But in the heaviest hit region, there was a sudden increase. So it is still a tricky situation that could grow worse if our attention weakens and people start breaking protocol too fast.