The Corona Virus -- Don’t Panic, do Practice Safety and Prevention
Germany has about 1,200 Covid 19 cases and so far only two deaths. Neighboring Italy has 9,200 cases and over 460 deaths. The US so far has over 600 cases and 22 deaths.
Germany is tracking infected patients, asking them to self-isolate, cancelling large gatherings. It very quickly developed a test for the corona virus and did widespread testing as soon as infections appeared. It has universal private health coverage with easy access to doctors and medicines and medical care. It looks as if their public health response and their medical system have worked well to keep a handle on Covid 19, but it’s still way early.
The US was quick to cancel plane trips from China, but slow to develop and deploy a test (which was already widely available worldwide), slow to identify who was sick with corona virus, slow to get the infected into medical care, slow to track the spread of the disease and therefore slow to stop the spread of the disease. So now we are having stock market panics on Wall St., avoidable economic meltdowns. We will need financial help for some people who are quarantined and cannot work and don’t get sick pay, for people who are laid off and have wait times for unemployment insurance to kick in, and we do not have a good mechanism in place to help individuals in the flex workforce or the gig economy who don’t qualify for UI and don;t get sick pay. We need help so that people get tested, get treated and stay home; we are not well set up for this. We will need help for employers in badly impacted industries like tourism or travel or entertainment who might otherwise go out of business and cause severe and long lasting economic damage. We will experience reduced demand for services and goods to the extent people stay home. We will experience supply shortages as the global economy and supply chains are impacted. We may go into a recession due to consumer panics, but that is avoidable. And no, a suspension of the payroll tax is not what is needed; this is not a repeat of the Great Recession. We need carefully and precisely targeted assistance.
It’s important to keep in mind that Covid 19’s fatality rates are concentrated among the elderly and those with pre-existing respiratory, circulatory and other diseases. So those elderly like me should not be attending large social gatherings for the time being. We should all be washing our hands a lot and keeping safe social distances from those who are showing signs of the flu or a cold. Stay home from work if you’re sick and take good care of your families and be a good neighbor and supportive friend to those who may need to isolate. This is no time to be blaming others, but for community solidarity and good public health practices in the face of a new contagion.
References:
https://www.foxnews.com/health/germany-coronavirus-outbreak-no-deaths
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/world/europe/germany-coronavirus.html