Thread: The C. Virus and human reaction

Originally Posted by honedright

I'd say that the virus has had no impact on the economy. It is just a very tiny RNA strand enclosed by a protein capsule. Not even really a living (by most definitions of "living") thing. It don't care a hoot about human economies.

What has affected the economy is our, primarily our elected representatives, reaction to the virus. What short term, and long term, economic, educational, and social effects that result from our handling of the pandemic is yet to be determined.

My regret is that our descendants may be damning us eternally for the effects, that they will inherit, due to our pandemic policies and decisions of today.

Kind of a which came first argument like the chicken or the egg. Makes no difference because you can't have one without the other.

It is here now and nobody has had to deal with a global calamity that the Covid 19 represents in recent modern history. What happened 100 years ago the economy of that time has no relationship to the economy of today. Today the economy is a global thing and the virus has kicked the slats out of the worlds economy.

No government world wide had seriously considered the consequences of this type of event much less took any concrete steps to plan for one. That in itself limits how you can react to it. You have 2 choices and good luck picking the lesser of the 2 evils.

Yea, future generations will have to deal with the fallout from this pandemic and that is just the way of the world. Hope they draw some lessons from what is happening now and learn from it.

Bob

That chicken or egg first paradox may be a false dichotomy. It assumes that one or the other must be true. Alternately, the solution may be some other, as yet unknown, explanation.

I too hope that future generations learn from history. So far, despite repeat warnings from those that came before us, we're not very good at it.

Not sure I can agree with there being no relation between the economy from 100 years ago and what we have today:

The economy from 100 years ago was massively affected by WW1. The USA became a bit of a global force because of it, and its fortunes exponentially enhanced. Germany's defeat and terms of surrender caused massive inflation in that country, which was a large reason why the NAZIs gained such power at the time, and WW2 started. Had THAT not happened the imperial colonies would not have been given Independence, the UK would have likely remained the powerhouse, and the USA would not have been propelled into the leaders of the free world (it was still England, even after WW1), where again, the fortunes of the country skyrocketed, and the average citizen prospered greatly. I would argue that the economy we have today in the US is directly related to the economy of the US (and the world) 100 years ago.

Not saying that we feel the ripples of economic ebb and flow, always and forever (or else the Dutch or Spanish may be the leaders of the free world right now!)... but at least within the past 120 or so years, I think they are very much connected.

We have been pretty lucky down here in New Zealand.
There is no community transmitted cases because we went into lock down relatively early.
The only cases we are getting now are residents who have been returning from overseas, and family members coming here to attend funerals, or see loved ones with terminal illnesses etc. They are put in managed isolation for 2 weeks and tested for the virus.
The problem with this is people are attempting to break out of isolation to see family and friends.
That's the human condition, you are naturally going to attempt to do this, but then again the question is the risk of community transmission happening again.
The impact financially is going to be big because our tourism industry was aimed at overseas visitors.
Of all the flu's and viruses that have popped up in recent years, none worried me, but from the start this one concerned me.

Originally Posted by Grazor

We have been pretty lucky down here in New Zealand.
There is no community transmitted cases because we went into lock down relatively early.
The only cases we are getting now are residents who have been returning from overseas, and family members coming here to attend funerals, or see loved ones with terminal illnesses etc. They are put in managed isolation for 2 weeks and tested for the virus.
The problem with this is people are attempting to break out of isolation to see family and friends.
That's the human condition, you are naturally going to attempt to do this, but then again the question is the risk of community transmission happening again.
The impact financially is going to be big because our tourism industry was aimed at overseas visitors.
Of all the flu's and viruses that have popped up in recent years, none worried me, but from the start this one concerned me.

I don’t think luck had much to do with the COVID status in NZ.

Your live on an island with a government that took timely and effective action and a population that accepted the constraints imposed on everyone for the greater good.

That is a model from which the rest of the world should learn.

Found this an interesting read from an American https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world...?ocid=msedgdhp

Bob

Originally Posted by DZEC

I don’t think luck had much to do with the COVID status in NZ.

Your live on an island with a government that took timely and effective action and a population that accepted the constraints imposed on everyone for the greater good.

That is a model from which the rest of the world should learn.

Some of our MPs were very reluctant to go into lock down because of the economic cost, just like many other countries.
Some wanted to close the border earlier.
A week or two later, and the outcome may have been vastly different, so some luck involved. It is a huge decision to basically close down a country completely for 6 weeks. The economic impact is yet to hit because of various subsidies the government has made available.
Now they are saying prepare for a second wave of infection.

In a lighter vein: bored Canadians deal with COVID and social distancing:

https://apple.news/A-XhIvJS7SES1pokyKgwfAA

After the excellent results against Covid 19 New Zealand has had you have new out break from an unknown source causing the reintroduction of restrictions. That should be a warning to people in other countries that you just can't underestimate resilience of this virus.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world...?ocid=msedgdhp

Bob

An interesting take on what has happened in OZ during their regular flu season and how it could effect North America's flu season.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canad...?ocid=msedgdhp

Bob