Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China outside of Wuhan, they've all managed to bring the spread of the virus under control without imposing the kinds of long draconian lock down measures now springing up around the world, so no I don't think the only alternative is a shitload of people dying.
All had significant mitigation measures like mass testing, general public health measures and mask-wearing from the start though.
If Mint Press News is saying it, it's probably bullshit somehow.
Smart and less damaging means thousands of businesses don't fail and millions don't lose their jobs. It means carefully balancing the potential death toll of this disease with the potential death toll of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression (which I've briefly discussed previously), and thinking about how other countries that also experienced rapid growth in the spread of the disease managed to bring it under control.
Then have the government cover payrolls on the condition that there are no layoffs without cause for the duration of the crisis. Like what France is doing.
Indeed. Am simultaneously dumbstruck and not at all surprised our govt has not done this and has instead just handed out dough to business without any such condition attached to it. It's going to be a disaster.
Governments won't be able to afford that except in the very short term. NZ's in a fortunate position that we have relatively low government debt, and even then the cost of the Government's employment guarantees scheme is going to increase Crown debt by at least 17% in the next 11 weeks (and that's before the additional costs of propping up Air New Zealand, expanding health care services, increased public welfare costs etc.). And that's for a country who's government debt is only at 30% of GDP. France's government debt is 100% of GDP, their ability to fund their essential public services is going to be crippled for years by the debt servicing costs alone if this goes on for any longer than a month.
Mandatory gay space communism imo
From the website
New Venezealand?
