Good News, It’s Severe Inconvenience and Economic Injury
THE POSITIVE NEWS. It has been around 7 weeks since the coronavirus came to Shanghai, and now we’re approaching something nearer “normal”. People are slowly being allowed to return back from their hometowns, and return to work.
THE REALITY CHECK. This has only been possible because of strict adherence to the rules of social distancing. No panicking, but at the same time, no cutting corners. A period of severe inconvenience and economic injury has been a small price to pay to be in this situation today.
A HOPEFUL CONCLUSION? The world can point to China’s relative lack of openness and directness for mishandling the outbreak. And China can point to the world’s relative lack of competence and discipline for mishandling its containment. I’ve given up on the hope that global threats like this will force all sides to transcend their hard-wired tribal mentality. But my remaining hope is that at least both sides can learn from each other’s strengths and mitigate their weaknesses.
