The long term cost of lock downs

[Anonymous]

The US economy has been roaring back. But, there is still no international travel and the hospitality sector globally is on death's doorstep.



US Economic Fundamentals 'Remain Solid' Amid Growing Uncertainty



WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy has bounced back strongly from the pandemic-induced plunge, supported by unprecedented monetary and fiscal responses. The faster-than-expected rebound has helped markets recover in a remarkably short period of time.



U.S. indices posted their best August performance in decades. Investors, however, have turned nervous this month, with Europe starting to see a sharp increase in CCP virus cases. Uncertainty surrounding the next stimulus package and the political battle to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg have also brought additional worries.



COVID-19 cases and possible shutdowns pose the biggest risk to markets, according to Sameer Samana, a senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.



"But it seems like the threshold for broad shutdowns like last spring remains fairly low," he told The Epoch Times in an email.



In Europe, the number of new cases has started to rise again, especially in the UK, France, and Spain. The UK government has started to impose new restrictions, such as forcing pubs, bars, and restaurants to close at 10 p.m. Germany's top virologist last week warned that the country could also implement restrictions.



Analysts are confident that the virus is growing less deadly, in part due to advances in COVID-19 treatments that reduce its severity. They, therefore, believe that another round of broad shutdowns in the United States remains unlikely.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-economic-fundamentals-remain-solid-amid-growing-uncertainty_3510224.html?ref=brief_News&utm_source=morningbriefnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb">https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-econom ... ampaign=mb">https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-economic-fundamentals-remain-solid-amid-growing-uncertainty_3510224.html?ref=brief_News&utm_source=morningbriefnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb

[cc]

A look @ the US as an example



Checking my daily spreadsheet, numbers in south  I have been tracking past cpl of months are down a lot- a good thing



It took just over 2 months and is still producing cases and deaths - not sure if or how much they tightened up during that time frame



Total US, Florida & Georgia are coming down fairly fast - Texas coming down not so fast



https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2020/09/20/travel-alert-6-midwest-states-at-tipping-point-per-harvard-brown-covid-19-tracker/#a740fabc9fa7">I do have a Forbes map that shows "Travel Alert: 6 Midwest States At 'Tipping Point,' Per Harvard-Brown Covid-19 Tracker"



https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f67724054005a550c486ee4/960x0.jpg?fit=scale">



With the country's coronavirus epicenter now hovering over the Midwest, the number of states "at a tipping point" for COVID-19 infections has jumped from one to six in the past week.



Americans who live in 33 states — two-thirds of the country — should not be traveling right now, according to the risk-assessment map run by the Harvard Global Health Institute and Brown School of Public Health. The color-coded map provides a simple way for Americans to assess that risk. Each state has a rating of green, yellow, orange or red, based upon the number of new daily cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people over a seven-day rolling average. States colored red or orange are over the threshold for allowing non-essential travel, according to the scientists.



Based on the tracker's latest data, six states — North Dakota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma — are now colored red, which means they have 25 or more new positive Covid-19 cases every day per 100,000 people. Those states are "at a tipping point" and should be under stay-at-home orders, according to the Harvard and Brown researchers.

[Frood]

Something I've been noticing are the huge number of vehicle breakdowns due to the mechanics and service centre closures... late model cars on the sides of roads, freight trucks too.... all with their bonnets up... people are driving their vehicles till they seize up. My wife had a coolant leak last week and overheated her motor. That wouldn't have happened it our dictator allowed general servicing. She was 10k over the specified interval. It's going to need a reconditioned swap out now.



There are so many costs to this covid bullshit being foisted on us by incompetent micro dicked dictators and their pigs in blue...

[Anonymous]

Something I've been noticing are the huge number of vehicle breakdowns due to the mechanics and service centre closures... late model cars on the sides of roads, freight trucks too.... all with their bonnets up... people are driving their vehicles till they seize up. My wife had a coolant leak last week and overheated her motor. That wouldn't have happened it our dictator allowed general servicing. She was 10k over the specified interval. It's going to need a reconditioned swap out now.



There are so many costs to this covid bullshit being foisted on us by incompetent micro dicked dictators and their pigs in blue...

Your lock down is way too harsh. It is totally unreasonable.

[Frood]

Something I've been noticing are the huge number of vehicle breakdowns due to the mechanics and service centre closures... late model cars on the sides of roads, freight trucks too.... all with their bonnets up... people are driving their vehicles till they seize up. My wife had a coolant leak last week and overheated her motor. That wouldn't have happened it our dictator allowed general servicing. She was 10k over the specified interval. It's going to need a reconditioned swap out now.



There are so many costs to this covid bullshit being foisted on us by incompetent micro dicked dictators and their pigs in blue...

Your lock down is way too harsh. It is totally unreasonable.

It's a weekly thing now:

[Anonymous]

Something I've been noticing are the huge number of vehicle breakdowns due to the mechanics and service centre closures... late model cars on the sides of roads, freight trucks too.... all with their bonnets up... people are driving their vehicles till they seize up. My wife had a coolant leak last week and overheated her motor. That wouldn't have happened it our dictator allowed general servicing. She was 10k over the specified interval. It's going to need a reconditioned swap out now.



There are so many costs to this covid bullshit being foisted on us by incompetent micro dicked dictators and their pigs in blue...

Your lock down is way too harsh. It is totally unreasonable.

It's a weekly thing now:

[Frood]

Something I've been noticing are the huge number of vehicle breakdowns due to the mechanics and service centre closures... late model cars on the sides of roads, freight trucks too.... all with their bonnets up... people are driving their vehicles till they seize up. My wife had a coolant leak last week and overheated her motor. That wouldn't have happened it our dictator allowed general servicing. She was 10k over the specified interval. It's going to need a reconditioned swap out now.



There are so many costs to this covid bullshit being foisted on us by incompetent micro dicked dictators and their pigs in blue...

Your lock down is way too harsh. It is totally unreasonable.

It's a weekly thing now:

[Anonymous]

Something I've been noticing are the huge number of vehicle breakdowns due to the mechanics and service centre closures... late model cars on the sides of roads, freight trucks too.... all with their bonnets up... people are driving their vehicles till they seize up. My wife had a coolant leak last week and overheated her motor. That wouldn't have happened it our dictator allowed general servicing. She was 10k over the specified interval. It's going to need a reconditioned swap out now.



There are so many costs to this covid bullshit being foisted on us by incompetent micro dicked dictators and their pigs in blue...

Your lock down is way too harsh. It is totally unreasonable.

It's a weekly thing now:

[Anonymous]

Argentina has been in lock down for seven months and still gets over ten thousand new infections every day. Lock downs are only making a struggling economy poorer. Try something else and do it quickly.



Everything is uncertain' in Argentina



BUENOS AIRES — Argentina´s novel coronavirus infections were poised to top 700,000 on Saturday as new daily infections and deaths hit the top five globally, Reuters data showed, despite seven months of quarantine that have ravaged the frail economy.



Argentina reported a rolling seven-day average of 11,082 new cases daily, behind only India, the United States, France and Brazil, all countries with far larger populations than the South American nation. Argentina's average daily death toll this week hit 365.



Carlos Landa, a 45-yearold archaeologist from Buenos Aires who contracted coronavirus said the virus had exposed once again the perils of the ailing economy and health care systems, he said.



"Everything is uncertain," he said.

[Anonymous]

Israelis are frustrated their government has returned to a full lock down.



Edge of an abyss'

Crowds demand PM's resignation after Israel tightens restrictions



JERUSALEM — Crowds protested outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home on Saturday demanding he quit over his handling of COVID-19 - many angered by what they said were government attempts to use lockdown measures to stifle demonstrations.



Long lines of cars drove along the main highway to Jerusalem in a protest convoy and groups gathered on bridges and junctions in other cities, also demonstrating about corruption charges against Netanyahu — charges he denies.



The protests came a day after the government tightened COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, though parliament failed to pass one measure to restrict citizens' protests to within one km of their homes.

[Anonymous]

Questioning the value of lockdowns



As the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to inch up across Canada, so do the number of voices calling for a return to some form of lockdown.



Every province has their own unique concerns, with some jurisdictions harder hit than others.



Three parts of Quebec have now been placed under what's called a "red-zone alert", where restrictions have been tightened and residents are barred from having visitors at their homes.



There are calls for Ontario to plunge itself into lockdown again, after the province has seen several days of high case numbers.



Not everyone believes lockdowns are the right way forward. And not just laypersons. Medical experts are also stepping forward to question the value of lockdowns.



On Tuesday,[size=150] a group of 20 concerned specialists sent an open letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford to voice their opposition to a return to lockdown.[/size]



The letter contains many words of wisdom that are worth repeating.



[size=150]"Lockdowns have costs that have, to this point, not been included in the consideration of further measures," the authors, which includes physicians, researchers and instructors from McMaster University, University of Toronto, Sick Kids Hospital and elsewhere, note.



"A full accounting of the implications on health and well-being must be included in the models, and be brought forward for public debate. Hard data now exist showing the significant negative health effects shutting down society has caused."



These experts bring up the need to protect the most vulnerable, make sure our kids can still go to school and address the growing health crises brought on by the lockdowns, which ranges from increased opioid deaths to cancelled medical procedures.

[/size]

They also note that Canada's COVID-19 conversation should be an open debate: "All have the right to feel their voices have been heard, and moreover to ensure factual credible data is openly debated, in contrast to the personal and political slants that have had apparent significant impacts on the management of the virus to date."



They close in noting: "Our society has borne enormous pain over the past six months. It's time to do something different."



It's refreshing to hear such a holistic perspective that strives to factor in all the societal elements of COVID-19.

[cc]

There's little hope on that - Govts do it without public support, but with it ??



https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-government-polling-shows-ontarians-support-going-back-to-a-lockdown">LILLEY: Ontarians Support Another Lockdown — Government Poll



If Ontario does endure another lockdown, the sad truth is it very much might be welcomed by the public, according to government polling obtained by theToronto Sun.



An Ipsos poll of 1,000 Ontario adults conducted last week for the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture shows overwhelming support for taking Ontario back to Stage 2 of the pandemic lockdown.



A total of 85% across Ontario support "moving back to Stage 2 and closing some businesses and services should COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the province." That breaks down as 50% strongly supporting and 35% somewhat supporting.



The support for closing down businesses extends across men and women, all age groups and across voters in urban, suburban and rural ridings. Bottom line, the people want to shut things down again if case numbers don't stop rising.



Those findings make this week's numbers all the more problematic for those of us who think it's the wrong way to go. The public has been fed a steady diet of case numbers without context, hitting 700 new cases on Monday and 554 new cases on Tuesday.





These kinds of numbers, as well as facts like 79% of new cases reported on Tuesday were in the three hotspots of Toronto, Peel and Ottawa, should make people feel better about how things are going. The sad truth is most will never hear that.



What they will hear is that cases are up and they will want to close down.



The poll, which focuses heavily on what kind of activities people are willing to take part in, shows a reluctance to do much of anything outside of the home.



Ford has said he doesn't want to go back into a lockdown or return to Stage 2 unless he has to. He shouldn't want to because the impact will be massive and the data doesn't support such a move.



With overwhelming pressure, though, and a public that seems to welcome the idea, I'd say it is only a matter of time.

[cc]

Further on Ontario



https://nationalpost.com/opinion/randall-denley-ontarios-new-covid-models-show-everyone-should-stop-panicking-especially-doug-ford">Randall Denley: Ontario's new COVID models show everyone should stop panicking — especially Doug Ford



The biggest fear in the next few months ought to be an overreaction that further restricts personal freedoms and economic activity without the facts to justify it



Ontario Premier Doug Ford has cast himself as the province's COVID-19 frightener-in-chief. That's not useful, not well-supported by the facts, and it undermines everything his government has been trying to do.



On Monday, Ford said the 700 new cases announced that day were "deeply disturbing," and that the province was now in a second wave that "will be more complicated, more complex. It will be worse than the first wave we faced earlier this year." Then he topped that by saying the wave could turn into a "tsunami" if people didn't follow proper COVID safety procedures.



Ford offered nothing to back up his dire predictions, but the thought was that Wednesday's release of the province's latest COVID modelling projection would do that for him. It did not. Instead, the presentation by provincial health experts was a balanced and detailed analysis of a potential problem.



The daily case count is always the number that makes headlines in this pandemic. It means a lot less than one might think. Daily numbers that are about as high as last spring's peak suggest that we're right back where we started, but we're not. Testing volume now is four times as great as it was back then. More tests equal more cases. More important is the percentage of tests that yield a positive result. In the spring it was 7.5 per cent. Now, it's 1.5 per cent. If Ontario had the testing capacity in the spring that it has now, the first wave's numbers would easily have dwarfed those we are seeing this week.

[Anonymous]

Ontarians are stupid. Not the Seoul brother and Zetsu though.

[Gaon]

Israel will be in a restrictive lock down for at least two more weeks. It is very unpopular among young Israelis.



Israel's infection rate is one the highest in the world on a per capita basis.