The global economy has been devastatingly affected by the outbreak of a pandemic, Covid-19. Most countries suffer from negative economic growth. In the U.S, for instance, the annual growth has decreased from 2.3% in Jan 2020 to -9% in Jul 2020(Tradingeconomics, 2020). Even worse, according to the World Health Organization, the total Corona-viruses cases are 9,121,800 at the moment. The total deaths are 233, 137 (Worldometer, 2020). hundreds of thousands of Americans lose their lives in the pandemic. But meanwhile, if the federal government decides to local down cities like China, the economic situation will keep worsening. The consequence is that many people will lose their jobs and incomes. They cannot even sustain their living during this period. As such, the government has to make a critical decision to choose between saving lies or the economy. In my opinion, to a very large extent, the government should prioritize saving lives over the economy because this goal can be easily achieved through proper public health management measures. Besides, saving lives do not really contradict saving economy.
First, though proper public health measures and regulations such as forced quarantine and mask-wearing, it is possible for us to save more lives at a much lower cost. During the Covid-19, many Western governments choose to trust the method of “herd immunity” to fight against the pandemic. The method is based on the idea of protecting people based on a large enough proportion of the population who have immunity to prevent the spreading(John and Samuel, 2000). Some public health researchers found that a virus or disease may no longer persist after passing a herd immunity threshold. According to the study of Fontanet and Cauchemez (2020), the herd immunity threshold for pandemics is between 70% and 90%. But in reality, like the aforementioned, the deaths in the U.S and other countries keep increasing. Even public health experts from CDC predict that the Covid-19 may not disappear in the near future. Human society cannot afford the increasing death toll. China’s central government has used a totally different method. It chooses to lock down cities and provinces to prevent the spreading at the initial stage. From January to June this year, China’s government implements very harsh measures to regulate the daily life and behaviors of its citizens. For instance, all restaurants, tourist sites, and movie theaters are forced to suspend business operations. Chinese citizens who have a record of traveling abroad have to be quarantined in hotels designated by the local government. Additionally, Chinese people also need to wear masks when going to a public place such as a supermarket. People without masks will be barred from entering. From July onwards, according to Maier and Brockmann(2020), the death toll in China has dramatically reduced due to these strict government measures and regulations. At the same time, it can be observed that governments which practice herd immunity are still suffering. People live in the fear of being infected by the Corona-virus. Most business and production activities are negatively affected because of the outbreak of the global pandemic. In this sense, if the government prioritizes saving life over the economy in the short run, the cost is quite affordable. China only suffers about 6 months.
Mover, saving more lives does not contradict saving the economy. Some people believe that governments should evaluate the trade-off between saving lives and saving the economy very carefully. In fact, the two things are not mutually exclusive. In India, for instance, the total number of deaths has reached 120,583. Without effective government regulations, this number will keep increasing. But the economic situation is worsening at the same time. The GDP growth of GDP is -14% in Q2 (Tradingeconomics. 2020). According to the World Bank, by the end of 2020, the annual GDP growth rate of India could even reach -16% or more. But if people are believed that they are effectively protected from being infected by the viruses, they will have more confidence in the country’s economy as well. For instance, they can enjoy their dinner at the restaurants without the fear of Covid-19 infection. In this way, domestic consumption can effectively recover from the pandemic. So far, after China implement very strict measures, domestic consumption is thriving. It is reported that China now enjoys a 3.2% GDP growth in Q2, 2020(Tradingeconomics. 2020). China makes the decision to save lives but meanwhile, the economic situation is also recovering. But if the government does not choose to save lives by implementing effective or sometimes harsh measures, the economic situation will keep worsening as the confidence of consumers and investors in the respective market is very low.
However, some people argue that without sustaining economic activities, people may lose their jobs. It may further lead to severe problems. The logic behind is very simple. If business and production activities have to be stopped due to the pandemic, employers will have no incentives to retain the workforce. In fact, many companies in the world choose to lay off employees to reduce the cost of production during the Covid-19. According to Kevin Johnson, the CEO of Starbuck, admitted that 4,292 stores in China were closed at the peak of Covid-19(Forbes, 2020). Without a stable income, there is no way for people to sustain their daily consumption of goods and services. like food shortage or starvation. Chinese people managed to survive from losing their jobs largely because they have a culture of saving. But many western families do not have a habit of saving money(King, 2018). When they lost their jobs due to the pandemic, they would have no source of income. It is also the major reason why so many workers demonstrate on streets to call for resuming economic activities in the U.S. But like the aforementioned, without saving people, there is no way for a country to revive the economy at the first place. Consumers and investors will lose confidence in the local market. The domestic consumption and foreign investment will be stagnant due to the pandemic. Consumers, for instance, will be afraid of purchasing goods or services in public places due to the fear of being infected by Covid-19. Thus, if the government decides to prioritize saving lives, it should try to provide subsidies or unemployment benefits to its citizens when they lost their income or jobs. Alternatively, people could also receive financial assistance from not-for-profit organizations. The Japanese government, for example, has provided nearly US$1 trillion to its citizens to boost domestic consumption.
All in all, it is indisputable that the government should prioritize saving lives over saving the economy. In the short run, the economic situation may be even deteriorated due to very harsh government measures in saving lives such as forced quarantine, mask-wearing, and social distancing. It is because many economic activities are forced to stop. People may even lose their jobs as they are advised to stay at home. But in the long run, all economic activities can be revived after the number of infection cases is within control. China proves to the world that the spreading of the virus can be controlled within just 6 months. It is also true that people may suffer without jobs and income. But the government should take the responsibility to provide financial assistance to its citizens. The spreading of Covid-19 and other pandemic is only temporary. Without saving people, it is not very likely for a government to achieve economic goals either.
Reference
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Fontanet, A., & Cauchemez, S. (2020). COVID-19 herd immunity: where are we?. Nature Reviews Immunology, 20(10), 583-584.
John, T. J., & Samuel, R. (2000). Herd immunity and herd effect: new insights and definitions. European journal of epidemiology, 16(7), 601-606.
King, S. D. (2018). When the money runs out: the end of western affluence. Yale University Press.
Maier, B. F., & Brockmann, D. (2020). Effective containment explains subexponential growth in recent confirmed COVID-19 cases in China. Science, 368(6492), 742-746.
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