Lockdown 2.0 Reveals Covid-19 Failures We Must Fix
Governments need to use this time to put in place robust systems to better manage the virus and avoid costly repeats that threaten growth and burden populations.
There’s a lot at stake in the latest round of lockdowns.
Photographer: Michaela Handrek-Rehle/BloombergDespite the impressive rebound in China and some other Asian countries, hopes of a V-shaped recovery for the global economy have given way to a realization that the pace of growth is losing steam. More troubling is the material risk of a double-dip recession in some European countries. Understanding why this is happening and reacting accordingly will determine in large part whether, pending the discovery and broad distribution of a vaccine, the world economy faces an even more uncertain outlook – perhaps threatening Asia’s recovery as well.
Five lessons are emerging from Europe that are of broader relevance, particularly for the U.S.: