Scientists are unsure of how effective this strategy will prove and doubtful of producing a vaccine before next winter.The result is a minefield for politicians. If the Covid-19 epidemic follows the presumed course, there will be some loud explosions. Such emergencies stir strong public emotions. Everyone knows that the first duty of the state is to safeguard the security of its citizens.
In 2009, the British government predicted that up to 65,000 UK citizens could be killed by that year’s swine flu pandemic. In the event the official figure was less than 500, though some later estimates suggested it might be a little higher. The politicians’ best weapon is honesty. Past experience says voters are perfectly prepared to live with the hardship and loss caused by what many might call an act of God.
Medical staff members wave to a recovered patient at Leishenshan Hospital, the makeshift hospital for the COVID-19 coronavirus patients, in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on Mar 1, 2020.