Literally, to the day we blew up the economy and put hundreds of thousands of people out of their livelihoods, as well as created untold anxiety and uncertainty, we get this somewhat bemusing piece of news:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-31/coronavirus-flattening-the-curve-greg-hunt/12107404So now the curve is starting to flatten, apparently, and "
things are actually looking very good" (attrib. Paul Glasziou, director of Bond University's Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare).
Well, who would have thought that was a possibility at this point in time?
"He (Mr Glasziou
) said the data showed measures such as cancellations of mass gatherings and travel bans had made a difference." (Which is a bit bewildering given we were still happily partying, wining, dining and gathering in groups just a few days ago; and I thought the conventional wisdom was that it would take at least two weeks for the exponential growth in infected cases to start to moderate.)
Of the 25 countries with the highest number of recorded cases (which collectively represent around 92% of all cases reported globally, so they are a representative data set), not only does Australia have one of the lowest
per capita number of recorded cases
[*], it also has the lowest
per capita death rate rate.
Lucky country, seemingly.
But that will offer little solace to the tens of thousands of households in which family members will tonight be feeling highly anxious and concerned about their financial security.
If this turns out to be a situation in which we've chopped off our arm at the shoulder because one of our fingers was gangrenous, it will border on the laughable, except for the untold despair in the hearts and minds of millions of Australians that will accompany it.
[*] Of that group Australia is third-lowest, tied with Canada; Malaysia and Brazil have the lowest
per capita number of infections recorded (that's if the figures for Brazil and Malaysia can be believed)
