Europe Freezes Its Economy in Order to Fight the Coronavirus

(Bloomberg Opinion) — Like the eye of a hurricane, the epicenter of coronavirus disease Covid-19 has shifted from Asia to Europe, bringing with it a rising toll of infections, deaths and economic damage. After a messy few weeks in which the region’s leaders seemed incapable of hitting on a common response to the crisis — which has hit healthcare, consumer confidence and financial markets all at once — this weekend marked a turning point.

 
France and Spain announced draconian steps, similar to those seen in virus-stricken neighbor Italy, which has already gone several steps further in imposing a lock-down on citizens. Germany is planning partial border closures, and Austria has banned gatherings of more than five people. The public-health imperative explains the need to strangle the euro-area economy and robbing citizens of basic freedoms, but the very real threat of a knock-on recession means another test looms for governments: The need for fiscal stimulus to cushion the blow.

A ramp-up in cases has sparked the ramp-up in policies. France, Spain, and Italy boast some of the highest confirmed cases of Covid-19 outside China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, at 5,423, 7,753 and 24,747 respectively. The speed and severity of the infection is picking up: French cases have risen five-fold in just over a week, while Spanish deaths have doubled overnight. After initially holding back from coercive measures beyond shutting schools, French President Emmanuel Macron’s administration dramatically hit the accelerator on Saturday, decreeing the imminent closure of all non-essential businesses. (Though on Sunday France also, bafflingly, held a first round of local elections as planned.) Covid-19 is no longer just about highly exposed countries like China or Italy. Its epicenter is European.

Forcing people to stay at home may seem at odds with a region that has for years espoused free movement and borderless travel. But the hope is that this will slow down the spread of the disease and flatten an infection curve that might otherwise take public-health services to the breaking point. That’s sensible. Less sensible is the idea of sealing borders, which sounds great to some voters but is ultimately pretty meaningless when you consider the Schengen visa-free travel area covers 4 million square kilometers, 400 million people, and plenty of crossing points by sea, land or air. Especially considering that since the novel coronavirus landed in Europe, myriads of people have been crossing Europe’s internal borders, at least some of them bringing the infection with them. Still, overall, there is a certain logic behind what’s being done.

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Πηγή: bnnbloomberg.ca