School closures, travel restrictions, a state of emergency in California, promises of fiscal measures — world leaders are now taking serious steps to clamp down on the coronavirus.
But they are late, very late. From the outset, when China's leaders moved slowly on news of the initial outbreak in Wuhan, authorities have been behind the curve. In the U.S., President Donald Trump — whose administration has repeatedly proposed cuts to the nation's pandemic response system — at first played down the threat.
This dawdling on key global issues risks becoming a recurring theme. Think climate change, which some key leaders deny even exists.
With many businesses partially shut down, and with workers, shoppers and tourists staying home, the coronavirus is delivering a one-two economic punch that could last for years. Perhaps measures promised by governments and central banks around the world can limit the impact, but the damage has been done.
No one expects leaders to act in perfect unison — politics is a messy business. But even finding agreement on baselines has been tough. Such as: Respect science and prepare for the worst, and when there are signs it's coming, move quickly to deal with it.
The danger, in turn, is that having gotten off the starting blocks slowly, some governments over-react. That could create a host of other problems.
— Karl Maier
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