Now is the time to start saving for a calamitous spread of nCoV

We’ve seen many threads discussing about the spread of nCoV but not too many seem to focus on how it’ll affect the economy, in India or globally

Let’s be clear if we aren’t in a global recession already, we’ll be there probably by the end of April. This is assuming we don’t get a miracle cure or vaccine. Now the point of this thread is to highlight some of the very real issues everyone of us will face in the upcoming weeks, months & quarters. So there will be some speculation, guesstimates but more importantly I’m trying to point out the worst case scenario just so that we’re better prepared individually & collectively as a nation.

Canada & Germany have warned that the risk of getting infected there is as high as 70% or thereabouts, which means that as many as 70% of their population may get infected over a period of time. The worst case scenario predicted for the entire globe is 70-80% & deaths exceeding the peak of the Spanish Flu. I won’t put an estimate on the number of possible deaths because that’s unnecessary given that 70-80% infection rate can take as much as 2 years especially with social distancing.

Coming back to the issue at hand, if & when there’s a lock-down in India → which I think is inevitable, many businesses may have to shut shop & people will lose jobs. There will be a knock on effect on every part of the economy, so please spend wisely & save money for a possible emergency should God forbid you or anyone from the family get infected.

I’m not sure if there can be travel restrictions to the level of China over here, but Italy or Spain is likely where we’re heading in terms of the life coming to a halt. We are at most 2 months behind them & while not testing enough people is never a good idea, as it gives us a false sense of security, it is also true that we cannot test every suspected case because of the population we have.

Lastly for the poorest in India, if you can provide them with spare hand sanitizers & masks then great otherwise even soap & giving them vital information to prevent spread of the disease is more than enough especially wrt what the govts here are doing, at all levels so far! Regardless of your affiliations to xyz political parties or ideologies, it is time to help your fellow human beings overcome this crisis. The time to fight among ourselves is over, regardless of what the authorities do or don’t do, to much of our dismay, with a little bit of time on our hands & hopefully some luck we’ll prevent a lot of deaths.

I’ve seen educated MBA, MCA & other colleagues not take this issue with the kind of urgency it deserves, it’s always better safe than sorry & so with all the knowledge you have at your disposal → PLEASE make sure that people who at least listen to you understand how serious this is & how ugly it can get real fast.

Time out, peace out & Stay safe as well as healthy