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Belgium COVID timeline
May-Sept: Cases-per-million <100.
October 1: Govt scraps compulsory mask rules
Next 30 days: Cases increase by 720%
Oct 30: Govt reinstates mask laws, bans crowding, shuts non-essential indoor businesses
Nov 12: New cases down 70% from peak
May-Sept: Cases-per-million <100.
October 1: Govt scraps compulsory mask rules
Next 30 days: Cases increase by 720%
Oct 30: Govt reinstates mask laws, bans crowding, shuts non-essential indoor businesses
Nov 12: New cases down 70% from peak
It would be irresponsible to draw overconfident conclusions about COVID policy from 4 data points in one country.
But there are at least two lessons here worth taking very seriously for the US.
But there are at least two lessons here worth taking very seriously for the US.
1) If this isn’t completely obvious to everybody at this point: Mask mandates and anti-crowding rules don’t just save lives at the expense of the economy.
Their life-saving properties ALSO save the economy from emergency lockdowns ordered by govt after everything goes to shit!
Their life-saving properties ALSO save the economy from emergency lockdowns ordered by govt after everything goes to shit!
2) I think in retrospect we may recognize that too many western countries got caught in the COVID whiplash: Total lockdown, public backlash, open up too much, cases spike, total lockdown again.
Other countries did it better. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/how-keep-fall-surge-becoming-winter-catastrophe/616674/
Other countries did it better. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/how-keep-fall-surge-becoming-winter-catastrophe/616674/
