Epidolomology in its essence should be in a panic state because it triggers policies from the government to prevent further spread. This is how the Swine Flu and SARS were prevented from spreading further.
If we compared everything to the Flu without policies implemented, we would reach pandemics in no time.
This is just my opinion.
This article summarizes the different approaches people have to this.
Bill Gates and Elon Musk Just Issued Very Different Responses to the Coronavirus. It's a Lesson in Emotional Intelligence
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/b...s-its-a-lesson-in-emotional-intelligence.html
it's a complex topic.
on one hand you want to be cautious..
on the other hand, human life is NOT priceless. in other words pandemic is not an infinite loss.... I did a back of the envelope calculation, the GDP loss in China is equivalent to the death of about 1 million people, if you consider how insurance companies value human lives.. so if you think about Wuhan the epicenter had 3500 ish dead, you will NOT have anywhere near 1 million dead if nothing was done, no shut-downs etc.... not to mention the quality of life loss for everyone, people locked in self-jail for 3 weeks, for the entire country of 1.4 million people.
not to mention, based on the data, this thing kills off the old and the weak, and as I said before, with a cold hearted view, is this not a net PLUS for the economy? here we have a huge problem with unfunded liabilities.... now all of a sudden them pensioners dead lol no more draw on the society, them poor bastards worked their entire life just to die just in time before they start to draw pensions lol.
but - when I say people are morons, I am more referring to the market reaction....
on one hand my boys will shake and this is a perfect excuse and if not corona they could have come up with something else, and they did with oil lol.... them boys never fail.
but - if you think that this whole thing is about a 5% gdp drag for China and worst case a 2% drag for the rest of the world, then why is a 20% drop warrented.... and of course nothing is logical in the market because like I said the stock market has an average IQ of about 115 at the most, which is still quite stupid.