COVID-19

In the fight against the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), policymakers are fighting blind, because we do not know the extent of the infections in the population or the mortality rate due to it. It is possible to track the number of deaths, the cases that required hospitalisation and those who have tested positive for the virus at hospitals, but those numbers present a limited picture of the pandemic. Our response to this crisis depends critically on figuring out how fast the disease is spreading outside of hospitals, in the community, and how likely the virus is to kill individuals who have been infected. The only way to obtain this information is through random testing in the population.

An event like the new coronavirus forces all of us to make rapid judgments and decisions—in our personal lives, in our financial dealings, in how we do our jobs, and in what we think is going to happen. Whether on Twitter, in interviews, or here at Foreign Policy, prognosticators are offering up hot takes daily, based on whatever information they can gather and the worldviews (i.e., theories) on which they typically rely.

Every developmental activity carried out since the origin of the world to this day has its pros and cons. Boon and bane are somehow interconnected. Bhishma of Mahabharata was blessed with the death at his will, however, he had the curse to wait for his last days lying on the bed of arrows, that also prepared by his most loved Arjun. Even Lord Bishnu had to abide by the curse he got from Gandhari. It’s like as you sow, so you reap.