Covid-19 has proven the world 2 things that were being forgotten: 1) Human are mortal beings and have a long way to go before being able to live for 500 years; 2) Despite liberalism, societies have chosen to prioritize public health over the economy.
However, many dramatic consequences are resulting from the ongoing and repeated lockdowns states are imposing accross the globe. Health has become a fundamentally philosophical question. Does being in a Covid-free environment means that you're healthy ? What if this situation has caused you to be unemployed and alone ? Is the cure worse than the disease ? What about mental health - the rising number of suicides highlights the fragile equilibrum between what's visible from what isn't ? What do you think?
@James C. has pointed a central element that I would like to develop: states' ability to create and spend money. The ECB has lent a record amount of money to EU states in order to help them deal with the pandemic.
Many countries are paying people a high % of their salary and the debt is skyrocketing. The main issue with this "new" money, states are injecting, is its virtuality: it's artificial. Because of lockdowns, companies are forbidden to work, people can't consume and no profit is made whatsoever. Countries are arithmetically getting poorer and do not produce the necessary wealth to support the "fresh money"in circulation.
Unemployment is rising, most firms are on the verge of bankruptcy and states' debt is dramatically high. Only a tiny fraction of the population is managing to take benefit out of this situation - namely Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg etc. All the cash and funds, that was "spread" and allocated in the society (between restaurants and all companies, that are closed) is now concentrated in a few hands. People are getting poorer and 5 individuals are picking up the cash.
Firstly I think we cannot dispatch economics and public health because if we demolish economics, states will lose their ability to spend money in public institutions such as health , military , police , justice but also to give some social worker help. The major source of income for states are taxed companies. In the other hand, if people are sick or they are to afraid to go to work because there are a dangerous virus, people could not be efficient in their jobs and companies will lose their productivities.
Secondly, states have to increase their debts if they want to survive the lockdown. Currently states can loose their sovereignty against central banks such as ECB and FED. lockdown is creating an important unemployement rate on young people which has mayble never existed before. Young people are being sacrified for their elders. Each days some student take the choice to suicide because they lost everything even social relation with other people. They are poor, alone and states let them down.