Today's Topline - 5/18/20
Monday, May 18, 2020
Source: MedTech Association
Good Monday morning:
New York State begins its phased reopening of businesses in earnest today. Last week, Governor Cuomo announced that the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Central New York, Mohawk Valley and North Country regions had satisfied the metrics necessary to begin Phase One of the state’s reopening plan. Over the weekend, the governor indicated that Western New York and the Capital District would likely join the other Upstate open regions as soon as today. This leaves the Mid-Hudson, New York City and Long Island regions under a continuation of the state’s original lockdown order.
In a recently published commentary, Victory in War Against Coronavirus Means Saving the Economy, Too, Steve Kimatian analogizes the coronavirus pandemic to a war for economic superiority and argues it’s time “to balance the acceptance of casualties as necessary to prevent the destruction of an economy.” In response, MedTech’s Win Thurlow noted that while the tension between saving lives and preserving the economy is real, it isn’t a zero-sum game. Instead of engaging in war rhetoric, Thurlow urged that policy decisions be based upon scientific data.
In their paper, Willingness to Pay for Morbidity and Mortality Risk-Reductions in a Pandemic, Clarkson University researchers Luciana Echazu and Diego Nocetti apply economic cost/benefit modeling to the coronavirus pandemic and conclude that the benefits in terms of lives saved and morbidity avoided can justify the very large economic impact brought by social distancing measures.
As with so many things, the lens through which we view this situation directs our perspective and potentially, our policy outputs.
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As always, don’t hesitate to contact us with your specific questions and concerns. Regular updates can be found at our website, which is refreshed daily.