Economics: Is The Reopening Of The Economy Endangered By A Lack Of Discipline?

 (Drivebycuriosity) - There is a strong political movement against the lockdowns which have been keeping large parts of the economies in the US & Europe closed and are accompanied by imploding economies and jumping jobless rates. Fed chairman Jerome Powell and others warned that the US economy could slide into a severe recession. Many countries in Europe and states in the US are responding and started to reopen their economies step-by-step. But health expert Anthony Fauci warned that reopening too soon & too fast could cause a second wave of infections which would worsen the situation.

I think a cautious step-by-step reopening could be successful if people have discipline. The virus jumps from person top person, it needs an intact chain. These chains can be broken by strictly performing social distancing (at least 6 feet distance),  wearing masks & washing hands (to avoid transporting the virus on the face). Discipline may be the main reason that Asian countries like Japan, South Korea & Taiwan, have such low numbers of cases, sick people, deaths,  even though they are practising different policies.

Unfortunately many people don`t have this discipline. Many don`t care to infect themselves and others.  On the streets of Manhattan I still spot a lot joggers and other people who don´t wear a mask and don´t care about distances. Do they wash their hands? Bowery Boogie, a website which covers Manhattan`s Lower East Side, observes that "drinking in groups on the streets – in daylight – is apparently the trend in Hell Square" (some blocks on the Lower East Side (image above  boweryboogie ). There is frequent congregating, often without face protection; it goes unchecked until the cops are forced to break up the crowd. The New York Post reports that a nightclub on the Lower Easst Sided opened on a recent Friday night (May 1) for an exclusive, invite-only party, in apparent violation of coronavirus lockdown orders ( nypost).

On Internet I can find ubiquitous reports about ignoring social distancing and not wearing masks. Since Saturday alone in New York City more than 50 people have received summonses and at least three people have been arrested for not practicing safe social distancing (ny1). And I spotted the images above this paragraph on twitter.
 

 ( twitter)

Apparently these ignorant persons are slowing the progress in the fight against the virus and maybe even causing a second wave (chart above). They are putting the openings at risk. Some US states which did well for a while are reporting a re-accelerating of new cases. California for instance, which did much better than the rest of the US for a while, reports suddenly a growth rate of new cases of more than  2%, higher than the national average (worldometers).

If the US numbers don´t get better - or even get worse - the governors of the federal states might be forced to prolong the lockdowns and maybe even need to cancel the announced reopenings. It seems that the ignorant people are sabotaging the openings.