jimmy2shoes,

YES!

Given the opportunity I would be happy to elaborate, but the short answer is yes, very much so.

We need to weigh carefully the cost of the virus versus the cost of lockdown, both in terms of lost-years-of-quality-life.

The main cost of COVID-19 is not death. Rather, about a half of those infected (including milder cases) suffer long after from its effects, especially from the loss of lung capacity, which in turn damages every area of life. It is still early to tell the proportion of people for which this damage will be permanent. Kidney and heart damage are also common. This cannot be ignored.

On the other side of the equation, we need to evaluate the impact of lockdown restrictions on our health - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.

Both costs are heavy and not fully known. Then we must also consider the moral questions, under which circumstances (if any) is it acceptable to order people what to do or not do, especially in their own private space, but I will not get into this today.

Compared with such serious matters, it is insulting when people, including PM Morrison, introduce the lesser consideration of "economy" into the discussion as if things that can merely be solved with money are comparable to our health, quality of life and morality. For them it is not the reopening up our life that matters, but only the "reopening up the economy". While it so happens that economical interests coincide with the health benefits of being able to interact with other humans and take care of ourselves, one should be ashamed of bringing them up at this time of emergency.

Yuyutsu, I like your last post.

For an article supposedly based on fact, most of the figures presented are no more than a vague extrapolation from equally vague reports complied by who knows. Take this one for instance; "Based on a UK estimate of death due to people deferring procedures or consultations, you can add another 10,000 to the likely total." Why add 10,000, why not 20,000 or 100,000, if your going to pluck figures out of the air why not pluck a real gob smacker! Britain with a mortality rate from Covid-19 around 200 times greater than Australia, based on population and actual number of deaths can hardly be held up as the authority on anything to do with this virus. Of course no one is going to blame the shambolic Tory leadership of Bug Ridden Boris, just as no one is finger pointing at Dangerous Doctor Donald in the US.

Lets cut to the chase on this, and say what's its all about. Its about the economic value of human lives to Capital, noting else. Based on the value of slaves in the Southern US states pre-civil war, a 25 year old healthy skilled buck, sorry male, and a slightly younger skilled female of childbearing age are of the most value. Some 80 year old with underlying health issues, and a general weakness due to age is of no value, in fact such is a liability, why did we allow such a liability to reach the age of 80 anyway.

While this new broom is clearing society of the old dead wood, how about the problem of the mentally ill, the physically retarded, and the chronically sick etc, etc.

I'm pleased you got it Jo 2.

Effectively, what I'm saying is, there is more to the virus outcomes than simple death.

It takes no prisoners. Nobody can rely on any preconceived idea that if you contract Covid, you'll be ok if you do not die. Evidence is mounting that no you will not come out the other side of it without side effects.

These side effects are proving to cause lingering conditions which preclude a normal healthy lifestyle for extended periods; if not indefinitely.

Maybe we will be faced with building special nursing homes for survivors.
If that is the risk, then a balance between financial loss of lock-down, and a world of very ill survivors is the real cost to consider.

Dan

Given the fact that this is a psycho-physical realm and that everything is in one way or another inter-connected, and that all of our political dramas originate in and are a dramatization of what Jung called the collective unconscious this reference provides a unique all-inclusive perspective on the Corona 19 phenomenon and how it is related to what Jack Forbes called The Wetiko Disease (psychosis) in his book Columbus and Other Cannibals.
http://www.awakeninthedream.com/articles/covid-19-wetiko

The author of the above essay also refers to this related essay in the always excellent Cosmos Journal
http://www.kosmosjournal.org/kj_article/searching-for-the-anti-virus-covid-19-as-quantum-phenomenon