The Life After the Coronavirus

The Life After the Coronavirus ??

Our lives and the world will never be the same after the coronavirus pandemic!

90% of the 5* hotels in US are empty!

80% of the rest of the hotels are empty!

Is AirBnB going to make it? What will be the economic situation of all the people - apartment owners who build their family economic plans paved on mortgages based on shining expectations of tourists who will not come in the next months?

How much will be the price of an airline ticket between New York and Paris in few months when the number of passengers is 2-3 fold smaller and fewer will have to pay the bill?

What do we do to our economies and what is the plan and the next steps?

To make it clear I do believe that only the draconian measures are the right measure when we talk about personal (physical) isolation, testing and tracing the contamination. It is all about understanding how important is the discipline of population of each country!

To find out how important discipline is, here are some statistics - China has "only" 3,266 deaths out of nearly 1.4 billion people, while Italy has 2,158 deaths at 60 million (as of 17 March)! The difference is discipline and timely measures!

False prophets all around Europe and US have been peaching loudly that this is "just a usual virus" ignoring the big data analysis other were sharing and calling us trouble makers (to say the mildest). Well - it is not the usual flue it seems now and DISCIPLINE is the thing that makes the difference between success and failure, between life and death.

Violation of the rules on the free movement of people is always justified when the lives of the latter are in danger.

I expect the quarantine measures to be even stricter and to plan resources (food and necessities) so that there is no shortage! It is in a crisis such as this that the meaning of the words "social state" and "leadership" are redefined!

But this is only the beginning.

The question is where do we go next? Humanity is experiencing the "PERFECT storm". To save lives, we must "kill" economic activity. We have no winning move!

Coronavirus is not only a health problem - it is yet to become economic and humanitarian crisis. There is no right solution, but there is a RESPONSIBLE one.

It is responsible to save lives from direct danger, but the saved and healthy today are the hungry and furious of tomorrow. People who lost their jobs and who have no perspective to find new in the near future! The state is providing relieves today, but in 3 months time when the virus is over (hopefully) the same people will have to start paying their loans and to feed their families but the income sources will not be present (at least in the first months). So what shall we do?

We need to think strategically, not just to survive. Survival is an energy-intensive process that is therefore time-limited. The global humanitarian crisis, called the Coronavirus Pandemic, will last from several months to a year (according to experts). Does this mean that we will not leave our homes for 1 year? No.

I expect we establish a strategy and develop new measures as soon as possible. It's important not only to explain how "this can't happen" and "how it doesn't work" and to criticize, but to come up with specific ideas and work to implement them - here's my suggestion for the specific NEXT STEPS:

1. Regular tests everywhere - this will monitor and isolate patients and carriers (the main problem of this pandemic) - there is no high enough price that cannot be paid for;

2. Technological solution for tracking contaminated individuals and locating them under quarantine. There are ready tech solutions - I am ready to cooperate with a team of professionals for their localisation and implementation in the country.

3. After completion of 1 and 2 - we need to see Health Security Officers in all companies. Organizing online training and certification courses for people on this position. The position includes - imposing rules and complying with hygiene and health security - whether it is a 3-person company or a 20,000-strong company. These people will form the basis of the next step - a return to GDP creation. Each structure must have a minimum of two (and more) employees who have completed this course;

4. TEAMS - create two teams - "A" and "B" in each company. When team A works from the office/factory - team B works from home and rotates without overlapping in any way. Thus, if a contaminated person accidentally appears in one of the teams, only the relevant team is isolated - the others continue to work;

5. This whole process takes place in the environment of DRACONIAN measures in terms of freedom of movement, hygiene, wearing of protective equipment and observance of personal discipline.

With the help of the Webit Global Board (https://www.webit.org/festival-europe/globalimpact.php), we are about to offer concrete technological solutions for health security very soon! I am confident (and we already see) that there are many health security existing solutions and we would like to support them by endorsing, funding and helping them scale through the Global Health Security Challenge: https://www.webit.org/festival-europe/healthchallenge.php

From now on, the discipline must be respected and stimulated in every way possible - including through severe penalties against those who do not comply with the rules of the common good!

The return to “normal” production activity has not only an economic effect but also a health and a social one. The mental health of the population would be put on test if the current type of quarantine lasts too long. Not to mention the economic consequences of this.

And if in these first weeks - full quarantine is compulsory, then in the next one it is equally obligatory to act in the direction of resuming production and creating controlled and safe working conditions and socialization for people!

The emergency headquarters shouldn’t miss this moment, and from now on it should focus not only on extinguishing the fire (which I repeat is very important), but on regaining some normalcy in the shortest possible time.

Of course, such a concept carries risks, but this is precisely the dividing line when the Leader becomes a Hero! There is always a price to pay - the better future of the nation and the future of the economic systems are at stake today! There is no price that is not worth paying!

And more - very important. This crisis has again shown something we are always forgetting - the Chinese, the Italians, the Spaniards, the South Koreans, and the Bulgarians - we are all people - we are all equal. Or at least the virus treats us like equal. Only the way we respond to the crisis makes the difference in the price we pay!

I hope this lesson will be learned. I hope that everyone will appreciate that our lives are not a lonely, selfish, greedy journey, but a responsible and collaborative adventure in which we are all responsible for our common prosperity or problems.

The irresponsible behaviour of one brings death to another (in the case of corona virus it could be tens, hundreds even thousands more). I hope this crisis will make us stronger in being together. Because that is what puts the human race at the top of this planet's food chain! The togetherness!

I hope we shall learn a lesson of what a responsible living means being responsible not only to one another but also to Nature. Because the same way the false prophets were explaining that this is just another flu similarly they are still telling the lie that "climate change is fine - it is normal and humans have no impact" - and there is no need to change anything - that it is OK to continue to kill animal species, polluting nature and destroying the otherwise beautiful future of the human race - of our children!

Enough is enough!

It is time to be responsible and disciplined. And yes - this inevitably means going outside of our comfort zone, parting with things we like - but only the selfish and greedy have a problem with that! Today, more than ever, we need to make this step for the sake of our children's future tomorrow!

I am optimistic despite the negative short-term forecasts! But it takes stewardship, wisdom, BIG heart and knowledge!

Each of us is the solution!

Stay healthy - #stayathome,

Dr. Plamen Russev