There is an old maxim: whatever you have thought, others have thought; whatever you have done, others have done. The effect of COVID-19 has forever altered our look at the world.

The first thing any new disease does is to expose weaknesses in the health system. When EBOLA came to the U.S. there was a temporary scare because of the uncertainty of what would happen. What did happen is those with EBOLA were immediately isolated and quarantined until the disease passed. As it worked out, only a very few people got this disease and most of the rest of us put that outbreak in the back of our minds, to our own detriment.

In May 2018 the Centers for Disease Control warned of the outbreak of COVID-19, although at the time it had not reared its ugly head. How did they know? The disease was discovered in bats in that portion of China where the outbreak started. But governments around the world, certainly the industrialized nations, did not listen to the warning scientists. Why cause a panic they asked.

Ever wonder why it is named COVID-19? Simple, this is not the first iteration of this disease, both SARS and MERS are versions of the disease. We knew in 2002 we had a highly contagious disease on our hands but our governments, around the world, chose to ignore the early warnings. Why? Those cases were confined and not allowed to spread. They also we not nearly as contagious as what we have now. Sadly, in early February when warned of an impending U.S. pandemic, our President chose to politicize it and called it “a Democratic hoax.”

But here we are, most small businesses closed, large corporations have laid off hundreds of thousands, and people are dying by the hundreds each day. May Trump’s foolish delay was a blessing in disguise. It has made all Americans keenly aware of just how vulnerable we are in every aspect of our daily lives. As a nation we will probably do a better job of washing our hands and being cautious around sick people.

But then there is the heavy downside. Trump’s $2.2 trillion stimulus is supposed to help individual Americans and small businesses, as well as some large ones, to bridge the gap between shut down and restarting. But there are two facts our nation’s leaders refuse to talk about. The first is many small businesses will not survive, Probably some of the intermediate sized companies too. The large corporations that have laid off hundreds of thousands of workers will probably not bring back all those employees for a long time, if ever.

The stock market tanked and then settled. But once the first quarter earnings are published, already skittish investors will likely engage in another large sell off. Corporate American will find itself greatly devalued and its ability to borrow reduced. Many economists have predicted a deep recession, and possibly we are looking at unemployment rates that challenge those of the Great Depression. If the U.S. goes into a deep recession it means the rest of the world will be doing the same.

Individual Americans are in line to receive a $1200 check from the government to help them. But the reality for most Americans is that that $1200 will barely cover rent or not be enough. Most Americans do not have a cash reserve to fall back upon. It won’t be long before news programs are reporting on the large amount of defaults among average Americans as they cannot pay their mortgage, their credit cards bills, because they are so cash strapped that they can only buy food and medicine. Of course there are the most unfortunate who will be forced to choose between food and medicine. This means that a single $1200 payment does not come close to meeting the needs of most Americans.

We are just one nation in both a world health crisis and a world economic crisis. Our best hope is that many of the restrictions can be either lifted or modified by May 1. Social distancing would still be enforced but in a modified version. That is, people would be allowed to return to work places where a six-foot separation can be managed. Non-essential businesses would be allowed to reopen but again with the six-foot separation dictum. This will take some good planning but it is absolutely something which lawmakers, U.S. House and Senate, can figure out. A starting point is to have enough tests available that returning works would be tested prior to being allowed back into the workforce.