4 ms·

This is the main question I have too. We have a disease that is pretty much guaranteed to be endemic so there will always be the ever present threat of re-impor

This is the main question I have too. We have a disease that is pretty much guaranteed to be endemic so there will always be the ever present threat of re-importing the disease.

somewhereoutth 7y ago
- guaranteed to be endemic in countries that have not taken the necessary public health measures. Consequently there will be very tough restrictions on travellers from those countries. Maybe the world will divide into green and red zones?
- klmadfejno 7y ago
  It's simply not realistic to keep a highly infectious disease forever out of a country like India (unless the virus just doesn't thrive there for environmental or demographic reasons). What are they going to do, shut down entire cities every time there's a lapse in security? If the world did somehow divide into green and red zones, you would have a worse problem on your hands. The red zones are the wealthier western countries, and are more desirable than the green zones. Good luck trying to maintain global economic relevance when you don't allow immigrants from the wealthiest countries in the world. There's a similar argument to immunity passports. If people need to be immune to the disease to re enter the workforce safely, they will infect themselves with the disease to do so.
  - somewhereoutth 7y ago
    Land borders are of course harder to seal than air - but not impossible. Having to shut down entire cities if there is a breach will make their vigilance that much higher. The green zone will prosper, perhaps those wealthier western countries finding themselves in the red zone will no longer look so desirable. Of course I'm hoping it won't come to this, but it does seem to be the direction we are heading.
    - sershe 7y ago
      You are forgetting about international trade, tourism and migrant work. The only country I'm aware of that was a "green zone" pre-COVID is North Korea; it didn't exactly prosper.
    - klmadfejno 7y ago
      You've written green and red, and somehow assumed that green is good. Green means your population is vulnerable to an infectious disease that, in this universe, is highly prevalent in all of the wealthy countries. Long term its a weakness.

This is the main question I have too. We have a disease that is pretty much guaranteed to be endemic so there will always be the ever present threat of re-importing the disease.

somewhereoutth 7y ago

- guaranteed to be endemic in countries that have not taken the necessary public health measures. Consequently there will be very tough restrictions on travellers from those countries. Maybe the world will divide into green and red zones?

klmadfejno 7y ago
It's simply not realistic to keep a highly infectious disease forever out of a country like India (unless the virus just doesn't thrive there for environmental or demographic reasons). What are they going to do, shut down entire cities every time there's a lapse in security? If the world did somehow divide into green and red zones, you would have a worse problem on your hands. The red zones are the wealthier western countries, and are more desirable than the green zones. Good luck trying to maintain global economic relevance when you don't allow immigrants from the wealthiest countries in the world. There's a similar argument to immunity passports. If people need to be immune to the disease to re enter the workforce safely, they will infect themselves with the disease to do so.
- somewhereoutth 7y ago
  Land borders are of course harder to seal than air - but not impossible. Having to shut down entire cities if there is a breach will make their vigilance that much higher. The green zone will prosper, perhaps those wealthier western countries finding themselves in the red zone will no longer look so desirable. Of course I'm hoping it won't come to this, but it does seem to be the direction we are heading.
  - sershe 7y ago
    You are forgetting about international trade, tourism and migrant work. The only country I'm aware of that was a "green zone" pre-COVID is North Korea; it didn't exactly prosper.
  - klmadfejno 7y ago
    You've written green and red, and somehow assumed that green is good. Green means your population is vulnerable to an infectious disease that, in this universe, is highly prevalent in all of the wealthy countries. Long term its a weakness.