I love that about 5% of respondents are answering
@Tazz 's question and the rest are setting their own parameters.
Fair enough. The question was all restrictions. I reckon about 2 weeks after we reach herd immunity.
Shortly after that the government will make solemn promises that such a tragedy will never happen again whilst knowing full well that it will and that there's nothing practical that can be done, we'll have a lovely ceremony on TV to remember those who died, then life will continue exactly as before, except with a bit of a recession and perhaps with few token gestures of grants for immunologists and virologists at a few agencies and universities. They'll make sweeping promises of extra funding for the NHS, which will, of course, never materialise, and the world will move onto the next crisis, which will be economic stimulus to mitigate the resulting recession.
The simple fact of the matter is, that the only way to truly get ahead of this kind of thing going forwards is to heavily restrict personal freedoms and to move away from this globalist approach to the world, which would have severe and lasting effects on the world economy. People won't stand for it. They might say they will now when this is a hot topic, but in the long term, or even over a few years? Not a chance.
Even as we speak compliance with the measures proposed is low even with the pandemic ongoing, the idea that actually, people will accept less money, less freedom long term on the off chance that it might mitigate this in the future is laughable. We didn't after H1N1, we didn't after swine flu, we didn't after Ebola, hell, we didn't in 1918 either and that will probably be worse than this. It's not like it should be a shock to people that this has happened, the signs were there. But people don't care. They want jobs, they want prosperity and they want the freedom to do what they want, travel where they want and not to be inconvenienced. At the same time the government simply cannot afford to take the measures that would be required to meaningfully improve our response. They'd go broke and they wouldn't be electable as soon as the groundswell of public sentiment dies down and this is forgotten (which it will).
And so, it'll happen again. Might be China, might be India, might be Europe, but another virus will jump the species barrier and by the time we identify it as a threat it'll once again be worldwide and people will die. It's inevitable. Just a fact of living on a planet with this many people in close proximity to one another, travelling at will and in close contact with so many, many things that have the potential to kill us.
Don't belive me and think this is a horribly jaded approach to life? Just today Trump announced that the US will defund the WHO, possibly the only international body with enough reach to effectively monitor and mange this type of global issue. Today, of all days.
Oh, and as for China. Governments will demand a public apology and massive reform, China will make some empty platitudes, maybe get a slap on the wrist and then things will continue exactly as before.
Enjoy fellas, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
