A rocky choice

Re Henry Cooke’s article in the Taranaki Daily News (April 6) entitled: ‘‘PM: We are not yet at halftime.’’

Prime Minister Ardern has been criticised for being too harsh on the economy.

The way I see it, she has been given two rocks, one of granite and the other of sandstone.

She chose granite and went hard with a total lockdown. If it works, then our health system will remain intact. Our population structure (society – no civil breakdown) will remain intact. However, our economy will tank by around 30 per cent. But, because our workforce and intellectual capital remain essentially intact, the economy will recover, albeit differently and over a period of time.

If she had chosen sandstone, the health system would be overwhelmed. Our population structure would fracture, leading to possible civil breakdown. The economy would remain intact for a while, but with a collapsed health system, multiple deaths, and not just of old people, society in disarray, then the economy would equally tank. But, at the end of everything, economic recovery would be slower because an embittered populace would rightly think that the economy ( money), was more important than them. (People are the economy).

How are things looking right now? Currently, we’re in a race against the clock. At the moment we just have our noses in front. It’s going to get harder as time passes initially, but we just have to tough it out and keep betting on the rock of granite.

And lastly, a question for mathematicians: Do pandemics scale fractally?

Pat Greenfield New Plymouth