Another lockdown in December? This is what two Nobel economists Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo suggest as they are alerting the government in an op-ed released on Saturday September 26, 2020 for daily Le Monde, on the risks of coronavirus cases resurgence, especially in elderly people after the Holidays.
As a matter of fact, according to their recommendations, to enable French people to make the most of their families, and especially elderly people for the Holidays, it would be wise to implement a nationwide lockdown from December 1 to 20.
The two economists explain they are aware “the prospect of a re-containment, even local, is a deterrent, and we feel a strong resistance to limit activities, especially the most lucrative ones”, yet, they think “the difficulty is to protect elderly people and those – larger than expected – suffering from chronic diseases”.
They consider “as long as the epidemic especially infects those who are young and in good health, it is not especially deadly and does not lead to a quick increase in hospitalizations”, yet they fear traditional gatherings for Holidays in France are moments of strong spread of coronavirus in elderly people.
They believe that prevention is better than cure and avoiding “nationwide re-containment once it is too late”. Therefore, they propose a “nationwide lockdown during the Advent period from December 1 to 20, urging families to stay home and not anticipate holidays by rushing to grandparents’”.
To conclude, they consider the “cost for the economy would be heavy, but lighter than cancelling Christmas”. Moreover, if such measures were bound to be made, they will have to be announced early enough to enable families and storekeepers to get ready and anticipate Christmas shopping or order online.
This Sunday December 26, 2020 Olivier Véran said that so far he has no idea how the epidemic will evolve in the next 3 months and he refuses to make immediate decisions as for such an unpredictable future: “we want the French people to be able to spend the Holidays with their families. Anticipating a three-week lockdown seems like prediction to me. I’m no prediction buff, but an anticipation buff. […] I don’t look to two months, but day by day”.
