WEF founder says the coronavirus pandemic should lead to real change and address the deepest problems of society to avoid conflicts and revolutions.
Professor Klaus Schwab, founder of WEF or World Economic Forum, co-wrote a book with French author Thierry Malleret titled “Covid-19: The Great Reset.”
They discuss the state of the post-coronavirus world barely four months after the coronavirus pandemic was declared.
They explain that the global health crisis has “magnified the fault lines that already beset our economies and societies.” They cited several surveys suggesting that many people “collectively desire change.”
The authors believe that the massive outrage following the murder of George Floyd in the hands of the police as well as the Black Lives Matter movement mirror the “urgent necessity” to arrive at a so-called “Great Reset."
“George Floyd’s death was the spark that lit the fire of social unrest, but the underlying conditions created by the pandemic, in particular the racial inequalities that it laid bare and the rising levels of unemployment, were the fuel that amplified the protests and kept them going,” Schwab and Malleret noted.
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly 13 million individuals around the world and recorded a death toll of 569,128.
Second wave of coronavirus
Several analysts say that there will no longer be a full lockdown of the global economy amidst the resurgence of new coronavirus cases.
As different parts of the world witness new outbreaks, analysts claim countries are unlikely to impose restrictions that will completely halt economic activities.
“It’s a concern for the markets, but as long as we don’t see a repeat of March… I think markets will look through this and focus more on recovery over the next few quarters.”
Economic forecasts
The International Monetary Fund or IMF reduced its economic forecasts as the world suffers from the coronavirus crisis.
The organization warned that public finances may suffer heavily as governments try to fight the fallout from the health crisis.
The IMF predicts the economy will contract by 4.9% in global gross domestic product in 2020, lower than the 3% fall it predicted in April.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated, and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast,” the IMF reported Wednesday in its World Economic Outlook update.
IMF also reduced its GDP forecast for 2021, predicting a growth rate of 5.4% from the 5.8% forecast made in April.
Coronavirus vaccine
As the world grapples with the pandemic, many are hoping for the change that a vaccine could make.
However, experts say a coronavirus vaccine will not be a cure-all solution because no clear evidence exists that antibodies can provide absolute immunity.
Robert Lambkin-Williams, an independent virologist at Virology Consult Ltd, warned that a coronavirus vaccine cannot completely fight the pandemic and serve as the sole solution.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe,” he said the use of antibodies in fighting off the virus and protecting them from being reinfected with Covid-19 has not been proven yet.
“That’s important because we don’t know if the vaccines that encourage those antibodies to be produced are going to work,” he said.
He added that scientists still hope that antibodies would stop the coronavirus from penetrating individuals more than once.
