Who Measures What?

(In a Covid-19 context. Online chat.)

“I just don’t know. This covid thing. I just don’t know. I’ve nothing to measure it against.

“We’re hearing about all these deaths and of course that’s horrible and sad. And of course it’s a real cost. A bloke in my brother’s village, he’s died from it.

“But there are other big costs to this lock down. I mean, how about loneliness? Mental health? And there’s the business that’s not happened, and the lost businesses. Gone bust. How about the lost incomes and all the grief that’s causing is going to go on for years?

“And there are the other health costs. And I was reading about the abuse and all that. You’re reading about all these cancelled operations and treatments and so on. That’s all going to cost lives and more, big time.

“What I mean is, how can I think about any of that? I don’t know. How’s it stack up? How do you measure deaths and costs? Who’s measuring? I guess someone somewhere must be totting it all up somehow but I don’t see anyone making it public.

“Johnson and that, they say we’re at war against coronavirus. Well, all wars have costs. We all know that. We’re not fools. So they should be upfront about it. I mean, the casualties […] aren’t just the deaths they can pin directly on covid. Someone should be explaining that.”