Thoughts from CV-19 Bunker

Now that we’ve all had a week (or more) of ‘sheltering in place’ and hunkering down to slow the spread of Covid-19, I thought I’d share some things I’ve seen that you might find helpful.

But before that, one thing I’ve noticed about myself is an almost burning need to continually check the internet for… something… updates, news, perspective. It’s almost like driving by a horrific accident, a global train wreck, and it’s almost impossible to not look.

But it’s important to not look (at least for big chunks of time). Yes there is always a new post somewhere, but wallowing in the fear, anxiety and uncertainty makes it worse. I’m a firm believer that you get more of whatever you pay attention to – so a hyper focus on what most of the media has to say is NOT going to be good for you. I’m going to try and moderate or at least stick with sources that are more positive if possible, but I can already tell it’s going to be challenging. Along those lines, here’s a worthwhile article on how to guard your mental health during this time. Additionally – here’s a list of resources along those same lines that might be helpful as well: Covid 19 Mental Health Resources and How Covid-19 has Affected Substance Abuse – and another one in case you’re drinking more… Stomach Pain After Drinking

It is important to stay informed and there is good news out there – here are some ideas that I’ve found in the last few days.

KC Impact on App to track CoronaVirus

One of the biggest problems we collectively have right now is the lack of testing and the inability to really figure out what’s going on. Once we have solid testing and tracking in place, then we can start to get back to a more normal business environment – like they have in Taiwan: https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-taiwan-case-study-rapid-response-containment-2020-3

To that end, local Kansas City based tech company Triple Blind has been working with others to develop an app that will help get the tracking side of things under control – here’s an update from Startland News and a good explanation from Fast Company

Another idea for Tracking

Fast Company also did a story on another tracking idea that makes a lot of sense – this one is about an Austin based start-up that using AI controlled cameras and thermal imaging to pick out likely infected people. I can see this being a great tool for transportation terminals or anywhere there’s a big public presence. Check out the story here.

Business and investing impacts?

Most of the mainstream media is focusing on the medical and personal impact that we’re seeing with the virus. But what’s not getting quite as much attention (yet) is the business and economic impact that all of this is having and is going to have.

There’s no way we get out of this without some kind of recession but how bad it could get is anyone’s guess. This article has the best summation I’ve seen of what a positive outcome versus a negative outcome could look like from an economic impact. Investing in the time of Corona

We truly are seeing historic things happen – things our kids will tell their grandchildren about… which makes it very difficult to predict what might happen.

To that end, we’re also starting to see how the government is going to act to help out all of those business owners who are being impacted – not a lot of details yet, but there should be help on the way: Kansas Officials announce new initiatives to help Businesses impacted by Covid-19

And if you’re a business owner you should consider this advice – add a line item to your accounting that will allow you to explicitly track expenses and costs associated with Covid-19. Here’s a quick explanation from Mike Michalowicz (author of Profit First and several other books).

Possible Good News on Treatments

Of course the real end to this situation only happens with a vaccine – and a lot of countries and organizations are working on one, but the most optimistic projections are at least a year out… and that’s going to be tough.

However, there are other treatments that could help – specifically some existing drugs and treatments have been identified that could dramatically shortcut the impact this virus has on people. These are kind of like a Tamiflu but for this novel coronavirus.

One of them is a malaria drug that’s been around and tested widely for a long time – which means it could get quick approval and be available in bulk within a fairly short time frame (weeks to months?): https://news.yahoo.com/fda-test-malaria-drug-possible-174405642.html

*On a related note the malaria drug listed above is also being tested in conjunction with an existing antibiotic and the results are very positive: https://medium.com/@ngough_bioserendipity/a-combination-therapy-that-eliminates-the-covid-19-virus-4e4c6e3864af It’s a small trial and there will need to be a lot more testing, but it’s a start…

Another hopeful story is about a drug called Remdesivir – which is an anti-viral that has been around for a while but doesn’t currently have FDA approval. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/21/819099156/might-the-experimental-drug-remdesivir-work-against-covid-19

I’m sure we’ll be hearing about many more possibilities over the next few weeks – and a lot of them will end up being a dead end, but we only need 1 good treatment (that’s scalable) to take most of the pressure off of this crisis. Here’s to hoping that a global approach will lead to something great.

Actually – that’s a good way to wrap up these thoughts. For the first time in a very long time (possibly ever) we have the entire world united against a common foe. On top of that, we’re already seeing social and cultural changes to how we act and think. Is it possible that we can not only weather this storm, but actually end up better off than we’ve been over the last couple of decades? Hard to say – but interesting to think about. Here’s some thoughts from a group of big thinkers to get you started: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/19/coronavirus-effect-economy-life-society-analysis-covid-135579

What do you think? A lot of small businesses are already greatly impacted, but history also tells us that it’s possible to bounce back (or pivot). Stay positive, try to stay away from watching the train wreck as much as possible and share your thoughts here…!

Shawn Kinkade Kansas City Business Coach