Coronavirus confronts decision-makers with a terrible trade-off

We have seen examples of intelligent response to the viral outbreak in several countries, for instance, both China and South Korea. Their types of government are very different, but both took the problem seriously from the beginning, and both are now recovering, medically and economically.

Seems to me that the most important way to help the economy is to treat the disease. In countries like the US, with almost no action from the federal government on the medical front, actions on the economic front are almost beside the point. Until people feel safe to go out in public, economic stimulus plans are doomed to failure.