“Los Angeles introduced interventions during the first few weeks of the epidemic, much earlier than New York, so they did not suffer the types of problems New York experienced. Baltimore newspapers published appeals to the public to minimize the use of telephones, but even at the height of the pandemic the phone system did not fail. Chicago attempted to estimate absenteeism. They estimated absenteeism averaged about 5% over a two-month period, not quite double thnormal average. Absenteeism peeked on October 22. However, the aggregate impact of absenteeism was significantly reduced. Economic impacts were modest, below 5%, when averaged out. A major recession did not ensue. Retail sales did decline in October, but they rebounded in November. New York City transit use, the Dow Jones, and business failures were indiscernible and modest when compared to the volatility of the period. Because of the short duration of the pandemic and human resiliency, it was characterized as a hit-and-run disease that only produced brief slowdowns.”
