When I was a young Marine in Vietnam, during a time of deep internal division in America, about half the country’s people said they trusted their fellow Americans.

History repeats itself. This idea, first floated by the Greek Hellenistic historian Polybius about 2000 years ago, gives us some hope for life after COVID-19.

“This is not a discrete one-off episode,” Wellcome Trust head Jeremy Farrar has warned. “This is now an endemic human infection.”

Many countries are now under lockdown to lower the growth rate of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Given the astronomical costs of such efforts to “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 infections, policymakers are under growing pressure to “reopen the economy.”

Anyone speculating on what the world will look like when we emerge from Covid-19 lockdown, would do well to heed the famous quip about prediction being difficult, especially about the future.

We step out of our homes today, onto the street and into our surroundings, just as we used to. But the space we considered outdoors has a different set of rules of engagement.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a shock of unprecedented magnitude and uncertain duration. The consequences have been catastrophic.

What’s the plan?

Without a credible plan, the nation will be in fear and chaos for a long time.