Coronavirus Research

Amy Castro Baker of the School of Social Policy & Practice spoke about the cash-assistance program proposed by the Trump administration. “There has been a body of research that’s being built up in the policy space for a long time around the idea of cash transfers,” she said. “We know that’s the most efficient way to respond to natural disasters.”

Carolyn Cannuscio of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the importance of social distancing and how to stay mentally healthy while in isolation.

Carolyn Cannuscio of the Perelman School of Medicine recommended that small groups of people form pacts to reduce outside contact during the pandemic in order to make socializing safer. “I can see social and mental-health advantages to that kind of approach,” she said.

Julia Lynch of the School of Arts and Sciences said it’s not unusual that the U.S. policy response to the coronavirus has varied across states and localities. “What is unusual from a comparative perspective right now is that there is probably less coordinated national level leadership than one would usually see in a crisis,” she said.

Krista Schwarz of the Wharton School spoke about how businesses are coping with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. “Everyone is just trying to get by day to day at the moment,” she said. “Right now is not the time to grow the company—it’s the time to stay solvent.”

Mauro Guillén of the Wharton School spoke about the School’s new online course Epidemics, National Disasters, and Geopolitics: Managing Global Business and Financial Uncertainty. “We’re covering every topic we think is relevant from a business or economic perspective,” he said. “The virus has become a global pandemic because we’re such an interconnected society. We’ll be looking at every possible angle.”

Harvey Rubin of the Perelman School of Medicine discussed how coronavirus differs from the flu and answered listener questions.