It is rough to be sitting at home, perhaps self-quarantined or self-isolated, not to mention observing your investments these days! The market is down over 35% from it’s all time high in February. We’ve just witnessed one of the fastest declines on record. If you are watching the news, you certainly hear this every day. As a result, the word “recession” is creeping into the economic predictions.

One of my favorite economists, Brian Wesbury of First Trust, noted in his recent blog there are some significant positive things happening concerning the Coronavirus crisis – developments you may not be aware of.

Testing Capacity Increase

First, our testing capacity in the United States is about to rise substantially. This is primarily due to the dual effort of both private companies and the relaxation of FDA approvals to bring testing kits to the market. It is estimated to speed up the testing process 10-fold as a result. We will begin to see impact of this soon. Testing is key to identify and contain the spread of the virus nationally.

Recoveries to Improve

Next, we should see a significant number of individuals move from the “active” list of the disease to “recovered.” Now that we are about three weeks into the initial surge in the U.S., the numbers of those considered recovered should rise dramatically. The world recovery rate is 93% and we are only at 43% today – in the near future, we should see the US to move toward and beyond the 93% mark.

Strong US Healthcare System

The US has the best private health system in the world. China and Italy – the two hardest hit by this virus – both have socialized health care systems. Here we have the advantage of private and government sectors working together to provide anti-viral drugs, vaccines, and treatments. These are emerging at incredible speed, and will help our own people but also the rest of the world.

All of these improvements will help reduce uncertainty about the disease and our future. And from that will come market opportunity again. In the mean time, “hunker down,” don’t watch too much news, and remember that this too shall pass!