Surrender is not a valid coronavirus plan

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a five-year plan of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - We can’t just [surrender to coronavirus](. - Asia proves [you can manage it](. - Today’s housing boom is [tomorrow’s foreclosure crisis](. - China wants to build [rivals to Big Tech](. We’re Surrendering to Covid Too Soon If you want to know what “just giving up” looks like, check out this map from [CovidExitStrategy.org](: First of all, it’s time to look into relocating to Vermont or Maine. Second, even this map doesn't do the ugliness of the numbers justice. For that, you must go to the original source and mouse over each state to see the underlying data. North Dakota's cases per million are actually seven times higher than New Jersey's, for example. Wisconsin's are five times higher. As President Donald Trump makes clear daily, his plan for the coronavirus is merely a white flag, waved vigorously. [It doesn’t have to be this way](, writes Bloomberg’s editorial board. It can’t be, really, without once again swamping hospitals and inflating an already staggering death toll. Vaccines won’t come nearly soon enough to prevent that. The white-flag crowd points to a lower rate of hospitalizations and deaths in this latest wave, despite the case count being the highest so far. But we’re treating the disease differently than in the spring, writes Sam Fazeli, keeping more patients at home, giving them better drugs and mainly exposing younger people to the virus. Despite all this, [letting Covid-19 run unchecked will eventually affect more vulnerable people and pack ICUs]( again. More localized lockdowns (a slippery term that can mean all sorts of things) will probably be necessary at the rate we’re going. They’re already happening in Europe, though [governments aren’t exactly rushing into them](, given their unpopularity, writes Ferdinando Giugliano. Officials have done a poor job of setting expectations throughout this crisis; they’ll need to do much better if they want compliance with new rules. Still, the West’s failures are no reason to lose hope. [Countries all across Asia are managing the pandemic]( relatively well, writes Lionel Laurent, demonstrating success is possible. And you can’t just chalk that up to unbridgeable cultural differences; all it takes is everybody following a clear menu of remedies, from mask wearing to testing and tracing. If these seem difficult to you, just remember that giving up will be far more difficult for all of us. Paid Post All your teams’ apps and files now speak[Dropbox](. That’s right, no more arguing about which app is best. You and your team can now work across all of your favorite apps, all from one central[workspace](. The flexibility that works best for your team, works in[Dropbox](. [Start a free 30 day trial today](. Dropbox A Nice Economy, If You Can Keep It One big reason we keep not getting desperately needed economic stimulus is that so many economic numbers keep not being all that bad. One particularly strong spot throughout the pandemic has been the housing market. Sales, prices and homebuilder confidence have been raising, cough, the roof. Please, try the veal. But as with so much about the economy, these numbers have a shaky [loosens tie, looks around sweatily] foundation, warns Michael R. Strain. Tight supply, pent-up demand from the spring and criminally low mortgage rates are driving sales now. But without an extension of the Cares Act’s foreclosure forbearance, [we will see a wave of foreclosures in the spring](. I don’t have a dumb joke for that one. Further Economic Reading: - Manufacturers that have done well in the pandemic [now face questions of sustainability](. — Brooke Sutherland - [Trump’s economy was better than Obama’s]( because he kept pushing for more growth, defying conventional wisdom. — Karl Smith China Would Like Its Own Big Tech Problem, Please One of the few areas of political agreement in the U.S. and Europe is that Big Tech is unfair at best and destructive at worst. Regulatory crackdowns have begun in both places. China would love to have such problems. Central to the Chinese Communist Party’s latest five-year plan is [a homegrown crop of tech giants](, writes Tim Culpan, adding to a stable that already includes such behemoths as Alibaba and Tencent. This is a threat to the many foreign tech companies doing business in China today, including some of that old-growth Big Tech.  Further Reading Covid, the election and technology are [turning us all into dashboard addicts](. — Ben Schott Russia’s right; we need to [extend the New START nuclear agreement](. — James Stavridis European banks face a dilemma: [Reward bankers and risk opprobrium]( or stiff them and lose talent. — Marcus Ashworth and Elisa Martinuzzi How to know if [it’s OK to give money to your parents](. — Teresa Ghilarducci ICYMI Walmart [took guns off shelves]( ahead of the election, then [changed its mind](. More [Texans have already voted]( than in the 2016 election. [Robot social media influencers]( make more money than you do. Kickers This [rare-metal asteroid]( is worth approximately $10 trillion. (h/t Mike Smedley) A famous [black-hole paradox]( is nearing its end. What [Zoom calls are like for the deaf](. Here’s a decent short list of classic [horror movies to watch]( this weekend. Here’s [a long list](. Note: Please send asteroids and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](.  Like Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more](. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022