Coronavirus lockdowns have European governments searching for a 'credible exit strategy'

President Trump appears to be wavering when it comes to keeping restrictive measures in place beyond 15 days as the United States battles the novel coronavirus pandemic, and instead may be gearing up for getting people back to work to re-energize the economy. It turns out he's far from the only world leader grappling with the choice, Politico reports.

European leaders, too, are faced with the dual challenge of quelling the virus and keeping their societies afloat, and no one seems to have an answer. "It's a very difficult balancing act," said Mujtaba Rahman, Europe director at the political risk consultancy firm, EurasiaGroup. "It's not clear that any government has a credible exit strategy."

To put some of the possible economic damage into perspective, Munich-based research firm Ifo Institute published a report Monday predicting Germany could lose anywhere between 7.2 percent and 20.6 percent of its GDP over the course of a two-to-three month coronavirus disruption. But scientists continue to issue stark warnings that new cases of the virus will surge if life goes back to the way it was.

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There are a couple of scenarios, however, where it may be possible to simultaneously ease restrictions and keep the virus at bay for the most part. One, as suggested by an Imperial College London study would be to implement alternating periods of lockdown and relaxation over the course of the next two years or until a vaccine becomes widely available. The other possibility, Politico notes, is that as testing becomes more widely available, governments may find out that quite a large percentage of people already had mild or asymptomatic infections and built up defenses against COVID-19. That, of course, is only speculation, but some experts do expect antibody tests to become available sooner than later. Read more at Politico.