We are bombarded daily, whether in the supermarket or on TV, with the importance of washing our hands and sanitizing them, as well as using a protective mask, as measures to prevent the spread of the famous Covid-19.
In more distant times, the Bubonic Plague, also known as Black Death, conditioned the daily lives of the inhabitants of the European continent and also gave rise to the use of black plague masks, commonly used by physicians.
It was also in Italy, more specifically in Venice, that the term “Quarantine” was coined, meaning 40 days, which was nothing more than the time that ships arriving at the port had to remain in isolation before docking. This term gave rise to the current word “Quarantine”, which reflects the need for isolation.
During the times of the Middle Ages, only the rich class had access to conditions that allowed for some level of hygiene, albeit scarce by today's standards. The hygiene of the rest of the population was practically nil. Habits like blowing your nose with your hand, however disgusted we may now feel, were common practice in those days.
It was, however, with the development of industrialization that large cities had to take public health measures. Given its high growth and population concentration, with few or no sanitation practices, combined with increasing air pollution by factories, and the drainage of sewage into rivers and other bodies of water, which were used for populations to hydrate, led to constant outbreaks of epidemics of waterborne diseases, such as cholera, for example.
These were the circumstances that dictated a paradigm shift and led governments to take public health measures in order to counteract the high mortality rates, which imposed a greater obstacle to capitalism than the socialist doctrine.
Mortality has become the “bottleneck” of economic growth. This led elites to press for action. However, it was not an easy task since scientific knowledge at the microbiological level is small.
Governments began to take public health measures, starting with cleaning up cities: waste removal, cleaning the streets, providing clean water and sewer connections. It was a slow process, but it paid off with the obvious result: the mortality rates decreased enormously.
Consequently, the focus shifted. Public hygiene and the heavy mortality of cities are no longer the bottleneck of economic growth.
Then, in industrial economies, the demand for skilled workers increased. Families began to invest in education. The growing technological progress and the increase in schooling have led to an increase in income.
Thus, economic development provided the evolution of knowledge in the bacteriological world and by the end of the XNUMXth century the majority of microorganisms responsible for a large part of infectious diseases had been identified.
Now, once again, hygiene means economic progress and rich countries are said to be the most hygienic and therefore safest to travel.
Our XNUMXst century Algarve is being battered by one of the biggest health crises that the continent can remember. This sanitary condition introduces a fearsome variable: the fear of contagion. What put the regional economy in a severe recession, were it not for its heavy dependence on tourism, which in turn depends on the movement of people.
This dependence, cemented by 1,2 billion euros of income in 2019, led Turismo de Portugal to rethink a way of transmitting confidence to the markets and, at the same time, reflect a rigorous application of a hygiene and safety protocol in the companies in the region (and the country).
Again, in modern times, economic growth has been held back by a public health crisis. Necessity activated the ingenuity and the imperative of the existence of a hygiene and safety protocol was outlined, which must be adapted to the reality of each company, in order to guarantee a clean and healthy environment.
Companies that comply with the requirements of the hygiene protocol are awarded a “Clean & Safe” guarantee seal. In fact, this set of measures is just a way to overcome the bottleneck caused by the health crisis and create conditions for economic progress in the region.
It is true that the high dependence on tourism is harmful and that it is imperative to diversify. However, in the short term it is not possible to fulfill this desire. It is necessary to create measures that start the engines of our economy so that economic growth can take place. In the future, this growth is expected to translate into development, and a diversified economy to flourish.
Author Luís da Ponte has a degree in Business Management and a postgraduate degree in Corporate Finance from the University of Algarve. He also has a degree in Public Administration from the University of Minho.
He was vice-president of the Financial Department of AIESEC at FE UAlg and also vice-president of the Center for Studies in Public Administration at the University of Minho.
He is an effective member of the Ordem dos Economistas and, professionally, he is a managing partner of TSE Industrial Lda and owner of the VDP Seguros agency.
Note: article published under the protocol between the Sul Informação and the Algarve Delegation of the Order of Economists
Comments