There was SARS starting in 2002, H1N1 in 2009 and Ebola in 2014. Though these outbreaks all landed on U.S. shores to one degree or another, the economic impact of those events and COVID-19 aren’t correlative. The preventative shutdowns now in place mean that the financial repercussions this time around are already much worse. “Once we got a handle the on H1N1, the economy did rebound pretty quickly,” said Gary Bechtel, president of Money360. “But in that case the economy was still functioning. People were still going to work, they were still shopping, they were still going out to restaurants and hotels.” Early estimates suggest that, if stay-at-home mandates are able suppress the spread of COVID-19 as health experts hope, the economy could start to show signs of recovery within six to nine months of the initial outbreak. Assuming that timeline holds, the recovery could be swift once it starts to take shape. “I think six to nine months is a reasonable best-case scenario,” said Bechtel. “And I do think it’s going to rebound relatively quickly once we’re allowed to go back to work and back to restaurants and to travel.” Click to read more at www.rejournals.com.