The big problem for our economy that I see coming from all of this is the hugely increased imbalance of the public\private sector. In any economic situation there are the haves and the have-nots...right now who isn't affected by the current situation at all? Anyone that works for the government, the unemployed, people who are in "key" roles are far less affected. Then we have the majority of the private sector that is being destroyed. The result of that is a growth in unemployment (ergo more strain on public finances) and a reduction in the taxes being paid (more strain on the public finances). So the public sector spending is ballooning while the private sector is massively shrinking, and the public sector needs the private sector to supply all of the money is uses.
Sure things are "opening up", but are they? Before COVID-1984 you ran a restaurant with ten tables and you balanced the books such that if you have X covers you at least broke even and Y would put you in the black. The government comes a long and shuts you down for months but you still have rates and taxes to pay, maybe rent. Maybe you had to fire staff. You can now open up (thank you massah) but with only four tables due to social distancing, all of which are booked out on Saturday night but two are no-shows. Now you're running a business based on 10 tables with only two. The other day I was going to get a newspaper and a bottle of pop, there was a newsagent nearby but there was a queue outside, all these signs, restrictions and I actually thought; "I just can't be bothered". Now we all have to wear masks in shops how many more are just going to not be bothered to make minor purchases?
This is a situation that can't maintain itself for very long at all. What's particularly insidious in this specific "recession" scenario is that some companies and people obviously are benefitting...again you get this in any situation; some benefit, some lose. Currently the likes of Amazon, people who do food delivery etc are all raking it in, then you have the government for who the perfect situation is a country living in fear as it lets them pass any laws they want and restrict and remove any freedoms they want. So despite this situation getting closer and closer to destroying the entire economy, there are some actors who are selfishly promoting it. "The new normal" - f*** that phrase and f*** anyone who says it. The people promoting "the new normal" are pretending to be focussing on the public good but they're not, they're really just interested in the short-term financial gain this gives their companies without a care that it is a completely untenable situation, they're just making hay while the world burns.
Beyond the financial ramifications this extended lockdown and economic collapse is also wreaking havoc with people's mental health and their physical health. People who have thrived on all the benefits of the gym and regular exercise are now sat at home on their sofas drinking £4.99 bottles of wine, getting further from laughing at Jeremy Kyle and closer to appearing on it. A lot of people are being physically and mentally broken by this and that is also going to take time to recover.
We'll know what those in power really want when\if a vaccine comes along and we see how keen the government is to distribute it, to see who gets it. Will we start to see the left-wing media start to run their smear campaigns linking it with cancer\autism\dementia, not outright telling people not to take it but planting the seed for "Facebook moms" to run with. They brought back measles so can damn well bring this back too.
The final irony in all of this is that developing countries that have no way of mass-controlling their people are simply going to get on with it, get herd immunity and live their lives exactly as before, the old normal, while us in "developed" countries just accept that living in fear is the new normal with the government's boot pushing down on us harder and harder until none of us can breathe.