【明報專訊】THE novel coronavirus has brought to the world a challenge against disease rarely seen over the past century. The Group of Seven (G7) nations have stressed that they are determined to deal with the epidemic's impact on the global economy, and will take joint action when necessary. That the G7 nations have failed to talk about lowering interest rates and spending money to prop up the economy has inevitably disappointed investors. At a time when the risk of a global pandemic is rising day by day, the Western developed nations' first concerted effort has been spearheaded by high-ranking finance officials. This has given us an impression that the focus is more propping up stock markets than saving lives.