Rewind back 3-4 weeks, many governments were hesitant to institute lockdowns, out of concern of economic impact. Some still are.
Why can't central banks print money as exception? Calm economic concerns down, and let everyone focus decisively on dealing with virus.
While I am not an economic and behavioural expert, I am aware of counter arguments to printing money.
Yet, these are unprecedented times. The leeway is going to be time limited (say, 6 months). Assumption: any downside of limited printing money is far less damaging than global economic engine going in recession. Not to mention, putting everyone's mind at ease, can shape behaviour that can save lives.
Pay small businesses, companies that are hit hard with no WFH options and can't employ. Pay premium to folks on the front lines, critical services.
Can ones more educated on economics and behavioral psychology post their answers?
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51706225
They know whats happening well before people start noticing issues. And you can bet they have been worrying about the need for bailouts/payouts/credit lines for a while now.
If I am running a business my bank knows quite well what enters and exits my account from clients/investors, to suppliers, employees, rent payments etc. For most businesses this stuff is not drastically changing from month to month. Its more or less follows predictable patterns. So when there are sudden disruptions in those flows and major drops in transactions across the board, like an ant hill that has been stepped on there is a hell of a lot of excitement and reactions.
But just like the ant hill processes will kick in automatically to restore normal ops. Businesses will be telling banks what they need short term/long term. Banks will be telling each other and central banks what their needs are.
Things will be tallied up, including payoffs to whatever section of the population that is biologically hard coded to take advantage of crisis. This is how random numbers suddenly start circulating in congress and parliaments of the world within a few days of the crisis starting.
And then god emperors, prime minsters, presidents, and grandmothers of the world will show up and say dont worry we will cover all - now get back to work.
And like the ants we shall.
Countries that made this mistake during the Great Depression include Weimar Germany.
Here's a predictive model for central banks. Their unstated objective is ensuring that control over resources does not change hands during a crisis. In practice that means that the relative value of financial assets is roughly preserved. Check out [1] pdf page 4.