Coronavirus

[Butter9]

1 hour ago, funkydita said:

I have one week left of my holiday, I ended up buying a handful of the proper face masks and hand sanitiser on your advice, tbh I’m now likely saving these for my return to London and the daily tube commute where it seems like they’ll be most useful.

Glad to be of some help to you. I used to live in London and my advice would be wash your hands as soon as you come out of the tube and to not share dishes ( use serving spoon/ fork or better yet do not share dishes at all ) or beverages . I'm actually surprised they ( UK ) have not banned sporting events like football yet . Good luck and stay safe .

[Bitch I'm Christian]

I saw my 69 year old Mum on Sunday and we went for a five kilometre walk along the seafront, laughing and chatting, before she went home and mowed the lawn. 

I spoke to her today and she sounded awful. Became sick very suddenly this week with a bad cough, chills at night and other flu like symptoms. There have been confirmed virus cases in her north Brisbane neighborhood, so I insisted she tell her doctor today, whom she made an appointment with.

The doctor has since given her a puffer (she's not an asthmatic) and general antibiotics, did some x-rays and sent her on her merry way. Thinks it might be COPD related because Mum had pneumonia after the flu last year and smoked 25 years ago.

The fact that the Doctor didn't even test for or consider this virus because she hasn't travelled in from overseas recently goes to show just how badly this virus is going to be handled in Australia, the UK and the USA, in my opinion. 

These countries are still treating it like it's something being flown in on isolated cases, when it's likely already spreading in our communities. So unbelievably behind the eight ball.

[XXL]

2 hours ago, Bitch I'm Christian said:

I saw my 69 year old Mum on Sunday and we went for a five kilometre walk along the seafront, laughing and chatting, before she went home and mowed the lawn. 

I spoke to her today and she sounded awful. Became sick very suddenly this week with a bad cough, chills at night and other flu like symptoms. There have been confirmed virus cases in her north Brisbane neighborhood, so I insisted she tell her doctor today, whom she made an appointment with.

The doctor has since given her a puffer (she's not an asthmatic) and general antibiotics, did some x-rays and sent her on her merry way. Thinks it might be COPD related because Mum had pneumonia after the flu last year and smoked 25 years ago.

The fact that the Doctor didn't even test for or consider this virus because she hasn't travelled in from overseas recently goes to show just how badly this virus is going to be handled in Australia, the UK and the USA, in my opinion. 

These countries are still treating it like it's something being flown in on isolated cases, when it's likely already spreading in our communities. So unbelievably behind the eight ball.

 

I'm so sorry to read this

Wishing the best for your mum

The carelessness of some doctors is astounding

 

I agree that Anglophone countries are not dealing with this calamity the proper way, yet they almost make fun of the efforts some European countries have undertaken. Italy the primary example of that. Plus demonising China of course calling it the Wuhan virus rather than Corona virus, among other examples

The UK Chief Medical Officer advisor to Boris Johnson saying these measures are too strict, they will scare the population, "let's wait for infection peak phase" and then start having people to stay at home, when there already is a daily exponential rise in numbers all over Europe NOW, not some time down the line 

 

 

 

 

[XXL]

China bought the West Time. The West Squandered It.

Why did so many countries watch the epidemic unfold for weeks as though it was none of their concern?

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/opinion/china-response-china.html

 

I live in China, where a dramatic lockdown since late January has made it clear that all residents, even those well beyond the epicenter’s outbreak in Wuhan, were in the middle of a global health crisis. The boarding process in Beijing was the final reminder: two mandatory temperature checks and an electronic health statement for which I had to provide an email address and two contact phone numbers.

 

 

 

But as the plane approached London, a sense of unreality set in. The airline distributed a cheaply printed sheet that only advised us to call the usual National Health Service hotline if we felt ill. On arrival, there was no temperature check and no health statement — meaning that British officials would have had no easy way to track us if one of us came down with Covid-19. Instead, we just walked off the plane, took off our face masks and disappeared into the city.

In the days since then, Europe and the United States have been convulsed by the coronavirus’s rapid spread in those regions. Italy is now under lockdown, and cases are rapidly multiplying across the United States. The stock markets have tanked. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization formally announced what everyone already knew: This is a pandemic. Perhaps by the time you read this, airport health checks and declarations finally will be mandatory in places like London.

But that won’t change the fact that for weeks now, the attitude toward the coronavirus outbreak in the United States and much of Europe has been bizarrely reactive, if not outright passive — or that the governments in those regions have let pass their best chance to contain the virus’s spread.

Having seen a kind of initial denial play out already in China, I feel a sense of déjà vu. But while China had to contend with a nasty, sudden surprise, governments in the West have been on notice for weeks.

It’s as if China’s experience hadn’t given Western countries a warning of the perils of inaction. Instead, many governments seem to have imitated some of the worst measures China put in place, while often turning a blind eye to the best of them, or its successes.

Outsiders seem to want to view China’s experiences as uniquely its own. I imagine there are many reasons for this, including the comforting idea that China is far away and an epidemic over there surely couldn’t really spread so far and so fast over here. More than anything, though, I think that outsiders, especially in the West, fixate on China’s authoritarian political system, and that makes them discount the possible value and relevance of its decisions to them.

Until recently, one dominant story line was that the epidemic in China spiraled out of control because the authorities cracked down on early whistle-blowers in late December, allowing the virus to spread. When China put in place a draconian lockdown and quarantine measures in January, some mainstream foreign reports didn’t just criticize the program as excessive; they described the entire exercise as flat-out backward or essentially pointless. China did get props for building two hospitals in just over a week, but even the awe over that feat was tinged with a sense that something nefarious was at work — in a Hitler-built-the-autobahn kind of way. And when quarantine shelters were set up to host infected people so that they wouldn’t spread the disease to family members at home, the effort was portrayed as dystopian or, at best, chaotic.

Arguing against these interpretations makes me a bit queasy. I realize that Chinese officials covered up the problem in late December and early January — a disastrous series of decisions. And I know that now China’s leaders want to sell their heavy-handed methods as exemplary. President Xi Jinping made his first visit to Wuhan on Tuesday, an implicit marker of success.

Even as the virus was killing dozens of people a day there, government propaganda was touting the China model while ridiculing efforts by the United States to combat natural disasters. Now that other parts of the world are suffering, China is making well-publicized efforts to offer help, sending teams to Iran and Italy to deliver supplies and offer advice. And it has imposed travel bans from some destinations hit by infections — a measure the government decried as excessive when China suffered it.

Yet it would be foolish to believe that China’s decisions have been mainly based on crude authoritarianism. One needn’t defend every one of its measures on medical grounds; those are matters that health care professionals might debate for years to come.

But it’s worth acknowledging that not all of China’s failings are unique to its political system, and that some of its policies were motivated by serious concern for the public good and executed by a highly competent civil service.

For example, before condemning the decision of Chinese officials in early January to dismiss the threat of a looming epidemic, remember that at that time the coronavirus was not reported to have caused any deaths.

Contrast this with, say, the United States today: Despite having had a free flow of information for weeks and witnessed thousands of deaths in China as evidence, parts of America’s political establishment — including at the White House — have pushed a disinformation campaign to downplay the risk.

And if you think it’s too easy to criticize President Trump, remember my airport experience in London. Or consider Germany’s decision earlier this week to hold a mass sporting event in the middle of its outbreak zone. Or Japan’s decision to let people walk off an infected cruise ship without proper testing. Some of these countries are now backpedaling, trying to explain away their blasé attitudes, but that’s weeks late.

China’s leaders did fumble at the very start, yet in short order they acted far more decisively than many democratically elected leaders have to date. Authoritarian or not, they also want the public’s approval. Chinese leaders may not face voters, but they, too, care about legitimacy, and that hinges on performance for them as well.

Aspects of China’s quarantine — especially when they prevented the elderly and disabled from receiving medical care — were unnecessarily crude. But overall, I don’t think the measures were unpopular. The government worked hard to get people to buy into the necessity of tough measures. It bombarded the public with social media posts, stories, billboards, radio shows and articles about the risks posed by the virus. In one park in Beijing, a recording on a loop admonished people to: “Wash your hands thoroughly. Avoid meeting up friends. Keep a safe distance.”

In my experience living in China for weeks during the peak period of the lockdown and talking to various groups beyond the disgruntled elites, people were frustrated, even exasperated, by the containment measures — but they largely supported them, too.

And while some in the West fixated on how China’s system failed to stem the outbreak at first, they were ignoring the aspects of it that worked.

There’s nothing authoritarian about checking temperatures at airports, enforcing social distancing or offering free medical care to anyone with Covid-19.

Not all open societies have fumbled. Singapore, Taiwan and perhaps soon enough South Korea, have moved forcefully but sensibly to contain the virus, showing the sort of savvy that seems to be missing in large swaths of the West. Maybe it’s because these countries are close enough to the center of the outbreak that their governments could recognize its seriousness, while also being wary of China’s sledgehammer measures.

But too many countries further afield have stood by, watching for weeks what was unfolding in China, and then elsewhere in Asia, as though it was none of their concern. Some governments have dithered for lack of political will. Some seem to fall prey, still, to a perception of China as the eternal “other,” whose experience couldn’t possibly be relevant to us, much less provide any lessons — other than in what not to do.

 

Ian Johnson (@iandenisjohnson) is the author most recently of “The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao.” 

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

Ian Johnson, a Beijing-based writer, has lived in China for more than 20 years and won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his coverage of the country. @iandenisjohnson • Facebook

 

 

 

 

[Bitch I'm Christian]

13 minutes ago, XXL said:

 

I'm so sorry to read this

Wishing the best for your mum

The carelessness of some doctors is astounding.

Thank you!

She does not need hospitalization and it may be regular flu anyway, but just felt alarmed and helpless.

I agree with the rest of your comment and am very nervous for the coming weeks in Australia and around the world.

[XXL]

31 minutes ago, Bitch I'm Christian said:

Thank you!

She does not need hospitalization and it may be regular flu anyway, but just felt alarmed and helpless.

I agree with the rest of your comment and am very nervous for the coming weeks in Australia and around the world.

 

Well of course you would be concerned and alarmed, given that COVID symptoms are the same as those of a regular flu! You did great and it was the right thing to do.

Again, wishing the best for you, your mum and anyone closely affected by this unprecedented nightmare

[VogueMusic]

Trying not to panic, but I'm not the most optimistic person so it's certainly a struggle right now. Having a parent who is immunocompromised, I'm scared shitless. Also going through a little health issue of my own... so that doesn't make me feel any better right now either. 

And yet, most people are still kind of going about as normal. People still out and about like nothing is all that different. Only store shelves that were empty were hand soap at Target, and 1 section at Costco. But plenty of other stores have stock on their shelves right now. Nothing quite like those Whole Food pics above thank god. Only thing you can't really find is masks and hand sanitizer. Playing it safe and got enough supplies of basics and necessities to last a good while though.

As for shutting things down, probably should have been done weeks ago. But as an introvert anyway, staying my ass at home is fine by me.

[VogueMusic]

Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo Disney resorts remain closed indefinitely. All Disney resorts around the world are now officially closed (starting Sunday).

 

Universal's Asian parks also continue to remain closed.

 

[VogueMusic]

 

 

[Bill]

I’m already annoyed by the phrase “abundance of caution”.    

 

[San]

2 hours ago, Bitch I'm Christian said:

Thank you!

She does not need hospitalization and it may be regular flu anyway, but just felt alarmed and helpless.

I agree with the rest of your comment and am very nervous for the coming weeks in Australia and around the world.

Not to sound alarmist, but I would insist on a test. Your mum's situation seems high risk to me and I wouldn't leave it to chance. The recent illness won't help whether it regular flu or not. I hope she recovers soon!

I'm in shock watching the ambivalence of our leaders here. And it's very telling when there is a huge evangelical conference here this weekend, and we should only trigger the cancellation of large public events come Monday. Completely irresponsible. I'm glad that organisations are making their own decisions rather than waiting for our compromised leaders to start putting people before cash.

It's the same old story though isn't it. Don't take action because it's too expensive...better wait for global chaos and collapse and suffer the human AND massive financial ramifications then.  Climate change is case in point. I'm so tired of the greed of people in power; and the majority of people just watching it happen and not giving a damn.

[Creepy Insane Person]

14 minutes ago, San said:

Not to sound alarmist, but I would insist on a test. Your mum's situation seems high risk to me and I wouldn't leave it to chance. The recent illness won't help whether it regular flu or not. I hope she recovers soon!

I'm in shock watching the ambivalence of our leaders here. And it's very telling when there is a huge evangelical conference here this weekend, and we should only trigger the cancellation of large public events come Monday. Completely irresponsible. I'm glad that organisations are making their own decisions rather than waiting for our compromised leaders to start putting people before cash.

It's the same old story though isn't it. Don't take action because it's too expensive...better wait for global chaos and collapse and suffer the human AND massive financial ramifications then.  Climate change is case in point. I'm so tired of the greed of people in power; and the majority of people just watching it happen and not giving a damn.

Even if she was diagnosed, doctors wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway as there’s no treatment or vaccine (as of yet). 

[San]

20 minutes ago, Jitterbug said:

Even if she was diagnosed, doctors wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway as there’s no treatment or vaccine (as of yet). 

I'm sure you didn't mean for that to sound the way it reads. Of course there isn't a cure, but affected people who are at risk can be supported by various treatments, especially when pneumonia develops. And doctors have been trialling various antiviral drugs with some effect.

I believe all people who test positive in QLD are admitted to hospital. Our douche bag home affairs minister just tested positive in QLD and was admitted...and he is apparently well. Same with Tom Hanks.

[runa]

If you had any doubt about the madness of this man, I hope you're convince now:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/politics/fact-check-trump-administration-coronavirus-28-dishonest/index.html

This guy is way more dangerous than the virus itself, if you ask me. 

[Creepy Insane Person]

10 minutes ago, San said:

I'm sure you didn't mean for that to sound the way it reads. Of course there isn't a cure, but affected people who are at risk can be supported by various treatments, especially when pneumonia develops. And doctors have been trialling various antiviral drugs with some effect.

I believe all people who test positive in QLD are admitted to hospital. Our douche bag home affairs minister just tested positive in QLD and was admitted...and he is apparently well. Same with Tom Hanks.

Oh i rushed my post, apologies, i meant that there isn’t a vaccine or treatment yet to be able to treat (which you pointed out already). 

But i didn’t know that doctors have been trialling various antiviral with some effect. Only thing i thought was possible were breathing oxygen machines. I guess we are a step closer to the medicines than we were a month ago. Some progress has been made. 

 

It’s a bit relief Australia has one of the lowest cases globally at the moment. Only around 170 nation wide. 

[Creepy Insane Person]

2 minutes ago, runa said:

If you had any doubt about the madness of this man, I hope you're convince now:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/politics/fact-check-trump-administration-coronavirus-28-dishonest/index.html

This guy is way more dangerous than the virus itself, if you ask me. 

I’m sure your opinions will change one day if you get it. Even if it wasn’t for death, nobody wants to have reduced oxygen capacity in their lungs

[Creepy Insane Person]

And i support decisions to ban large gatherings such as shows, sports, concerts etc. should have done this long ago to reduce the spread. Sadly, people in Aus are still upset about the ban and the money spent.

I refuse to get on planes and travel anywhere, even in my home soil of Australia. I barely leave the house either. 

[San]

7 minutes ago, Jitterbug said:

Oh i rushed my post, apologies, i meant that there isn’t a vaccine or treatment yet to be able to treat (which you pointed out already). 

But i didn’t know that doctors have been trialling various antiviral with some effect. Only thing i thought was possible were breathing oxygen machines. I guess we are a step closer to the medicines than we were a month ago. Some progress has been made. 

 

It’s a bit relief Australia has one of the lowest cases globally at the moment. Only around 170 nation wide. 

I really wonder if numbers will suddenly skyrocket. Today was the first time i got a little nervous. I work for a government agency and we are planning for a possible shut down. All domestic and international travel is cancelled. And then I started to feel like I may be getting a cold. Hopefully not!

[XXL]

31 minutes ago, San said:

I'm sure you didn't mean for that to sound the way it reads. Of course there isn't a cure, but affected people who are at risk can be supported by various treatments, especially when pneumonia develops. And doctors have been trialling various antiviral drugs with some effect

 

 

[Creepy Insane Person]

12 minutes ago, San said:

I really wonder if numbers will suddenly skyrocket. Today was the first time i got a little nervous. I work for a government agency and we are planning for a possible shut down. All domestic and international travel is cancelled. And then I started to feel like I may be getting a cold. Hopefully not!

I sure hope it doesn’t sky rocket, if the govt keeps it under control through banning large crowds, and air travel. By then, i sure hope some medication treatment or vaccine will be available by the time number of cases increase.

 

I feel the same about the cold. 

 

I think its a good idea to cancel the flights to be honest, even though i may possibly get a job offer in Sydney which i prob won’t be able to take. 

[Creepy Insane Person]

I just want this year to end.

 

I’m sooo scared, i don’t want to catch this virus   

[rebelvvv]

25 minutes ago, San said:

I really wonder if numbers will suddenly skyrocket. Today was the first time i got a little nervous. I work for a government agency and we are planning for a possible shut down. All domestic and international travel is cancelled. And then I started to feel like I may be getting a cold. Hopefully not!

Italy only had 159 cases 2 weeks ago.  They are at 15k+ today, and they only have capacity to test those with symptoms and in the hospital.  That's how exponential growth works, so everyone should be doing their best to not get to the point where the healthcare system is overwhelmed.  If there are no hospital beds, you won't have to worry about the virus.  People with cancer, HIV, or any number of other diseases and serious conditions won't get taken care of either, which will contribute to the overall death rates.

For all those saying it's an overrreaction, blah, blah, now is the last chance to act before things get really crazy.

In Italy, you can be charged with homicide now if you are caught to be violating quarantine, because that's literally what you are doing.  Killing the healthcare system and those who are less fortunate.

I know the daily fail sucks, but this has a lot of the real unfiltered truth:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8106017/Italian-coronavirus-death-toll-leaps-23-day-1-016-total-number-cases-passes-15-000.html

As I saw posted elsewhere:

"A 6.7% death rate in a western country with a modern healthcare system is not good.  An additional 7.6% of cases in intensive care.

That’s 14% of cases either dead or critically ill and there are only 15,000 confirmed cases so far. No healthcare system is going to cope with nationwide infection rates of 80% being thrown around."

The NY governor has asked any capable retired doctors and nurses consider coming back to the workforce with expedited re-certification since they can see the writing on the wall.   Of course, those are the old people, so it's unlikely that there will be many takers.  He's also said that it's not been ruled out to ask medical school students to help with basic treatment.  Did you ever hear of anything like this happening for JUST THE FLU or SARS or swine flu?  People need to wake up and use their eyes.

People can laugh now but if we do nothing, every country is going to be worse off than Italy, which is a best case for the western world at this moment, in just a week or two.  Milan is the RICH people area of Italy!

[rebelvvv]

1 hour ago, San said:

It's the same old story though isn't it. Don't take action because it's too expensive...better wait for global chaos and collapse and suffer the human AND massive financial ramifications then.  Climate change is case in point. I'm so tired of the greed of people in power; and the majority of people just watching it happen and not giving a damn.

It's not only a problem of the people in power though.  Shutting things down is going to put lot of people temporarily or permanently out of work, at which point they can't afford rent, food, etc. themselves and causes more pain and death.  Even with subsidies, government loans, etc. that is only going to help so much if businesses have no customers and therefore no income.  There has to be a balance between caring about the economy and the healthcare system collapsing and more death.  The economy DOES matter because the western world ISN'T China, where the government owns practically everything anyway.

A lot of low income college students won't be able to go back to college without a lot of hardship and help after this sudden upheaval of cancelling everything and forcing everyone to go home for the rest of the semester.  This wasn't something the schools did lightly either, and it's never been done before!

The businesses that could see early on that doing nothing was going to be worse than voluntarily starting to shut things down and do their part early were the ones who did.  Big tech, some big pharma, people who can do math with a tech, finance, or science/math background.  It's their responsibility to offer work from home and options where possible even if the government doesn't require it!

Cruise ships though.... even though Princess was basically forced to suspend its operations due to massive bad PR and Viking taking the lead on pre-emptive closure with the offer of either 100% refunds or 125% vouchers for future voyages... its Carnival line STILL loaded thousands of passengers on the Carnival Dream yesterday.  The customers are part of the problem.

[Creepy Insane Person]

22 minutes ago, rebelvvv said:

Italy only had 159 cases 2 weeks ago.  They are at 15k+ today, and they only have capacity to test those with symptoms and in the hospital.  That's how exponential growth works, so everyone should be doing their best to not get to the point where the healthcare system is overwhelmed.  If there are no hospital beds, you won't have to worry about the virus.  People with cancer, HIV, or any number of other diseases and serious conditions won't get taken care of either, which will contribute to the overall death rates.

For all those saying it's an overrreaction, blah, blah, now is the last chance to act before things get really crazy.

In Italy, you can be charged with homicide now if you are caught to be violating quarantine, because that's literally what you are doing.  Killing the healthcare system and those who are less fortunate.

I know the daily fail sucks, but this has a lot of the real unfiltered truth:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8106017/Italian-coronavirus-death-toll-leaps-23-day-1-016-total-number-cases-passes-15-000.html

As I saw posted elsewhere:

"A 6.7% death rate in a western country with a modern healthcare system is not good.  An additional 7.6% of cases in intensive care.

That’s 14% of cases either dead or critically ill and there are only 15,000 confirmed cases so far. No healthcare system is going to cope with nationwide infection rates of 80% being thrown around."

The NY governor has asked any capable retired doctors and nurses consider coming back to the workforce with expedited re-certification since they can see the writing on the wall.   Of course, those are the old people, so it's unlikely that there will be many takers.  He's also said that it's not been ruled out to ask medical school students to help with basic treatment.  Did you ever hear of anything like this happening for JUST THE FLU or SARS or swine flu?  People need to wake up and use their eyes.

People can laugh now but if we do nothing, every country is going to be worse off than Italy, which is a best case for the western world at this moment, in just a week or two.  Milan is the RICH people area of Italy!

I know but Italy has over 60 million people in such a small country whereas Aus is massive and only really has approx 23 million. Plus Italy is connected to Europe so lots of people from other European countries, plus Italy gets a lot more tourists than Australia does anyway, would have all contributed to that sudden spike. 

[Butter9]

6 hours ago, whyme? said:

Why is everyone hoarding face masks when you can just put a scarf around your face?

Because your scarf doesn't and can't prevent droplets containing the virus to enter your body through your nose or your mouth .

If it was up to me I would be wearing Goggles too !

Surgical masks or preventative masks at least have a big chance of protecting you . Not 100 % but between 50-90 % depending on the type of masks you use .

If you use your scarf your will be carrying the virus in your scarf with you at all time and probably spread it to others .

[Creepy Insane Person]

1 minute ago, Butter9 said:

Because your scarf doesn't and can't prevent droplets containing the virus to enter your body through your nose or your mouth .

If it was up to me I would be wearing Goggles too !

Surgical masks or preventative masks at least have a big chance of protecting you . Not 100 % but between 50-90 % depending on the type of masks you use .

If you use your scarf your will be carrying the virus in your scarf with you at all time and probably spread it to others .

I think those cheap paper surgical masks will offer no protection.

 

i think thats a good idea, i may start wearing a mask everywhere i go

[Butter9]

15 minutes ago, Jitterbug said:

I think those cheap paper surgical masks will offer no protection.

 

i think thats a good idea, i may start wearing a mask everywhere i go

They are not made from just paper . They are layered with liquid / fluid proof material s. Doctors use them in operation rooms . 

There are different kind off mask and your can ask whoever you are buying the masks from ( online they are usually stated ) what level 

of protection you will be getting from the mask . Most surgical Masks are disposable after a single use to prevent contamination but

due to mask shortage people have been using washable fabric masks. Less protection but better than nothing. The most important thing is 

to keep it clean. Wash your hands as soon as you take off the mask and do not try to touch your face /pick your nose etc .

In the east ( Asia ) we are used to wearing and seeing people wearing masks when they are sick or when the air quality is really bad . 

 

[rebelvvv]

1 hour ago, Jitterbug said:

I know but Italy has over 60 million people in such a small country whereas Aus is massive and only really has approx 23 million. Plus Italy is connected to Europe so lots of people from other European countries, plus Italy gets a lot more tourists than Australia does anyway, would have all contributed to that sudden spike. 

This is likely too long and boring for many, but it has excellent step by step explanations if you're willing to read to the end:

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca

[rebelvvv]

And to the "it's just the flu" people or "whatever, I'm young and will be fine and am going to just live my life because it won't affect me at all", let's spare a thought for the poor, young healthcare professionals who will be forced to deal with this:

https://www.nytimes.com./interactive/2020/03/13/world/asia/coronavirus-death-life.html

And again, China diverted huge medical and economic resources to treat the 1% of its population in Wuhan.  The rest of the world largely cannot do that, especially if it becomes widespread and there are large clusters everywhere.

[Kelmadfan]

5 hours ago, VogueMusic said:

Trying not to panic, but I'm not the most optimistic person so it's certainly a struggle right now. Having a parent who is immunocompromised, I'm scared shitless. Also going through a little health issue of my own... so that doesn't make me feel any better right now either. 

And yet, most people are still kind of going about as normal. People still out and about like nothing is all that different. Only store shelves that were empty were hand soap at Target, and 1 section at Costco. But plenty of other stores have stock on their shelves right now. Nothing quite like those Whole Food pics above thank god. Only thing you can't really find is masks and hand sanitizer. Playing it safe and got enough supplies of basics and necessities to last a good while though.

As for shutting things down, probably should have been done weeks ago. But as an introvert anyway, staying my ass at home is fine by me.

Your description sounds almost like a carbon copy of what I’ve been dealing with. It’s like an impending nightmare coming to all of us. I pray we make it through and all these dire predictions are wrong.