I live in the middle of tornado alley. If you don’t know what tornado alley is, it’s an area where tornados occur each year in large numbers. We are entering tornado season. The people where I live are reacting to COVID-19 the same way in which they react to tornados. Some people are on the roof of their house defying nature, trying to take pictures, and saying it won’t hit my house. Other people have a fully stocked bunker dug out somewhere on their property. Most of us have a basement or a cellar, a couple of working flashlights at hand, and go take cover when told to do so. Every year, there are people who die needlessly during tornado season. Every year, there are people who needlessly panic and make bad decisions out of fear. To me, life is about finding available facts, trying to make an informed decision and finding a livable balance in life. Not everyone’s livable balance is the same.
I have a facebook page right now full of angry people sharing posts with everything from hand written signs with bogus covid-19 facts placed in the front of retail stores, angry people because the NBA has chosen to ban everyone but players and immediate family at games, the covid-19 virus is just a cold, to we are all going to die. Most of these people are either in head-in-the-sand butt-in-the-air denial or all out panic. They’re all angry and assuming our media is creating panic in order to keep Trump from being reelected and to get ratings. I agree the media is using this virus for political game playing. That needs to end. It’s obvious and it’s going to cost lives. It’s irresponsible. No one believes the US media or the US government. That’s where we are right now in the US. Let me repeat, it’s going to cost lives. Your political game playing needs to stop. Right now.
China doesn’t quarantine a large portion of it’s own country and wreck it’s own economy in order to make Trump lose an election. Italy doesn’t quarantine it’s entire country just to make Trump lose an election.
Everyone is focused on the mortality rate of COVID-19. WE DO NOT KNOW THE MORTALITY RATE OF COVID-19. The mortality rate comes after the virus has ended. It’s the total number of people who caught the virus versus the total number who died. Stop posting ridiculous posts about the mortality rate being lower than the flu. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. The numbers we do have show that anywhere from 15-20 percent of known infections need hospitalization. Notice how I said known infections. It may turn out to be lower. We may never know how many people have been infected with this new virus. The bottom line is that we DO KNOW the mortality rate for elderly people and people with underlying health issues is high. We DO KNOW that we do not have the hospital space for a full blown outbreak in the US. I don’t even know what to say to people who are unconcerned because it’s only the elderly and people with underlying health risks who are dying. There are perfectly healthy younger people being hospitalized and dying too. The fact is, when beds are short, the hospital will treat the younger patient first. It’s an awful choice that health workers are forced to make. So yes, the old and infirm will always have higher numbers during a health crises even when they could be lower. I do find the general attitude of not caring about these people completely despicable. If that is your value set or lack thereof, you are teaching your children the same values. Good luck to you when you get old or sick. I sincerely hope for your sake that you do not have friends or relatives needing chemotherapy, dialysis, or any other number of life saving procedures if you live in an area suffering an outbreak of COVID-19.
Consider the current situation as a tornado watch. We know it’s tornado season. We know there are storms in the area. We know there can be an outbreak at anytime. Keep a watchful eye. Don’t panic and be stupid. Wash your hands. Don’t go to work or school if you’re sick and spread your illness. Maybe you really should buy enough toilet paper and supplies to last you through a quarantine in your home if someone does get COVID-19. You really don’t need a bunker full. If you have a tornado warning in your area, that means there are tornados on the ground. Well, you step up your game if there’s tornados on the ground. Life doesn’t stop. Look where the outbreak is and avoid the tornado. Don’t go drive into it to take pictures. Don’t take the cruise ship vacation. Don’t panic and act like a fool, it only gets people killed. The only true difference here is that your own actions do affect others. You can choose to sit on the roof of your house and film a video of a tornado coming at you and killing you. Your behavior didn’t cause your elderly neighbor to die. Your behavior during a COVID-19 outbreak might cause your elderly neighbor to die. It might cause your local hospital to be full and prevent someone from needing lifesaving care such as chemotherapy, a stroke, a heart attack, dialysis, radiation, or a car wreck from receiving the help that they need. You might be the person who has the car wreck. Denial, defiance, and panic do not prevent the spread of a virus. It isn’t unreasonable or difficult to do basic things like washing your hands, not coughing on other people, staying home when you’re sick, and following public health recommendations. If large public events in your area are temporarily banned, you will live. It’s an inconvenience. It will have a financial impact. We all hate it. It’s not going to put you in an emergency room because you can’t go to an NBA game. Ok, some of my friends might have a stroke with the way they’re reacting. They may end up in an ER. Please step out of your own little world long enough to realize if the virus is spread at a large event to a large number of people at the same time, the impact at hospitals would be enormous. The mortality rate is irrelevant when compared to the number needing extended hospitalization and ICU treatment. For some people, yes, the COVID-19 virus will be nothing more than a bad cold or the flu. Well, as long as they don’t need to go to the ER or hospital for anything, because those are going to be full in the event of an all out epidemic in the US.
UDATE:
I posted this early this morning and then read the NBA has suspended its season indefinitely. My NBA friends are absolutely going to meltdown today.
Middle of the Muddy Road 