The activities related to the COVID-19 virus fall into three categories:
[ol]
[li]Actions based on rational analysis of the latest data and data driven guidance from the medical community[/li]
[li]Panic based on irrational conclusions, or false information, or assumptions of apocalyptic scenarios based on concatenation of worst case fears.[/li]
[li]Theater designed to play to the population’s panic, usually perpetrated by government or commercial interests for political or financial gains.[/li][/ol]
The tricky task is to recognize which is which and stick as much as one can to category 1.
I’m trying to stick to category 1. I hope I’m succeeding.
I am operating on the assumption that at some point I will be exposed to this virus, since it simply isn’t possible to live a life of complete isolation.
I’m trying to stay as healthy and ready for this exposure as I can (diet, sleep, exercise, etc.) and doing rational things to limit the number of exposures I might have to the virus (increased handwashing, avoiding crowds, less air travel, etc.). I’m also trying to be prepared to self-quarantine if exposure to the virus requires it (plenty of canned food, some bottled water, but tap is plentiful, other supplies for a two week “isolation”), but I am not preparing for a breakdown of society, services, or months of isolation, which don’t seem, IMHO, to fit in category 1 above.