# How concerned are you about this Coronavirus? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 29, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164 "2020-01-29T15:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/442 "2020-03-04T23:09:38Z")
The housemates have been commenting all week on how empty the Washington DC Metro has been. By “empty” I mean, they are always getting a seat, not that it’s deserted or anything. Quite a few news reports have failed to specify Washington _State_ when discussing the COVID-19 deaths there. In fact we’ve been lucky so far. Just one false alarm at GMU. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/443 "2020-03-05T02:07:24Z")
The uncertainty is the worst part right now. I work for a university and so far they have travel bans in place for several countries and there may be more coming. Students who had planned semesters abroad in those countries have had to come home/not go there and make other plans to get credit for the semester. Conferences are being cancelled left and right - some will be held online instead. Some of my department’s students are supposed to go to the UK in May and that’s all up the air from both ends - most of our students work for healthcare-related organizations and some of those orgs are banning international travel altogether, so that trip may end up being cancelled either because the U does it or because there will be too many students whose workplaces forbid it. I’m supposed to be out of town myself one week and may end up having to work because one of the programs I do support for could end up meeting online instead of out of town as originally planned. My husband has a trip planned for his students next month and that’s all up in the air too - some of the parents (his students are middle schoolers) are losing their minds about this. Some people are going to be out a lot of money - in many cases non-refundable tickets and reservations were made. Some folks got travel insurance, but I wonder if some of those folks won’t get their money back either - I guess it depends on the fine print in their contracts. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/444 "2020-03-05T02:56:58Z")
> [@sedger](#): > > I don’t fully understand why there is so much fear regarding the coronavirus, the flu kills about 50,000 people every year so shouldn’t that get more attention…? Because it’s something that’s new to us, and there are a lot of unknowns so far. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/445 "2020-03-05T03:18:56Z")
My sister, a travel junkie, is emailing me deal offers about cruise voyages sailing to the Bahamas for 60% or more off (due to virus panic). I am tempted to go on the cheap, having never cruised before, but if just one passenger falls ill the ship might be quarantined for weeks. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/446 "2020-03-05T03:27:48Z")
I live about 2 miles from the elderly care facility epicenter. Costco was probably busier than normal today. I don’t go there on a Wed at noon typically, but seemed a bit busier. There were signs above the bottled water, toilet paper, rice asking shoppers to take no more than 4 helpings. I saw one person with a face mask and less than 10 shopping carts filled with “hording” supplies. The flour remains sold out (it was sold out on Sunday as well) and the bread aisles were almost empty (which REALLY bums me out because their is seasonal rye bread offered for a few weeks ahead of St Paddy’s day that I really like). I do admit that I bought a 50 pound sack of rice 'cause we are almost out. 50 pounds is a lot (usually we get 10 or maybe 25#), but I didn’t want to make a special trip to the Japanese grocery store and if we don’t like the Calrose I can always feed it to the chickens. Local supermarkets still have everything except for hand sanitizer. To make up for that, there are bottles of rubbing alcohol for sale right next to the check out stands. They have plenty of flour in stock so I guess the whorders (I slay myself) only are making a run on Costco The Chinese speaking tiger moms at my kids high school are up in arms asking for remote classrooms already. They are in a constipated bind as they are desperate to not let their kids go to school, but to stay home means those same kids might not get A+ in the AP classes. The school kids seem to be pretty normal, but are exhibiting a Lord of the Flies propensity to make everyone thoroughly wash their hands. King County, which encompasses the greater Seattle area, recommended working from home for those in high risk demographics. Microsoft went from piloting some groups on Monday to a full non-essential staff work from home for the entire HQ area starting tomorrow. Actually, one of the biggest fears is what to do if the schools shut down? Who’s gonna look after the kids? So work from home it is. Not sure what Amazon is doing since they had a confirmed covid case in one of their buildings yesterday. Google, Facebook both have big outposts here. Plenty of others including the Boeing HQ. That’s my view from the epicenter. (Well, sue me, I live in Bellevue, which abuts Kirkland. Fun fact, Costco’s “Kirkland” line of products name comes from the epicenter town, which is also the location of Costco store #3). ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/447 "2020-03-05T03:27:57Z")
Just did some calculating. According to the latest numbers (158 cases in the US), you have a one in 2,088,000 chance of contracting the virus. One in just over 2 million. And we practically have a panic (at least among the news broadcasters). I can’t wait to see their reaction if some astronomer discovers an earth-destroying meteor on the way. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/448 "2020-03-05T03:29:02Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > My sister, a travel junkie, is emailing me deal offers about cruise voyages sailing to the Bahamas for 60% or more off (due to virus panic). I am tempted to go on the cheap, having never cruised before, but if just one passenger falls ill the ship might be quarantined for weeks. Dude, why are you hesitating. Chance for an extended stay! ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/449 "2020-03-05T03:39:26Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > Just did some calculating. According to the latest numbers (158 cases in the US), you have a one in 2,088,000 chance of contracting the virus. One in just over 2 million. And we practically have a panic (at least among the news broadcasters). > > I can’t wait to see their reaction if some astronomer discovers an earth-destroying meteor on the way. You realize that only about 500 American have been tested, right? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/450 "2020-03-05T03:51:41Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > Just did some calculating. According to the latest numbers (158 cases in the US), you have a one in 2,088,000 chance of contracting the virus. One in just over 2 million. And we practically have a panic (at least among the news broadcasters). > > I can’t wait to see their reaction if some astronomer discovers an earth-destroying meteor on the way. I saw another version of this story yesterday. > **[NASA: Massive asteroid will pass Earth next month](https://www.silive.com/news/2020/03/nasa-massive-asteroid-will-pass-earth-next-month.html)** > > The asteroid will miss the Earth by about 3 million miles, NASA said. Not only that, but the Moon isn’t alone. This satellite is about the size of a car. > **[Scientists say Earth has two moons now](https://thenextweb.com/news/scientists-say-earth-has-two-moons-now)** > > Astronomers from the Catalina Sky Survey yesterday announced they’d found a second natural satellite orbiting the Earth. It looks like our planet and its long-standing partner Luna have decided to explore polyamory. > The newcomer is a small I had a doctor’s appointment today, and was asked if I had been outside the U.S. in the past two weeks. That’s it for me, so far. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/451 "2020-03-05T03:57:04Z")
> [@C3](#): > > I have no reason to doubt any of his statistics and he’s probably right about how governments and communities should approach this disease. Thing is, is that where it stands now, if you test positive for the disease, you are likely to be asked to self-quarantine in your home for at least 2 weeks. It’s pretty irresponsible for this writer to tell people not to prepare for that and to characterize it as “hoarding.” Until we have a clear directive from the powers-that-be, I think it’s smart to have some extra meals stocked, wash your hands frequently, and use hand sanitizer when you can’t wash. And follow the request to not buy masks. Simple N95 masks on Ebay start at 16 a mask (.99+14.99 shipping, must be Ebay is pressuring sellers not to have a high stated price) so not much temptation there. They aren’t any in stores around here, haven’t been for some time. It’s even hard to buy hand sanitizer without a huge markup. I agree it’s going overboard on ‘anti fear mongering’ to tell people not to plan for 2 weeks without going to the store if you might be told to isolate yourself for that long. Although it’s not at all likely the stores and their delivery services will shut down, you could do that too. But not unreasonable in general IMO to have significantly more than the FEMA guideline 72 hrs of basic supplies if you’ve got the space and cash (at normal prices). Anyway articles telling people not to ‘hoard’ are generally useless. People will try to buy and stockpile what they feel they need to. If it’s really a problem, and really at the end user level, the govt has to ration stuff. I don’t see a big problem with general items: the supply chain for eg. bottled water and toilet paper (there was none of either at our local Costco today in NJ, no confirmed corona cases in the state yet AFAIK) will probably catch up and/or people calm down fairly soon. For adequate masks it doesn’t matter if people calm down. CDC I believe said 3.5bil would be needed for a ‘full blown pandemic’ v govt stockpile of 42 million and some of the masks or their material comes from China: telling people not to buy masks is irrelevant. Likewise stuff like key medicines (not necessarily corona-related) that rely on disrupted global supply chains could become a problem, also not solved by lecturing consumers. Also repeats ongoing round and round (with some new info) but it’s simply not clear the death rate of this virus is way lower than low single digit %, which would represent a huge absolute number of deaths if it spreads thoroughly. People will get really worried and upset if that’s how it turns out, telling them not to will only go so far. Although it will be far from the end of the world either. Also I guess a lot of people in the US or similar countries (nearly all posters here) really probably, and naturally, want to know: ‘how likely is it _I’ll_ die from this?’. Probably really unlikely if you’re not at least fairly old, and also assuming the onset is gradual enough not to overwhelm the health system (just not enough hospital beds, staff, supplies, no country is immune from this, it’s not a matter of the ‘healthcare issue’ as in who pays the bills). But the latter isn’t gteed, and not everyone is young. Also it could be a whole different ball of wax in poor countries, even though their populations typically skew younger. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/452 "2020-03-05T04:34:29Z")
South Korea leads in testing widely with what has been described as a [“fast food”](https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/south-korea-takes-fast-food-approach-to-covid-19-testing-1.4835570) approach. They’ve tested far more of their population than anyone else, last count [2,138](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/covid-19-testing/)/1,000,000. (United States 1/1,000,000.) Japan OTOH has [very restricted testing](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-27/limited-virus-testing-in-japan-masks-true-scale-of-infection). CFR in Japan is so far about 2.8%. CFR in South Korea about 0.6%. What do you hypothesize is the most likely reason for the difference in the CFRs? Is medical care far superior in South Korea? Are South Koreans in general much healthier with less chronic disease? [sarcasm]It’s really a complete mystery![/sarcasm] Also of note - of those tested in South Korea about 4% have been positive. But many many cases are still likely not being identified and no idea of how many asymptomatically infected there are. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/453 "2020-03-05T12:43:35Z")
I glanced at the headline - which, c’mon, makes me far more informed than the average American - and concluded that fast food something something virus, thus, fries and a chocolate shake will prevent illness. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/454 "2020-03-05T13:39:35Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I glanced at the headline - which, c’mon, makes me far more informed than the average American - and concluded that fast food something something virus, thus, fries and a chocolate shake will prevent illness. You are mistaken. It is rate cuts that prevent spread of the virus. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/455 "2020-03-05T13:58:35Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > One in just over 2 million. And we practically have a panic It’s the uncertainty. This disease is new, we don’t have a real comfort level with it the way we do with the flu. It could be more virulent or more deadly, and we wouldn’t know for sure until people started dying by the thousand. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/456 "2020-03-05T14:25:04Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > You are mistaken. It is rate cuts that prevent spread of the virus. I suspect that the efficacy of rate cuts in preventing the spread of COVID-19 is minimal unless they are paired with tax cuts for the wealthy. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/457 "2020-03-05T14:28:30Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > Just did some calculating. According to the latest numbers (158 cases in the US), you have a one in 2,088,000 chance of contracting the virus. One in just over 2 million. And we practically have a panic (at least among the news broadcasters). > > I can’t wait to see their reaction if some astronomer discovers an earth-destroying meteor on the way. Wow… First of all, there are probably thousands of undiagnosed cases. Second, that’s not your “chance of contracting the virus”, it’s the likelihood that you _already_ have contracted and been diagnosed with the virus. The chance of you contracting the virus at some point is probably in the range of 20 to 60%. Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/458 "2020-03-05T22:36:38Z")
I had a trip to Singapore planned for April. Well, I just decided to postpone it until December. I’m not hugely afraid of catching the disease, but there is a definite chance that I might be quarantined and I don’t want to risk it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/459 "2020-03-05T23:20:31Z")
First Tennessee case on Wednesday. He probably came through the Nashville Airport. I work there. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/460 "2020-03-06T00:40:50Z")
Has anyone else started hearing the conspiracy theories that covid-19 is actually a US government made disease used to kill black people and people of color? One of my work coworkers was openly opining this to everyone he met. When I asked him why it started in China he said it was “Trump wanted to punish the Chinese first.” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/461 "2020-03-06T00:42:50Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Has anyone else started hearing the conspiracy theories that covid-19 is actually a US government made disease used to kill black people and people of color? One of my work coworkers was openly opining this to everyone he met. > > When I asked him why it started in China he said it was “Trump wanted to punish the Chinese first.” No, but I have heard that it’s meant to “cull” the elderly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164.md?page=24)