# 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:** 24
**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 6, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/462 "2020-03-06T01:40:23Z")
> [@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.” The first part sounds like a redux of the HIV conspiracy theories of years ago. The second part sounds like what’s going around the Chinese Internet right now that the virus didn’t really originate in China, but the US, and it’s all a plot to punish the Chinese and/or make them look bad. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/463 "2020-03-06T03:21:32Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > 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. We’re still planning on taking our April trip to Morocco, but we’re taking an extra 2 weeks of meds in case of quarantine. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/464 "2020-03-06T03:34:49Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > No, but I have heard that it’s meant to “cull” the elderly. Easy way to clear the decks of elderly and poor: close WalMarts. We’ll drop like flies. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/465 "2020-03-06T04:22:56Z")
Just got an email from the Disney Family Museum in the Presidio, San Francisco. They are closing two days in March to deep clean because of the virus. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/466 "2020-03-06T04:37:21Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > No, but I have heard that it’s meant to “cull” the elderly. Ut-oh. That might cut into Trump’s base rather significantly. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/467 "2020-03-06T06:17:35Z")
Free admission to most museums is Florence. Hotels and restaurants closing. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/468 "2020-03-06T07:44:28Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > BTW, I heard a Coronavirus joke earlier. You may joke, but there are many untrue claims being made about how COVID-19 is spreading on social media. 🙂 ---
**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, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/469 "2020-03-06T08:56:23Z")
Apparently that meme that said you’ll be charged $3,000 for your Corona-virus test was completely false. I’ve been seeing that claim hourly for the past week. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/470 "2020-03-06T15:30:52Z")
[Don’t touch your face!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA1wqjaeKj0) This is good for laughs but just emphasizes how hard it is to not touch your face. I do it ALL the time. I’d be lying if I said I was going to change. ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/471 "2020-03-06T17:22:23Z")
First case in Indiana! > **[First Case Of Coronavirus Reported In Indiana](https://www.1049waxi.com/2020/03/06/first-case-of-coronavirus-reported-in-indiana/?fbclid=IwAR0P-T0H6GbXTCPnEa57TUUg8DwYwJNbZP2uGOhwKdhOWZ-K8oCrqBVnbF0)** > > INDIANAPOLIS–Indiana has its first case of coronavirus, announced Gov. Eric Holcomb and state Department of Health authorities, Friday morning. That person is in isolation in Marion County. At a press conference, State Health Commissioner Dr.... ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/472 "2020-03-06T18:04:49Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Ut-oh. That might cut into Trump’s base rather significantly. I don’t think his operatives have any problems with the unliving vote. It’s reliable, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/473 "2020-03-06T20:19:36Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > I don’t think his operatives have any problems with the unliving vote. It’s reliable, after all. When I lived in Illinois, Dakin Williams, Tennessee Williams’ brother, was running for governor. Not seriously. In Chicago he campaigned in the graveyards. Why? “Because that’s where the votes are.” ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/474 "2020-03-06T20:51:51Z")
Refinance your mortgage! Rates are dropping because of this. ---
**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, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/475 "2020-03-06T21:44:23Z")
Another new conspiracy theory I’m seeing popping up. Any “expert” you see saying face masks don’t help is a government plant, face masks are actually highly effective but if people were told that they would rush to the stores to buy them but see that they are all out and a massive panic would happen. Trump is hiring plants to say facemasks aren’t effective so it doesn’t hurt the economy and thus his reelection chances. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/476 "2020-03-06T22:33:39Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/477 "2020-03-06T23:36:57Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Refinance your mortgage! Rates are dropping because of this. Nah, just wait until there are lots and lots of empty houses and move in one. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/478 "2020-03-07T04:09:44Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Another new conspiracy theory I’m seeing popping up. > > Any “expert” you see saying face masks don’t help is a government plant, face masks are actually highly effective but if people were told that they would rush to the stores to buy them but see that they are all out and a massive panic would happen. Trump is hiring plants to say facemasks aren’t effective so it doesn’t hurt the economy and thus his reelection chances. I wouldn’t say it’s a conspiracy but the American messaging around face masks has been an absolute travesty. There’s a wide range between absolutely ineffective and 100% bulletproof panacea and there’s been strong evidence for decades that face masks fall somewhere in the middle of that range, still less effective than washing your hands and not touching your face but one of the cheaper, more effective public health strategies you can implement. In much of Asia, face masks are a standard part of the public health response repertoire. When I was working for a Hong Kong company, there would be a box of 100 disposable face masks in every break room that was restocked regularly and most families would have a box of disposable face masks at home similar to how an American family might have a box of bandaids. People who were sick were expected to wear a face mask out in public but it was also quite common to see people nearby to a sick person to also don face masks as a protective measure. [here’s a NYT article](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/well/live/face-masks-work-healthy-colds-flu-immunity-prevention.html) from 2018 that covers some of the empirical evidence we’ve gathered around face masks. In particular: > [@](#): > > The work of Australian investigators provides further support for the value of the simple surgical mask. They estimate that in a home setting, wearing a surgical mask decreases a well person’s risk of getting sick by 60 percent to 80 percent. But the key is, face mask have to already be an embedded part of your public health culture for it to work in the case of a large scale outbreak. In Hubei province, it was illegal for you to be seen in public without a face mask because they had enough supply to make this a realistic proscription. The US needs to deliberately downplay the effectiveness of face masks because there’s such a mismatch between supply and demand that they need to keep the strategic reserve around for those deemed absolutely essential but that doesn’t change the science around it. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/479 "2020-03-07T04:14:24Z")
^ Good post Let me share a snippet of an email I received at work today: " Conserve supplies. Only use an N-95 if required. Do not allow non \*\*\*\* or non medical staff into the isolation bags hanging on the wall. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure these supplies are kept for use by \*\*\*\* employees to use while at work. Some supplies are getting difficult to obtain, even for hospitals. Other companies and people are looking to buy or borrow our supplies already, do not give out any supplies please." ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/480 "2020-03-07T18:42:17Z")
I know it is unpopular to admit to being afraid in this thread, but fuck it. [White House falsely claims the coronavirus has been ‘contained’ in the US](https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/07/politics/fact-check-white-house-coronavirus-contained/index.html) I find this frightening. The lying and constant downplaying is making me more anxious than the actual virus is. I can handle some hedging in the face of uncertainty, but what is occurring is a ridiculous level of shitshow. I am afraid it is only going to get worse. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/481 "2020-03-07T18:57:44Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I know it is unpopular to admit to being afraid in this thread, but fuck it. > > [White House falsely claims the coronavirus has been ‘contained’ in the US](https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/07/politics/fact-check-white-house-coronavirus-contained/index.html) > > I find this frightening. The lying and constant downplaying is making me more anxious than the actual virus is. I can handle some hedging in the face of uncertainty, but what is occurring is a ridiculous level of shitshow. I am afraid it is only going to get worse. It’s traditional to post the statement you’re objecting to along with the link. Other than the President authorizing billions of dollars towards the effort what false statements are you talking about in your link? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164.md?page=23) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164.md?page=25)