Anyone sick and tired of the end of the world coronavirus?

I'm an Instacart shopper and Reddit's sub is blowing up about this. There are so many posts from shoppers about people hoarding water- ordering ton of cases from Costco. The wait to checkout is anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. Of course, they're running out of water... No panicking here in SC, so far. Just wash your hands people.

Another way that it is different from the flu is that there is no vaccine for it, so those at risk have NO preventive measures to take, other than washing one’s hands.

That no children have died - as of yet - does absolutely nothing to quell my fears about my 85 year old mother with heart issues and who lives in a retirement complex. That your and your friend’s estimation that COVID-19 isn’t serious because children haven’t died of it yet is somewhat offensive. Tell that to all the family members of the 3,069 people who have died so far in just the 5 weeks since the virus was “discovered.”

eta: since I posted this a few hours ago, death count is up to 3,083; in the hour since this update, death count is 3,087.

eta: death count now up to 3,119 at 8 pm EST; 6 in Washington. 

Making blanket statements like this is incorrect and contributing to the spread of misinformation.

They rely on Eastern medicine? I’m sure some people do, but the vast majority fully subscribes to “Western” medicine.

Population density contributes to the spread of disease. To say their cities are significantly less sanitary than any of our urban centers isn’t fair. They have their issues, but we do, too.

If you read any articles from reputable publications, it’s clear that there are a lot people who ARE choosing to seek help but are running into issues when the hospitals are prioritizing sick patients, pulling doctors in other specialties away to tackle the virus, or designating certain hospitals to be for patients with the virus.

Their government is a problem, and I will be the first person to say that I am against it, but a lot of what you’ve said here is simply not the case at all.

I am 58 and I am healthy but have asthma. My doctor has always advised me to get the flu shot to avoid problems and I do. I can see myself as being one to have complications from this virus and I am not prone to be an alarmist. Your friend seems to view this from a very professional point of view rather than a humane one.

The business concerns about supply chain issues are not necessarily overblown. My brother runs a logistics company and they've already got truckers who are stuck because there are no loads to haul. If things aren't coming in from China, that negatively affects our economy.

Are we all going to die? Nope. Are some businesses going to suffer - particularly those who have already been negatively affected by the trade war with China? Yes. Might it be necessary to implement some quarantine measures in the US? Yes. Does that affect our economy? Yes. All worth our concern, but hoarding cases of water doesn't help at all.

I hate the fear mongering. Most of the media is doing nothing but fanning the flames. The "gag" order by the Trump administration doesn't help. I think when you hear gag order you immediately go to "what aren't they telling us?". I am no fan of this administration but maybe they want to get their ducks in a row before making announcements, doubt it but it did cross my mind. I know they're worried about the markets but, hello, they've been in a free fall since last week. I agree that there are many more infected people walking in the US than what we know about, statistically there have to be. Even with that in the back of my mind, I was out running errands all day Saturday with hordes of others. DH underwent chemo for 7 years, I know about compromised immune systems. I have a small ziplok bag of clorox wipes for cart handles (if the store doesn't have some, a lot do now),I used my sleeve to open any doors and immediately washed my hands when I got home. That's it and that's what I've done for 7+ years. DH passed but it's such a habit now that I still do it. I'm going to a show at the House of Blues on Saturday night in Boston, has never crossed my mind not to go.

My sister is a retired paramedic with the City of Boston, I asked her what she's hearing (she still talks to all her old co-workers). She said that the general consensus is that the flu is more prevalent and a bigger worry, in their opinion, as it's impacting those with compromised immune systems and children and they're still seeing a lot of flu.

My company issues an update daily (curious to see today's update as there have been cases in RI (I work in RI). I'm lucky that if it came to it, I could work from home indefinitely if needed. My biggest concern is we have one bucket of time off (PTO) for vacation and sick and SO many people come into the office sick because they don't want to "waste" a PTO day being sick. Really? So you'll take down the office because you don't want to "waste" a day? Go home and work from home. I've told my staff (even before this) do NOT even think about coming into the office if you're sick, I will send you home. Work from home.

I'm not panicked. I'm going about my business as usual except I am washing my hands more. I bought some extra toilet paper and dog food, mainly because I am afraid there is going to be an artificial shortage of these products before too long if everyone keeps stocking up.

I am concerned about the stock market and the global economy. The stock market was down 3500 points last week. That is going to affect almost everyone, either directly or indirectly.

I'm pretty healthy and I feel like I could survive the virus, but who knows? A lot of people I love are at high risk either due to age or their overall health. I sometimes worry about the fact that my kids both live far away from me. They are young and healthy, but I would be worried sick if they came down with the virus and I couldn't be with them due to travel restrictions which might be imposed if there was an outbreak.

My husband is a trucker and he hauls shipping containers, mostly which come from China. Things have already slowed just a bit...hoping it does not affect his business TOO much!

I think that those that are saying everything is being blown out of proportion are as dangerous as those preaching it as “the end of the world Coronavirus “.   As with most things, a healthy balance is needed.

There are differences from other viruses and things are evolving hourly as far as what the experts are learning...so no one really knows everything about it and pretending to do so can be very dangerous.  You can be aware and still be reasonable with the precautions that you take.

There will always be a certain amount of overreaction,  but I am generally a proponent of free flowing information and news.  I would rather know more than less and and make my own decisions.  

People say the same thing with reporting on storms and snow...and it may be the case that they are overreacting and wrong...until they are not.  And then I think people are quite glad that they made decisions to try and prepare a bit.  Perspective and balance are critical but IMO I don’t think less reporting and information is necessarily the best course of action.

I am a numbers person..that being said can someone SHOW me a comparison of the two 'rates'??

All of this. Both of these quotes here. The media is not helping this situation at all.

NPR reporting is that the flu has a .6% fatality rate and covid-19 is around 2% but potentially higher as the information out of China may not be reliable.