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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday March 17 2020, @11:52AM   Printer-friendly
from the sudden-impact dept.

A lot has already happened this year. SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) which can cause COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease 2019) has been making headlines shortly after it was first reported. The first cases were reported to WHO (World Health Organization) on 2019-12-31. The virus spread. It began as an epidemic in China . The world watched apprehensively. Reports surfaced of cases in other countries and the the apprehension grew. For many folk, it turned to fear when it was upgraded to a pandemic: WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020: "We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic."

We have seen increasing efforts to stem the spread of the disease. Efforts have run the gamut. Closing of borders. Cancellation of sporting events. Conferences cancelled. Churches and other places of worship also closed. Schools closed. Panic buying of household goods and supplies. Supply chain disruptions affecting manufacturers. Restaurant, bars, and other such establishments closed. Work-from-home policies established and enacted.

The changes have been many, widespread, and continuing.

Reading about all the ways that "other people" have been affected is one thing. It seems different, somehow, when it hits closer to home and affects us directly. With many of our usual social activities curtailed or cancelled, it is easy to begin isolating and lose perspective. SoylentNews arose from a troubled period (the SlashCott) and a community has formed from that challenging period.

How have you been affected? Have you been infected? Had a family member or friend who was? Helped neighbors who are struggling? Hunkering down and isolating? (In a basement is optional.) Are you suddenly working from home and finding it challenging to manage your time? Still working on site, but now have a faster commute due to all the other people staying home? Catching up on watching TV shows? Reading more SoylentNews? How has your life changed?

From a somewhat different perspective, how have others helped you to cope... and how have you been able to help others? One of the potential impacts of social distancing is isolation and depression. I count myself fortunate, indeed, to have served this site for over 6 years and for all the people I have gotten to know, here. For those who may not be aware, SoylentNews has its own IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server. Feel free to drop in to #Soylent and just say "Hi!"

Social distancing is permanent when you're dead. So, practice good hygiene and stay safe.

Previously (oldest first):
China Battles Coronavirus Outbreak: All the Latest Updates
2019-nCoV Coronavirus Story Roundup
Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Roundup
Coronavirus Roundup
Coronavirus Roundup (Feb. 17)
Roundup of Stories about the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and COVID-19 Disease
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 - CoronaVirus) Roundup
CoronaVirus (SARS-CoV-2) Roundup 2020-03-12
Working from Home: Lessons Learned Over 20 Years


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  • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @01:03PM (8 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @01:03PM (#972169)

    I think there is, something like 3000 for SARS v2 and 40000 for the normal flu, worldwide. Probably on CDC.gov.

    The real problem is the politicians now. While the health experts have a goal of preventing contagion for any disease no matter how minor, it is the politicians that are really causing a crisis now with their travel bans, visit bans and operating bands. Now everybody is at risk of losing their livelihood, not just the elderly and infirm that may have gotten complications from the virus. The politicians need to moderate the ideal on perspective, otherwise we would have 5 mph speed limits on highways and not get anywhere.

    What I'm really missing here is something like a local restaurant association calling for an injunction against arbitrary bans. But everybody is afraid of social and legacy media shitstorms. Nobody seems to have the backbone anymore to stand by a rational balanced decision anymore in the face of people making money and building their profile on FUD and supposed concern for your health.

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by khallow on Tuesday March 17 2020, @01:28PM (2 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday March 17 2020, @01:28PM (#972186) Journal

    The real problem is the politicians now.

    [...]

    But everybody is afraid of social and legacy media shitstorms. Nobody seems to have the backbone anymore to stand by a rational balanced decision anymore in the face of people making money and building their profile on FUD and supposed concern for your health.

    Then the real problem probably isn't politicians, but this hysteria.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @02:28PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @02:28PM (#972216)

      Then the real problem probably isn't politicians, but this hysteria.

      Yes. But politicians affected with hysteria promulgate hysterical rules that hurt the sane too.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:01PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:01PM (#972245) Journal

      So, instead of a pandemic, we have a dempanic?

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @02:08PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @02:08PM (#972201)

    > rational balanced decision...

    I'm all for rational decisions. In the face of exponential growth (have you personally looked at how fast this goes?), various groups have been running infection-rate models.

    To re-state your comment, I hope that the model runs (with reasonable input data) are being used as part of the rational decision process that calls for shutting things down. As I'm seeing this, we are right on the edge, may not have shut things down soon enough.

  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday March 17 2020, @02:41PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday March 17 2020, @02:41PM (#972226) Journal

    Nobody seems to have the backbone anymore to stand by a rational balanced decision

    Nothing is wrong with a bit of rational balanced decisions, in moderation.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:40PM (#972273)

    I can't help but notice that you didn't mention the numbers of individuals that contracted both. The flu kills many people every year in large part because it infects a large number of people each year. SARS never spread to the same degree that this one or the flu did. We're treating this like it could be like that nasty strain from the middle east which killed about a third of the people that contracted it, but we don't know if it's going to be that bad.

    What we do know from Italy is that without taking these actions, the virus could flood our hospitals to the point where they have to make literal life and death decisions about who gets treatment and people with other injuries/diseases may be displaced. And that's in Italy, they've got much better infrastructure for public health than we do where many people are going to try and avoid treatment for fear that it will bankrupt them.