So I’m interested in everyone’s take? I just saw where Harvard is asking everyone to move out of their houses and first year dorms by the 15th they will be suspending all classes and moving them to online after spring break which starts Sunday. Thought? Everyone freaking out or is media over playing this? Let the discussion begin
Ivy Leagues shut down all spring sports.
I look at it like this: If you are healthy, you don’t have much to worry about. Just wash your hands. If you have compromised immune system, treat it like the flu.
Can it be both? It definitely seems more dangerous than the flu, but I don’t know that it’s as dangerous as the attention we’re all giving it. Who knows. I definitely have a respect for what’s happening, but it just hasn’t affected me to the point that I’ve given it a ton of thought yet. Maybe it will.
5 Likes
It’s affected me professionally. I’m in outside sales and I need to fly places to kick up business. My company recently put the kibosh on air travel until further notice. No problem, I’ll see some of my local customers. Nope. Many, many places of business aren’t allowing any visitors at all into their facility.
I mean… it’s a terrible flu. Like a bad one. But, this isn’t Ebola we are talking about here. Yes, if you are elderly, have pre-existing lung conditions, immuno-compromised, etc. be very, very careful. But come ON.
It’s reactions like this that are sending the global economy into a tailspin which will take years to recover.
- caveat - All opinions of mine are formed based on reading stuff. So… there’s that. Maybe I’ve read the wrong stuff.
12 Likes
I think that the media is creating panic where basic caution should be in place. Wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, don’t touch your face, don’t kiss random strangers, don’t eat food you find on the ground, etc.
Media effects are absolutely a thing (and I like teaching about them) and we’re seeing that in place. The media latches onto a story, turns it into a crisis of epic proportions, people tune in and read and listen and respond, traffic increases, money is made, and people get terrified so they keep consuming media and the cycle continues. It’s brilliant and somewhat sociopathic at the same time. Add in the bots, the histrionic people who love panic, and the assholes who enjoy spreading fear? Of course you’re going to have this big sense of terror around the whole thing.
So, is all this something to be aware of? Without a doubt. Being dumb about it isn’t going to help anyone. Being smart, taking care of yourself, and taking care of others is important. Anyone who says ‘don’t worry about it’ is being obtuse and not understanding the reality of things. However, is it as big and as terrifying as people are making it out to be? No. I mean, I’m going to Vegas with my brother on Saturday for a few days and we have zero plans to cancel or reschedule that. We have preparations and safety measures already in place (a literal bag of hand sanitizers and washing hands everywhere we go) but we have those EVERY time we go there. It’s one thing to be smart and address things accordingly (I just had a conference I was going to in April completely cancel [which is fine because I wasn’t looking forward to it]), but living in fear and turning the country into little isolated pockets of fear-crying and hermetically-sealed living spaces is not the right play either.
Be smart. Don’t be not smart. But live your lives, for eff’s sake.
11 Likes
6 Likes
I mean it might turn into some chicken pox type thing where there can be effects down the line like shingles. I remember going to a chicken pox party.
So far with what seems to be known this feels like a big over reaction. It doesn’t seem to affect kids or healthy people. If you are elderly or have existing health complications you should stay in. Feels like it would be easier to provide services to support those people while letting the rest of the population continue business as usual vs shutting everything down (Italy).
I would agree but saw an article talking about a bunch of WHO doctors that went to China to actually get some data. Turns out the pre-existing condition that led to deaths from the virus more than any other was actually unregulated diabetes (not lung conditions etc). Just looking around our population there are a LOT of people that have unregulated diabetes… (including my mother)
4 Likes
Interesting. I would think our country especially would be hard hit if that were the case.
1 Like
I 100% agree on this. However, the places I have been employed at do not inspire a ton of hope that this can be accomplished. The number of people who would walk out of a stall after taking a dump and continue on out the door without even thinking about washing their hands was very alarming.
It really feels like people are taking 2 different stances. There is:
A) Lol this isn’t really a thing. Watch me lick these handrails to prove it
and
B) I need to cash in old war bonds my great grandparents got me ages ago so that I can build a doomsday prepped basement in the middle of a forgotten forest.
There is no in between. There is no logic. That is concerning.
8 Likes
My wife is a teacher and she’s been showing me emails that they have been getting. They are telling teachers to have a plan of action to use google classroom or something for the possibility of shutting school down in the next several weeks depending on the turn of things. I kinda think they are overplaying it but also do fear that this is something that could turn into the flu the next serval months and have hundreds of thousands with the virus. The deviation it’s creating in the economy is mind blowing! I remember bird flu, swine flu, Ebola all of that and the panic with this seems greater but maybe it’s cause I’m an adult and pay more attention now. I know there are hundreds of conspiracy theories. Maybe eventually we will be able to trace it back to subject 1. I blame the Chinese government for trying to decrease the population lol jk! I’m not one of those. But it’s starting to feel like a real life version of the Cantagion movie
1 Like
I think it’s a mix.
Keep in mind, though, that St. Jude is basically “walled off”, in a metaphorical sense, given the compromised nature of the kids there.
2 Likes
The Governor of Ohio just released this statement. Cleveland is set to host NCAA Tournament games next weekend.
Sure wish I owned some Purell and Proctor and Gamble stock right about now
1 Like
It would be a real shame if I had to WFH during Conference Championship week and March Madness.
In all seriousness I don’t think it’s something to be ignored, but it does feel like we are greatly overreacting to the severity of it. I feel like China being dishonest about the number of people infected originally is part of the reason there’s a greater panic.
4 Likes
I’ve heard that OU is making the decision about going to all online classes after their spring break today. And that it’s looking like that’s what they’re going to decide. I’ve also heard that if we get a case close enough to campus OSU will as well, but there’s one in Tulsa right now so I don’t know how close close really is.
1 Like
The market has been on edge for a while. Lots of people have been feeling a recession would be coming soon so this coronavirus mixed with Saudi/Russia contest has given them a reason to panic.
1 Like
I mean, I’m no epidemiologist, but this already killed far more people than SARS. The only reason it hasn’t killed more than the seasonal flu is because it hasn’t infected as many people yet. Just using basic math, which I am admittedly bad at, if infection levels reach that of the seasonal flu then more people will die than the seasonal flu. I don’t know that “just wash your hands” is good enough for a virus that won’t have a vaccine for at least a year, and will almost certainly get worse this fall/winter.
Having said that, is this a global pandemic that should shut down society around the globe? No. But if my community can take measures to decrease the risk that my newborn child is infected, but it comes at the cost of some shareholder value, I’m sorry but that’s a no-brainer.
5 Likes
This makes sense to me.
1 Like
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
I posted this somewhere before…