Quote Originally Posted by Brooke View Post
Honestly, I think the media is causing a panic about this thing. I have 2 registered nurses in my immediate family and they say the corona virus has been around for years and this is another strain, but it is no worse that any of the others. Yes, if you are elderly or have a compromised immune system, any 'flu' is dangerous. I have an 87 year old mother with diabetes in the nursing home and she worries me a bit. But I believe if everyone is smart about it and washes their hands, doesn't go to work or school, or out in public if you're sick, then we will survive.

Remember the bird flu, sars, and ebola that was going to kill us all the last few years? Didn't happen..

The media..............

JMO!!

BTW, Austin, I am not uneducated and have no hidden agenda.
I vehemently disagree, Brooke.

Coronavirus, the name, has been around for years. This is true. However COVID-19 is unlike any other strain of corona, hence being called the "novel coronavirus". Novel means unlike others before it. This is very different than other strains, and is proven to be worse in certain populations than other strains of CV, and the flu. For some reason, it isn't hitting the youth like most viruses. It's mostly targeting older people. And the younger people that get it are mostly just carrying it with very manageable sometimes. Therein lies the problem. We probably have younger adults carrying it to their older loved ones, the older public, etc.

Ebola never made it over here. If it had, there would have been tragic results and honestly, we would have had a massive death count. The very small number of people that worked over there that came home went to Emory University in Atlanta to be treated at home (USA), but were never exposed to anyone else. It never broke loose in the US. We should be thankful for that, and not claiming it was a hoax. JMO. SARS and bird flu didn't have the impact that was predicted, true, but also the numbers of those affected here aren't there like they are with COVID-19. We also shouldn't compare it to influenza A or B - it just got here. And with more testing in more places, those stats will only continue to grow. I have no doubt in my mind there are more people actively infected with COVID-19 than have been documented. We need more tests.

Swine flu was very real, and H1N1 still infects people along with H3N2 and other strains of influenza. I personally contracted H3N2 two years ago, despite having flu shots! These strains can and do change and some of them can be far worse than others. Every virus can mutate and change and that's precisely what makes them so deadly. Especially if it's a major change from what was seen by it's closest comparison.

Again - we truly need to do more research into the why and how of COVID-19 CV and we truly need to find out why it's different, and how it's spread. It's been said that if people don't wash their hands for at least half a minute, they might as well not bother. Regular plastic saran wrap type gloves that food workers use aren't going to cut it either. Hence why hand sanitizer sales are up, and people are buying special masks. The other day when the stock market was down 2000+ points, Walmart's stock was still in the green! It's because people are panicking - and damnit I can see why! I don't think that is a bad thing. It's not OTT.

I agree completely about the handwashing, provided they are going by the recommend time set by CDC. I also agree and have said that people need to stay home if sick (with anything!), and not go to work. Even if it means you aren't paid. Even doubly so if you are in the food service or restaurant industry. I think that the food service industry is likely going to be one of the biggest if not the biggest in terms of transmit.

I don't think you have an agenda Brooke, nor do I think you are uneducated as a person, but I think we can safely say we fundamentally disagree on this outbreak and probably best to leave it at that.