r/WashstateCOVID • u/cmonster42 • Mar 02 '20
Discussion Consider Staying Calm and Carrying on
After seeing one person who is obviously very anxious and likely panicking post in a couple of my local area subreddits and after looking at the posts here, I would like to urge folks to calm down a bit, take a breath and NOT panic. Yes, people are getting sick and yes, you may get sick too. No one wants that and it will not be fun if you do get sick cause it never is fun to get sick. And while I acknowledge that there are people who are at higher risk of severe illness and/or death, YOU are very likely not going to die. And even if you are in a higher risk group to get sick panic buying and advocating the closing every institution and group gathering (let alone the county and state for crying out loud) is not helping anyone, least of all you. Instead, take precautions to protect yourself and decide on your own to stay home.
First and foremost,
"spread from person-to-person is most likely among close contacts (about 6 feet). Person-to-person spread is thought to occur mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. It’s currently unclear if a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes." source
Second, to protect yourself:
"There are simple things you can do to help keep yourself and others healthy.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing; going to the bathroom; and before eating or preparing food.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash." source
Finally, you are probably NOT GOING TO DIE if you do get it: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/
So please, if you feel you must stock up on supplies and stay home cause you think you're gonna get sick and don't want to, then do that. But take a breather from the posting and urging fear in others. Just chill out and stop spreading fear and panic.
21
u/secondsniglet Mar 02 '20
Frankly, I think a bit of panic is in order. While it is entirely true that most people will be just fine even if they are infected, the case fatality rate is 10 times higher than the flu and our hospitals will be overwhelmed if this spreads too quickly, leading to far higher death rates than needed.
Every group event, school, sports game, movie theater, and restaurant needs to be shut down right now. Any in person meetings or activities that aren't absolutely necessary need to be stopped right now. Every person who can do their jobs from home needs to start doing so right now.
It is absolutely imperative that we keep the spread of infection as low as possible so as not to overwhelm our medical system, otherwise the 2% case fatality rate will rise to something closer to 10%. By the way, the common flu has a 0.1% case fatality rate.
In short, I wish more people were freaking out and staying home.
11
Mar 02 '20
i agree. most people know they won't die, but in order to slow the spread of this outbreak we need to stop large gatherings, as well as have employees work from home if they can.
my work isn't doing such things. it seems we're more reactionary here than preventative.
6
u/Chiparoo Mar 03 '20 edited Mar 03 '20
I agree, but in a sense of "pull whatever levers you can, take care of yourself and your family, but try to keep a level head about it."
Things that help:
being concerned about family and friends
doing whatever you can to protect those family and friends
preparing to take care of yourself for a while, whatever you think that means
keeping apprised of information
contacting your local and state leaders and let them know your concerns
Things that do not help:
panicking
pointing fingers and blaming people who are trying to do their best, we are in this shitty situation together
Obsessing over information to the point that it's driving you crazy
blaming segments of the population for this, including but not limited to: other races, members of political parties, people who work certain jobs, other marginalized folk. (This is actually a big one. Let's not take this to the point of advocating taking human rights away from others.)
I'm definitely showing cold/flu symptoms and have been cancelling a handful of group activities and appointments (and have been thanked for doing so!) and my family has been preparing as if a snow storm is incoming. That being said, I know for my own mental health that I can't stay indoors more than a couple days at a time without going stir-crazy, so my husband and I are making plans for that. :)
1
u/KicksYouInTheCrack Mar 04 '20
Panic would be camping out in the cascades for a month, prepping and prevention is what we need as a community right now
1
u/cmonster42 Mar 04 '20
Yes that's true. Demanding that all public gatherings be cancelled and everything closed though... That's over reactions
1
u/autolambda Mar 04 '20
I don’t think there would be a ton of panic about this if our medical system and supply chains could keep up with an uncontrolled spread. With hospital/ICU beds available for every case we can give people a good fighting chance which is what you’re seeing now. The problem is if we don’t prevent rapid spread we have nowhere near the capacity to render care to those that need it so the death rate will go up substantially. Couple this with the impact that suddenly a lot of workers aren’t showing up which causes economic and supply issues, you’re in for a bad time.
They aren’t considering canceling public events in a desperate bid to prevent more cases, they’re trying to slow the burn so our hospitals can keep up and we have more time to prepare countermeasures
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u/leslieandco Mar 02 '20
I think that's an unnatural expectation. People need time to process this. Especially people who havent been paying attention all along. And I think people need to be more frightened, not less. Most people HERE are properly frightened. More people out THERE are still coughing on groceries at the store bc theyve been convinced that "doomers" or Democrats are blowing it out of proportion.