Are You Worried About Coronavirus?

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I was just curious how many of my blog readers are concerned at all about the Coronavirus (or Covid 19 as the WHO named it). I am moderately concerned. It certainly spreads rapidly (54 countries last I heard), has a very high rate of transmission from person to person compared to many other viruses, definitely seems to be airborne, and is more serious than the flu, no matter what Trump says (the flu has a fatality rate of about .1%, where Covid 19 has at least a 2-3% fatality rate and about a 15% pneumonia/serious complication rate according to present data available).

I think what concerns me most is that America is barely testing for it, so it is hard to know how widespread it actually is. Until recently, only 3 states had test kits that actually worked, and the requirements to be tested were strict. With all the business and student travel we have back and forth from China, you have to think there were likely many missed cases. It is made worse by the fact that the illness has a long incubation period and can cause no symptoms in some people who are still contagious.

So far, all the countries who have decided to test rigorously have had rapidly rising rates of infection, usually doubling or even tripling every 2-3 days. To make matter worse, the economy is definitely being affected, with supply chain issues abounding in many industries due to reliance on Chinese production. Here in the US, we get almost all of our prescription medicines from China, which explains why CVS has already sent me “low supply” warnings on several of my meds. Luckily, I can survive without my meds for a time, but I worry for those who need certain meds to survive.

I certainly hope this concern is overblown and nothing bad really happens, but I don’t think it is a bad idea to be a bit prepared in case there are some disruptions to daily life due to this emerging pandemic. Make sure you have plenty of food and other necessities on hand in case of shortages or quarantines. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones!

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marandarussell

Hi! I am an artist, author, and blogger who also happens to have Asperger’s Syndrome. I have won several awards and honors for my writings and artwork. I suffer from a few severe mental illness and chronic pain conditions (Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Fibromyalgia, CFS/ME, Ehlers Danlos, Degenerative Disc Disease, etc.), which greatly affects my life and makes me want to advocate for others going through similar things. Other interests of mine include reading, writing, drawing, watching cartoons and movies, collecting toys, hanging out with my family, and annoying my 3 cats.

44 thoughts on “Are You Worried About Coronavirus?”

  1. I think we can all agree that at least it’s not a spore that infects most of the human population, turning them into feral creatures with growths all over their bodies, destroying cities in mere days. So, at least it’s not that, y’know?

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. The Werewolves get infected too. Vampires too. Even gnomes and unicorns. Ever seen a mutant unicorn when it’s pissed off? Not a pretty sight. And it also means you should probably try getting prescribed antipsychotics.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. If the supply chain issues affect antipsychotics, people might be seeing a lot more of those things for a while lol. And I can make that joke since I take Seroquel (although I’ve never been very prone to hallucinations).

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I’ve had psychosis since I was five. I put unicorn hallucinations next to orangutan parades. (I’ve hallucinated both, funny enough.) My brain can be a nightmare, but sometimes it’s nice to have puppies invade my bedroom while the Too Cute narrator talks about it.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. I hallucinated a huge multi-colored bird once when I was a kid during a church service. No one else could see it on the stage with the preacher and I just couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. Luckily, hallucinations aren’t a common thing for me.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. I try to treat my hallucinations with respect since they’re just as real as anyone else from a solipsist mindset. I learned as a kid that just because someone has sharp teeth and blood-red eyes, it doesn’t mean you should overlook their good traits. I’ve met non-hallucinated people worse than my more alarmingly physically grotesque hallucinations.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. I never worry about these scares. I wash my hands and keep positive. On the other hand, if I get something more deadly than all the illnesses I’ve already had, I’ve got a great support team, so the rest is in the hands of the goddesses.

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  4. I am concerned that other people are going to be jerks and go into public spaces when coughing, let sick kids run around, and hoard stuff. AS USUAL. Because people ughhh. I’m not super old, diabetic, or breathing-impaired, so if I get it, I’ll probably survive. But if I don’t, I don’t. It’s still more dangerous to drive the freeways in California.

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. Are you kidding. I’ve walked through the middle of Ebola outbreaks and never even got the sniffles! I agree with Paula that the chance of my cashing it in are much greater from a simple commute from work to home.

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  7. I have an opinion about this, but I don’t know if you want to hear it or not.

    Everytime I turn on the news, it’s like the next zombie apocalypse.

    I tell you, I slept through the last two zombie apocalypses and we survived them.

    Nevertheless, i feel the media is sensationalizing, like they do everything, and so, and it’s not that it doesn’t hurt to be propared, but this country is on the verge of a panic. Surly, Human Nature will be the death of us all.

    I think people, who obviosuly have access through the internet, should vist the CDC web site for the most accurate infomration.

    https://www.cdc.gov/

    I feel that if we just use a little common sense, we will get thorugh this just like we did the other zombie apocalypses.

    There’s good reaason that we, luckily, have a low infection rate in the States. And it’s not becuase we ran around scraming fire and hoarding water & food. Might as well build a bomb shelter, right? It all reminds me a bit of the paranoia of that age.

    It’s caused anything in the states, it’s the hoarding and overpricing of sugical masks/resperators.

    On the other hand, that’s Capitalism at it’s finest.

    Whatcha gonna do, right? As I said, I slept through the last two zombie appacalypses. I’ll proably survive this one too. I do beleive we have the best in the world in this country working on it as best they can. Trust them and don’t surrender yourself to sensationalized media. Hell, if they’re were a mass shooting right now they would forget all about it.

    Stay safe. Take care, It’s all good.

    Liked by 2 people

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      1. Thank you for the like, but i wouldn’t have blamed you if you had deleted my comment. I might mention the SARS scare, and then the modified Swine flu just a few years ago. You think maybe someone should get a better handle on how China is managing gheir health issues, since I believe the SARS virus originate fromt here as well.

        It upset me that some of the major news stations turned on Trump’s address the other tonight. What do we not know that he’s a horrible public speaker, and it wasn’t him that created the panic, but the news stations as well as the Democrats and so on, who, if you listen to NPR today, that’s NPR not Fox news, is saying that the democrats are hoping it spreads just so they can say “I told you so.”

        This from a group of radicals who just wasted four years trying to unseat a president rather than get down to business. If Trump hadn’t have jumped on the borders the way they did it would be far worse.

        Is it just me, or does Nancy Poloski speak like she has Parkinsons?

        It’s not difficult to rant, the politics of the last four, if not twelve years had everyone at each other’s throat. It’s ridiculous.

        There’s good reason it spread like it did in China and other countries, they aren’t practicing safe hygiene. I think if people keep their head, wash their hands, regulary, and cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze, we can keep it in check until they develop a ;vaccine.

        My biggest fear might be for all those homeless people in Los Angeles and around the entire United States for that matter.

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  9. Thanks for the wonderful insight. American is quite safe due to the distance from China. Hopefully, it is keeping all safeguards in place. Over-dependence on China is the bane of most of the countries. I hope all the countries would learn a lesson from this calamity and would not keep all eggs in one basket. India is a good alternative, along with most of the South Asian and South-East Asian countries, to make the supply chain working. India is also a producer of the vast majority of affordable medicines. In fact, in many aspects, India is ahead of China in the research and production of medicines. Surely, India also depends upon China for certain raw materials used in the medicines. The Chinese monopoly over the raw material remains a major concern in India.

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  10. Right now, I am concerned about some of the complications from this virus. As you have stated, many of us rely on meds, and some are being impacted by the issues facing China. I agree, the United States has been slow to decentralize the necessary testing sites state by state.

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    1. Yeah, the meds thing worries me alot. I went to urgent care last night because I have bronchitis and one of the three meds I was prescribed they don’t have any way to get right now. Luckily, I did get the z pak antibiotics and some steroids.

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      1. This epidemic (not a pandemic yet) has caused major disruptions around the world: loss of life, economic challenges, political turmoil, and grave uncertainty. It is important for accurate and objective information to be shared.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. It really depends on who you talk to whether it is a pandemic or not yet. Many experts say it is. Even the WHO says it meets their criteria and if it were an influenza they would have already marked it a pandemic (which makes no sense really). I think the only reason it isn’t marked an official pandemic is the worry of panic and the affect on the markets, but the market is already being affected.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Good points Maranda! Thank you for sharing. In Columbus, Ohio, there is a major sports festival being impacted by the virus. The Arnold (Schwarzenegger) Sports Festival is being severely cut back in terms of vendors and spectators. Many athletes will compete without spectators, and the trade show has been scrubbed.

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Thank you for the information. Lately I’ve been trying to follow as much information available on the internet as possible. It’s new so there’s are confusions about the solutions or keeping the virus at bay. However I came across a nice video by WHO about the basics such as how to wash hands properly to wash away any aggressive foreign element on the skin. I hope someone finds the solution soon
    https://goodhealthplanet.wordpress.com/2020/03/05/watch-how-to-wash-your-hands-the-right-way-to-prevent-coronavirus/

    Liked by 1 person

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