COVID-19: A Responsible Understanding

Coronavirus, or COVID-19 has moved from a headline, to a reality, to hysteria, to the surreal is DAYS! Precaution is being seen as PANIC, and then there’s the oversensationalism, causing hysteria.

TRAVEL BAN INFORMATION

President Trump issued a travel ban beginning Friday, March 13 that will last 30 days. BUT it’s not all inclusive. Here are the details

The dividing lines are real, and worse than political lines. People have forgotten their senses, attacking others for overreacting, or lack of any reaction and seriousness. So lets get real… and responsible in how we’re looking at this.

Like many, I’m not overly concerned for me or my immediate family. I’ve seen the facts and stats. The death rate is low for my age, and even lower for those younger, especially since we’re all in good general health. And for that, I’m blessed. Please, take a look at the charts, and get educated. We don’t need to panic!  However…

And this is a BIG HOWEVER…

Stats are stats, and these are EARLY figures. There’s a lot we’re learning. DAILY. HOURLY. But there’s STILL not a need to PANIC. There IS, however, a need for PRECAUTION.  Big difference. PRECAUTION is canceling events. These are coming in herds.

Canceled or Postponed Events:

• Our MidMo Baby Expo has been postponed to June 27.

• Rolla / Missouri S&T has canceled ALL St. Pats Festivities including the parade.
• Stephens College has been added to a list that includes MIZZOU,  Lincoln College, and many others that are canceling in-person classes, going to online for now, or extending Spring Breaks. William Woods will go online for the rest of the semester. 

In-person classes will be suspended beginning at 5 p.m. today, March 11 through Sunday, March 15. During that time, #Mizzou faculty are instructed to put in place their plans to deliver instruction remotely. Existing online classes will continue as originally scheduled. #COVID19

— Mizzou (@Mizzou) March 11, 2020

• Fort Leonard Wood has closed graduations to family and the public. Family Day festivities cancelled.
• Missouri State High School Athletic Association (MSHSAA) will be limiting attendance to sporting events.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE pic.twitter.com/xq3f6JC82L

— MSHSAA (@MSHSAAOrg) March 12, 2020

• The NCAA originally created a policy on tournament play attendance, but has since cancelled the Tournament.

NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships: https://t.co/qzKAS4McEI pic.twitter.com/G6XreZx35E

— NCAA (@NCAA) March 12, 2020

• NCAA Conference tournaments, including the SEC, have been canceled.
• Numerous movies have been postponed including “F9“, “Quiet Place 2“, “Mulan”, the latest James Bond movie, “No Time To Die” and more.
• Kansas City and St. Louis have placed bans on ALL events over 1000 people until further notice.
• SXSW canceled this year. Since they had no insurance policy in place, they have lost millions, not issuing refunds, and will most likely be done for good.
• Coachella and StageCoach Festival have been postponed.
• The NBA, MLS, and NHL have suspended their seasons until further notice. The MLB has followed suit, delaying the start of the season by at least 2 weeks, and cancelling Spring Training.
• St. Patricks Parades/events across the country have been canceled.
• Disneyland will be closed through the end of the month.
• Ironically, a Coronavirus conference was also canceled due to the virus.

Smaller events are being proactive, and for the time, monitoring the situation, for now. This could change by the end of the week. However, bands themselves may cancel, as the band, The Glitch Mob, has done for their April 25th show. More of these could be coming.

We’re expecting MANY, MANY more of these announcements coming.

Stop the Coronavirus PANIC?

Many are racing to answer that all these places are panicking. That’s not the right word. This is PRECAUTION. You personally may not be at a risk for severe symptoms from Coronavirus. Your immediately family may not even be. But others are. As for the whole “flu is worse” argument, why THIS is bad is because you could carry it for 2 weeks. During that time, you’re passing it along without noticing any symptoms. An unknown carrier who may never have symptoms, could be unknowingly spreading the virus to so many at a public event without ever knowing. Those people would then pass it on to others who are at risk. If we take PRECAUTION to eliminate gatherings, we allow time for the virus to die, controlling the spread. 

Additionally, there are only so many healthcare providers, hospital beds, and medical supplies to take care of those with the virus. Italy is seeing the REAL crisis right now. We NEED to control the spread. Precautions are necessary.

This morning, Cosmo addressed how this has impacted his life in a scary way.

Panic Vs. Precaution

Many are taking the stance to be frustrated or be scared.  COVID-19 is both scary and frustrating. But it’s not so scary that anyone needs insane amounts of hand sanitizer, or disinfectant wipes, or TOILET PAPER. How is that going to help?  This will pass. The amounts you currently have should be more than fine. To horde creates hysteria. And we’re seeing that happening across Mid-Missouri. 

This is Walmart on Broadway earlier today thanks to listener Michele.

And Walmart in Rolla thanks to listener Jamie.

And we’re hearing ALL other locations, in other cities, and in far more retail locations than just Walmart, the situation is the exact same. 

It’s a simple PANIC overreaction. That’s what needs to stop. There is no PRECAUTION in that action. This will pass. The sooner things are done to control the spread, the soon it will pass, and life can get back to normal. Buying up all these life item in bulk creates hysteria and chaos, which doesn’t help anybody.

The Best Coronavirus Advice

Do these events NEED to be cancelled? Possibly not. But it’s responsible to help control the spread of Coronavirus. We know not everyone is being responsible to protect themselves, let alone others. We know not everyone is following the best advice from EVERY health professional: WASH YOUR HANDS. It’s not new information, and we should have all always been doing this. 20 seconds. Sing the songs. Wash more often than normal. And hand sanitizer isn’t the solution either, even if it might add a slight level of precaution.

Other advice: Keep a good distance and avoid person to person contact (hugs/handshakes), cough into you elbow at ALL times, and the most difficult one: Avoid touching your face: that struggle is real.

It’s not a time to panic or get angry because “it’s not going to kill ME, have you seen the death rate?” We need to think about PUBLIC health, not PERSONAL health. Let’s work together, for the sake of ALL. 

And stop the PANIC.

Also THIS.