Before I comment, a comment. I'm not going to read all of the posts here, just a couple. It's not that I don't care but rather with my background I've already heard a lot about and talked a lot about SARS-CoV-2 (the Virus) and COVID-19 (the disease) in the past week, one thing I've learned is that even the best well intentioned people only hear about 10% of what anyone else has to say and I just don't have the energy to go into too much detail. However, the OCD in me will force me to respond if I read anything I don't agree with or find as bad information. So, with that said...
I've been connected to one of the local fire departments in my area for 30 years. As a member of the fire department (as a first responder) I’ve been an EMT for just under 30 years with the last 25 of those years having re-occurring training on a wide variety of topics. The one constant class given every year (sometime two or three times a year during past outbreaks) has been “infectious disease”. Its primary focus was how to protect yourself and your patient but there was also basic information on the nature of different types of diseases, how they spread and prevention (of spreading). With that, one of the things I've learned the most about as an EMT is diseases, how to protect myself and others and how to stop the spread. Not exactly my favorite topic but none the less I've learned a lot about it. One of the most common "worldwide" diseases, outside of the flu, is SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which SARS-CoV-2 is a version of (by the way, just for clarification, SARS-CoV-2 is the Virus that causes the disease COVID-19). However, this version is showing some rather concerning differences primarily how easily and quickly it spreads. Fortunately, it is nowhere near as deadly as the SARS outbreak in 2002 or the MERS outbreak in 2012 when you look at the mortality rate however far fewer people were infected during those outbreaks so the total number of fatalities with COVID-19 is likely to exceed both of those outbreaks. Having said that, it is much to early to predict what the long-term result will be with regards to fatalities. The underlying Virus, Coronavirus, has been around since the 1930’s and the more outbreaks they have the better they get at finding the cause and coming up with a cure. It’s not guarantee that we will come up with a cure, but the odds are better that they will. The other thing to remember is most people who come down with COVID-19 will have a mild case of it with a lot of them thinking it’s nothing but a common cold or flu (very common with most Coronavirus infections).
With regards to the general population, there are really two aspects to consider, first is the containment. The reality is we are going to lose that fight if we haven’t already so it’s really just a matter how bad we lose it. This is part of what good hygiene is all about. Disinfecting surfaces, coughing into your sleeve rather than your hand, etc… helps prevent the spread of the Virus as much, if not more than, doing all of those things to protect you. The other aspect is preventing yourself from getting sick. The biggest fight against that is good personal hygiene like washing your hands frequently and not touching your mouth, nose or eyes. Avoiding large crowds is also a very good idea if you live in an area with known confirmed cases but keep in mind with an incubation period of up to 14 days by the time an area is known to have the Virus it’s far to late to stop it from spreading (again, it’s how bad it will be that we have some control over). If anyone reading this is at high risk or has loved ones you are close to frequently that are high risk, you need to be very concerned and diligent in how you deal with this. People with diminished immune systems are the ones most likely to die from this disease and for them it must be treated seriously. It is coming and will spread pretty much throughout almost all of North America but those who are at high risk can be protected if we all take is seriously enough. Having said that, those who have said they aren’t going to panic are spot on. The best way to let this Virus devastate our population is to panic. That has never worked, and it never will. However, those who aren’t treating it seriously at all, are putting the rest of us at risk.
Last let me leave with this, don’t rely on the news media or social media as a reliable source of information (including this website). The WHO, CDC and your local health departments (State and County) are the best places to get accurate and up to date information. With the news media, in my 30 years in the fire service I’ve seen a lot of incidents that wind up on the news (mostly local but some national) and I have yet to see news coverage that was completely accurate. Sometimes they are close but never 100%. You have to remember that news is a for profit business and the more sensational it is and the quicker they can get the information to the viewer/readers the more profit there is. Because of that the truth gets twisted to be more sensational and time isn’t taken to get accurate facts. I include the coverage in Kirkland in this observation. To be fair it isn’t to far off, but there are some inaccuracies and certainly a lot of sensationalism. Get your information from places that aren’t out to make a profit off of you getting your information from them.