@Medstudies , I’m going to jump on that “melodramatic” band wagon with you !
My three biggest concerns have been mentioned in just the last few posts...
I stated earlier in this thread that I believed things could get very ugly very fast - and I now believe they are.
- Rapid or worsening mutations
- Inaccurate reporting of deaths/data
- The ability to spread prior to symptoms being present
I’m not generally in the “alarmist” category. I never gave much thought to SARS, N1H1, etc,... But in my opinion, this is an entirely different animal we’re dealing with now.
This is not the time to panic, and I’m not promoting being a “prepper”, but I would suggest to my fellow WS’ers - stock up a little in the event this thing isn’t contained. If this virus breaks loose in another country, fear and chaos will reign supreme - at least in the short term.
Hope for the best - be prepared for the worst.
My personal opinion is that it's always best to be a 'mini-prepper' if you can (not everyone can afford to stock up on things, but those who do will reduce queues and empty-shelf possibilities for those who can't).
We can't all stock our entire basement or spare room with boxes of canned goods etc, but that would be excessive for most people's needs anyway, and most of the stock would go to waste for most people. But if those who can have a few extra items on hand just in case of bad snowstorms, earthquakes, power cuts, hurricanes, bad flu seasons, or whatever is relevant where you live, that helps the individual who has the spares, and the people who couldn't afford extras if they don't have to stand in supermarket queues with as many people trying to buy the same items.
I don't think this is going to turn out to be much different from a yearly flu. One major difference is the difference in panic levels that make it worse. It's a big difference in practical terms for people in Hubei! But the final mortality rate might not end up being very much different from a yearly flu...we don't know yet, hence the worry and the extra precautions being taken.