I hope that virus fears don’t keep people from our local Asian restaurants and markets. That’s a doomsday way of thinking.
Sadly, though, I was at 99 Ranch Balboa this weekend and, while I was there, three employees were wearing masks. Good grief.
Well, I say: Stop panicking. Do you know how many people there are in China? (That’s rhetorical.) Of course there are lots of cases. Plus it started there.
And do you know how many cases and deaths there have been worldwide from the usual, seasonal flu so far this year? Or even how many just here in the US of A? (Both sort of rhetorical.) The numbers are staggering.
And the numbers help keep things in perspective.
No, of course there’s no vaccine for this new strain of virus. Getting a bacterial pneumonia shot might be worth considering, to guard against that potentiality in case you do manage to get it somehow, somewhere.
Anyway, this virus might die out and go away on its own come late spring.
[Oh, and server, while you’re here, could you please bring me another bowl of white rice?]
P.S. A related link for those who are of interest. (Numbers are for US alone.)
In the past decade (or more), mask-wearers have become very common sight in Asia, and is widely accepted as city culture in most large cities throughout the Far East. It can be construed a sign of respect for those around you, especially when living in densely crowded megacities such as Tokyo or Shanghai. I don’t think the mask-donning comes from a place of paranoia, in many cases. Plus, there is a chance the 99 Ranch employees were simply trying to avoid good ol’ influenza or rhinovirus by wearing the masks.
You’re probably right. It’s just it was the first time I’ve seen masks at 99 Ranch.
No, I wouldn’t blame them for wearing masks to ward off the “good 'ol influenza”, as you say, which as it turns out is both especially virulent and widespread this year – far more worrisome than The Virus.
If I were in contact daily with hundreds of strangers and handling paper currency during flu season (let alone covid-19); I’d be wearing mask, gloves and wiping myself down with clorox all day long. Have you observed how unhygienic the general public are … .
I wish I own a decontamination chamber to sterilize myself before entering my apartment after traveling on the subway.
You might want to read this article about COVID-19 and why most of us will end up contracting it in some form.
The article speaks to two of the points you raised…
the death rate from COVID-19 when compared to SARS, H1N1 and H1N5 and plain old influenza
the road to a vaccine
I don’t believe the article is behind a pay wall. It’s about a 10 minute read +/- and worth the read. It’s also written terms the lay person can understand
I’m not an ID doc or Public Health expert but it does seem time to quell this level of fear and panic - not to mention attempts to contain the uncontainable.
Thanks for posting that particular link, DD. I’d actually already read it prior to my post. (Plus several other, similar articles from reliable sources.)
My point is that from October '19 to mid-February '20, there have been roughly 30-40 million cases and roughly 16 - 40 thousand accompanying deaths from the 2020 flu – in the US alone. Most people get a flu shot, but the flu vaccine is only about 50% effective, meaning that 50% of people who got the shot can still get the flu, in addition to all of those who didn’t get a flu shot.
Bottom line: Well more than half of the population is just as vulnerable to this year’s seasonal flu as they are to COVID-19 (against which the entire population is vulnerable). And there are vastly more people out there who have or have had the flu than COVID-19. If you really want to worry about something, worry about getting the flu. It’s still very active. About 7% of the US population will get it this season, close to epidemic level.
Flu and COVID-19 can both progress to pneumonia, which is one of the things that kills, so a pneumonia shot is a good idea. One shot lasts a lifetime (or until you turn 65, when you get a different one).
What’s the relevance here? Well, we don’t stop going to restaurants and food markets just because it’s flu season, and we shouldn’t stop going to Asian restaurants and markets just because the COVID-19 outbreak started in China. Yes, it will probably spread worldwide. No, it won’t wipe out civilization. Flu season usually ends in March or April at the latest, and I think that COVID-19, which is like a flu, will calm down in the same timeframe.
What was your point in posting this news item, MB403? You didn’t explain. There are going to be lots of things like this. Should LA now be quarantined – all freeways closed, no travel into or out of LA? Rail service suspended? Schools closed? Sports events cancelled? Everyone stay at home and hide under the covers? All Korean restaurants and markets in LA shuttered? Is that what should be done? What if the flight attendant had been diagnosed with the flu instead? Same reaction? Headline news? The paranoia is exasperating and confounding.
To caution fellow FTCers. Proceed and dine with caution.
Let’s look at the other end of the this extreme logic. We should all fly to Wuhan right now.
Flu’s a relatively known quantity and 40 times less deadly than COVID19. Admittedly, COVID19’s death rate only hovers around 2-3% but should we not take any preventative measures for the sake for friends and family? Again, should we fly straight to Wuhan or travel to any epicenter of potential Coronavirus outbreak?
I, too, am not overly concerned about COVID19, but if I know that an area is potentially compromised, I’m going to take a wait and see approach before I travel there.
Fair enough. No, I think I’ll pass on a vacation in Wuhan just now. Besides, if I went, I’d probably end up in a quarantine camp for two weeks after returning. If I could even get a flight back.
What I was getting at is more local. So, OK, the news says that a flight landed in LA that had a compromised flight attendant. Not good, but do we now round up everyone that was on the airplane and lock them in a camp for two weeks? I think that’s draconian, oppressive, and unnecessary.
But, getting back to the sense of my OP regarding dining and shopping: Do we stop eating at Korean restaurants in LA and stop buying food at Korean markets there, all because of one person was diagnosed with this illness? (Actually, I hardly ever go to LA to dine and shop for food. Full disclosure.)
But even more locally, what should we do when there’s a case here in SD?
The normal personal measures for avoiding the flu, paying attention to people around you (coughing, sneezing) and personal hygene, works for me. I’m not going to get worked up over this.
I agree we shouldn’t panic but you are also arguing too similar to the orange goblin in the WH - all data so far indicates that COVID-19 is not similar to the flu. The death rate seems to be significantly be higher across age groups, R0 is significantly higher compared to the flu. The only reason why the US hadn’t seen yet a spike in diseases is most likely related to the incompetence of the WH (and to a certain degree the CDC) by hardly testing anybody (they have tested 28 people in the last 2 days across the US - no wonder there are hardly any COVID-19 cases in the US). Should we based on this stop eating out - not automatically but some caution isn’t also wrong). And I hope I am wrong but I doubt that COVID-19 will calm down by end of March
Sounds much worse than the flu which ain’t pleasant to begin with …
“… The first four days of the illness were brutal. “I suffered from a high fever and pains that tortured every part of my body,” said Ye… Overnight, Ye’s condition worsened to the point he thought he might die. “I thought I was knocking on hell’s door,” he said”
.