Here are five specific reasons to calm down about Corona Virus:
1. CORONAVIRUS IS A FAMILIAR VIRUS AND NOT AS BAD AS THE OTHERS: It is from the SARS family — and less deadly. As Ha’aretz noted, “the mortality rate from the current disease ranges from 0.5 to 2 percent, and is significantly lower than the mortality rate from the 2002 SARS outbreak (9.5 percent) and much lower than the 2012 SARS outbreak (34.4 percent). It may even be close to the mortality rate from an ordinary flu outbreak in the United States
2. THE U.S. RESPONSE HAS BEEN EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD: There have only been 16 cases thus far, none deadly. President Donald Trump bought precious time by stopping travel to China last month — a step critics said was overly drastic. Democrats are screaming about funding and staff cuts that NEVER actually happened. The latest outrage: the White House is controlling the message. As they should! The people in lab coats are not always good communicators
3. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A VACCINE SOON: There are private companies in the U.S. and around the world racing to develop a vaccine — not just because of the urgent public health need, but because whoever finds it first stands to make a lot of money. Period.
4. CHINA IS GOING TO BE FINE: The number of cases in China sounds large — until you consider the size of China. True, the Chinese government has been duplicitous about coronavirus, as it is about everything. (Amartya Sen famously observed that India, unlike China, has never suffered famine because India has a free press.) And U.S. firms are learning a long-overdue lesson about the risks of investing there. But China will eventually pull through.
And lastly,
5. THE SAME PEOPLE WHO WANT YOU TO PANIC ABOUT CORONAVIRUS WANT YOU TO PANIC ABOUT EVERYTHING: The news business thrives on chaos. In addition, the media wants to destroy President Trump, which is why they spread the Russia collusion hoax. Coronavirus is not a hoax, but pundits should be asked if they cared enough to get their flu shot this year — which kills far more people. If not, ignore them. Remember to wash your hands, try not to touch your face and stay cool.
- Joel B. Pollak