Virus is a cause for concern, but not panic

Nothing puts human beings to the ultimate test like moments of crisis. Sometimes, crises bring out the best in us – like when we see total strangers open their homes and pantries to people who have lost everything in a fire. Sometimes, crises bring us together as a nation – as in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

But with COVID-19 – the viral boogeyman known as the coronavirus – we’re experiencing the flip side of that coin when it comes to what a crisis shows about us as a large population of fallible humans.

Perhaps Tommy Lee Jones said it best in the ’90s classic “Men in Black” when he was discussing the potential backlash of humanity learning of the existence of extraterrestrial life. Will Smith’s character, a New York City police officer, protests that people are smart, and they could handle such a revelation. But Jones wryly retorts, “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals – and you know it.”

When we look at the people on the front lines of this disease, we identify with Smith’s character. Incredibly intelligent individuals are working hard every day to try and find a vaccine for the disease, to develop protocols that prevent it from spreading further. There is no doubt that an illness like this would have already run rampant in a younger, less developed world.

But when we see people panic-buying huge stockpiles of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, clearing out pharmacies of their supplies without any regard for people that actually need them, we are forced to consider whether Jones’ character is the one who has the correct assessment.

There’s no disagreeing that the effects of widespread panic are already being realized. Global markets are tanking at levels not seen since the Great Recession, Italy has essentially shut down and quarantined its entire country, schools are closing their campuses and limiting students to remote assignments. Local businesses are crafting their own hand sanitizers and selling them at a 100-percent-plus markup from what you might have found at the store just a month ago.

Rather, the keystone of disagreement within this discussion seems to be how panicked we should be at this point – and does that match the level of reactionary panic we’re actually seeing?

The only rational answer that can be given at this point is that we simply don’t know. We have not seen a virus like this – which had its first reported case in China on Dec. 1 and has since spread to more than 100 countries – actually go beyond the steps of preliminary concern, such as we saw with swine flu, bird flu and SARS, among others. The World Health Organization has officially declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. It is not something that will just blow over and be forgotten about. That much is clear.

Skeptics and critics of the reaction thus far have tried to liken this disease to the more common flu – the seasonal illness that according to the CDC infected nearly 43 million people in the United States in 2018-19 but only killed around 61,000.

What needs to be put in perspective regarding the more common flu and COVID-19 is that there is no preventative vaccine for the latter illness. The World Health Organization has also reported the death rate for COVID-19 to be around 3.4 percent. This means that if 43 million people were infected with COVID-19 in the United States, nearly 1.5 million people would die from it.

Taking that scenario further, if such a high number of people got the disease, it would mean all our efforts to prevent its spread had failed – which has frightening implications on its own, considering that each coronavirus victim is likely to spread it to at least two other people, and people may be contagious before they start showing symptoms.

The underlying point is that there is legitimate cause for concern with this illness – but panic is never an appropriate response to any concern. People of sound health panic buying in-demand supplies means that there won’t be adequate resources for those people – the first responders, caregivers and those most at-risk for succumbing to the illness – that actually need them.

Whether canceling parades and events and moving college classrooms wholly online is fully warranted for at this stage in the illness – where only five people have tested positive for it in the state – we don’t truthfully know. The state government obviously chose to exercise extreme caution in how this situation is handled and prepared for, and we should be grateful for that presence of mind over the alternative – such as the misinformation being fed from Washington, D.C., that somehow, America will be immune to this pandemic because Donald Trump says so.

We recommend a measured caution to the coronavirus situation. Listen to the recommendations of the Department of Health when it comes to staying home if you feel sick. Wash your hands regularly and avoid contact with people who are sick. Call a doctor if you are concerned your symptoms have worsened and align with the symptoms of COVID-19 (coughing, respiratory issues, fever).

Education and measured concern are the keys to keeping this situation from getting worse. Panic will do nothing but cause more harm.