a time of great need needs us

Fellow composers, we are living in uncertain times as a planet. A pandemic has been declared, and I'm scared. I'm scared for all of you, for our friends, family, and for all of the vulnerable people in our lives. I don't know how to act in situations like this, how to make sure everyone is ok, how to tell someone who is dying that everything is going to be ok when I know it won't. All I know how to do is compose. That is my voice, it always has been and it always will be. The world is crying out in pain and she needs someone to hear her. She needs someone to tell her everything is going to be ok even if you don't know that it will. She is your mother, your brother, your grandpa. She is your favorite park, your coffee shop haunt, your school. She is the air you breathe, she is the moon, she is every experience you hold dear. Your world is having an existential crisis, and it is your duty to tell her all the reasons why she's here, why she matters and why she should stay. She is in a time of great need, and she needs us. So go onward and make something beautiful, tell us why you're here. Tell us why you want to stay. Tell us you're scared, tell us you're angry. Tell us what you have to do to get through this. We will all be better for it, and the world will know she is well cared for. I have nothing but love for all of you, and I want you to know that I am here with you and together we are strong! Go forth!!

It's a simple influenza with a bit of more issues. Only old people or people with diseases as hypertension are most probably to die. The chance that someone healthy or even normal is going to die is 0.5% more or less. Even counting vulnerable people it's still lower than 2.5% mortality rate. Don't panic, that's simply stupid. Wash your hands and try not to expose to the virus (touching with the hands things in public places or contacting people phisically without being able to clean your hands/face)

4 minutes ago, J.Santos said:

It's a simple influenza with a bit of more issues. Only old people or people with diseases as hypertension are most probably to die. The chance that someone healthy or even normal is going to die is 0.5% more or less. Even counting vulnerable people it's still lower than 2.5% mortality rate. Don't panic, that's simply stupid. Wash your hands and try not to expose to the virus (touching with the hands things in public places or contacting people phisically without being able to clean your hands/face)

 

only?

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-death-age-older-people-higher-risk-2020-2?op=1

These are our grandparents. These are our family and friends with medical conditions. But most importantly.. these are people!! Elderly people and people with medical conditions don't have the luxury of sitting on as stable of ground as you do. How would you feel if you were one of these people, if your family or friends were (and I'm very sorry to say, probably are) one of these people? This is a global tragedy affecting each and every one of us. I am not panicking, I am simply acknowledging that the world is sick and that we can be a source of strength for one another.

well said

Death is part of life, no matter how it comes.

That being said, if you compare this to the, say, Spanish Flu that killed like 50 million people in 1918 (or so,) then this is kind of a non-issue. The problem is that these days people can't tolerate just "getting sick," they expect to be 100% fully treated and survive, compared to back in 1918 where people just shrugged stuff like this off (and then died because healthcare was, well, 1918 healthcare. Nevermind the first world war.) The massive media circus and collective panic is a direct result of this. It says nothing about the virus itself, which is kind of pedestrian at best, but says a lot about the modern day mentality and how high our standards of living have become.

Just take the same exact measures you would against any influenza-type virus and you'll probably be fine. Much more important than the virus is not letting the collective panic get to you, but it seems now we're quarantining entire countries and the global economy is taking a huge nosedive into a multiple-year recession, so eh. Makes me wonder what will happen when a REAL deadly virus shows up. Maybe all this will be a lesson, but I really don't have much faith in people's capacity to learn from their experience at all.

3 hours ago, SSC said:

That being said, if you compare this to the, say, Spanish Flu that killed like 50 million people in 1918 (or so,) then this is kind of a non-issue.

Remember that it took more than a year for the Spanish Flu to kill all those people.  It was first detected in March of 1918, and finally tapering off over the summer of 1919.  It went around the world in three successive waves, riding along with troop movements from WWI.  The current virus is still spreading.  We haven't hit the peak yet.  I REALLY hope it won't be like the Spanish Flu, but that depends a lot on the action we take now, to be sure that no one area's health resources are overwhelmed with a sudden spike in cases.  It's no good having a hundred years of new medical technology to use if we don't have enough doctors and nurses to administer it, or enough hospital beds and equipment.  A slow spread of cases means everyone who needs care can get care in a timely manner and recovery rates will be as good as we can get them.  A quick spike in cases means some people who need care are stuck waiting in line for it.  When you need a ventilator, you need it now. Not tomorrow.  

So wash your hands, stay home if you're sick, and keep an ear on the news so you know if your area is recommending you limit unnecessary travel or large gatherings of people.  That's not panic.  That's practical public health strategy.  Today, so many people can work from home, and communicate with friends and family using video chat and other tools.  We don't have to all be in the same room to keep connected like we used to.  Do have dinner with the neighbors as long as you aren't quarantined, do take a walk, to take the dog to the park, but also, do stay home and watch Netflix instead of going to the movie theatre, and do have that meeting over video instead of flying everyone in the department out to the company's other office.  

I'm a doctor for what's its worth.

Please everyone, relax.  Certainly, there is concern particularly for the high risk elderly and those with complex medical issues but for the vast majority of people, this is really similar to a bad flu which is also high risk in elderly and patients with complicated medical issues (yet people still don't vaccinate for this......).   Take the usual precautions by good handwashing/hygeine, avoid large crowds when possible, and look after your loved ones who are higher risk.  The hysteria can be worse than the disease itself.

19 hours ago, bkho said:

The hysteria can be worse than the disease itself.

Yes. The biggest problem right now is people getting sick all at once and collapsing the healthcare system. This is what's happening in Italy, but hopefully this example is not going to be followed.

I love how people 'prepare' for this disease by

stocking up on milk and eggs. 

You know things that perish within a couple days.

It's like possibly being denied their fruit loops and milk

on a given day will be the worst but they don't really

care about starvation that much.

7 hours ago, marsbars said:

I love how people 'prepare' for this disease by

stocking up on milk and eggs. 

You know things that perish within a couple days.

It's like possibly being denied their fruit loops and milk

on a given day will be the worst but they don't really

care about starvation that much.

 

My take on this virus is that it will probably wind up being a good thing in the aftermath.

People in Western Europe and North America have, since the boomer generation, simply had things way too easy and good for far too long.

Most people today are so reliant on global corporations that they have lost all practical skills or ability to survive on their own.

I live just outside of town, my sister lives on a rural property, parents live on an acreage, etc. Between us all, we're all good as far as food goes. Why? Because we make most of our own. Saving food grown in large-gardens (mini-crops basically), the slaughter of the spring cow, hunting trips, the chickens and their eggs, etc. there's still plenty of food. My sister recently made a pretty good bit of cash selling fresh eggs to her neighbors and friends and the entire immediate family now have freezers full of chicken. 

Meanwhile, my cousin, who is a man in his mid-40s, is absolutely freaking out since he got placed on a two-week quarantine and now has to cook for himself. He just doesn't know what to do since the restaurants aren't delivering and he eats at them basically every day. A man in his 40s cannot cook for himself.

I've seen mothers complain that they now actually have to raise their children instead of hand them off to daycare. People hoarded toilet paper because, without Charmin, they couldn't clean their own @$$ and these people are supposedly "adults".

I do believe that we are headed for a positive societal shift after this clears. I think it is waking a lot more people up to how important self sufficiency, on both the national and personal level is. Being tied into a "global economy" and relying on foreign countries to produce basically everything in your country will inevitably have devastating consequences. A Chinese viral outbreak has crippled Italy, and basically everyone else. Just like how a 2008 American mortgage crisis crippled the economies of countries that were not the United States.

This virus is forcing people to realize the value of self-sufficiency, forcing them to spend more time with their families, dismantling meaningless entertainment distractions, reducing pollution, causing people to question consumerism, and so on. 

"It's always darkest before the dawn" and all that... 

Yes. It's that ultra dependence thing that has me worried

I mean it wasn't so long ago we had to slaughter an animal

for food. Now everyone wants 2.5 pounds of meat in a neat little

box NOW NOWWW at their doorstep. Like even the thought of waiting is

out of the question now.