Don’t panic!

Unless you’re living under a rock, then you are more than aware that we are experiencing a world health event, the coronavirus. In the past few days, the World Health Organization has classified it as a pandemic.Sounds scary, right? Well, I have two words about all this…

From everything I have seen and read about this virus, it isn’t anywhere near as bad as people, or rather, the media will have us believe. They have all but made it sound like the next black plague or the early stages of the apocalyptic scenarios seen in many movies.

Sure, precautions need to be taken. Colleges and universities are shifting to online classes for the remainder of the semester, March Madness has either been canceled or postponed (I’ve seen reports saying both, as of this writing), and the NBA has suspended the season. As this is spread through the air, it makes sense not to have gatherings until further notice. What makes no sense, though, is that politicians are jumping on the opportunity to make this a political issue.

*SIGH*

I guess it doesn’t help that this is an election year. Let me just say that this virus isn’t going to vote red or blue, doesn’t care what side of the aisle you sit on, and really doesn’t care if you’re one of the brainwashed sheep blindly following the off brand Cheeto in the White House. If you catch it, you catch it.

Washing your hands is the current best way to prevent this thing and not just running your hands under the water for a few seconds. Take 20 second or more and do it properly and you’ll be surprised at how well you fend off this mysterious ailment

In the end should we be concerned? Yes, we should be concerned that this was not contained in China where it seemingly began. We should be concerned that nothing is seemingly being done to help those that have it. We should be concerned that there are daily death totals released as if this were The Hunger Games, yet people die from sickness, homelessness, and other factors every day, but nothing about that. We should be concerned that many of the big movies that were set to come out in the next few months, No Time to Die, Mulan, New Mutants, Fast and Furious 9, among others, are all being pushed back. Some are saying this has had an effect on Onward, as well. We should be concerned about all of this, but stay vigilant. 

Apparently, youtubers can’t say “coronavirus” in their videos. If they do, they risk their videos getting demonetized. Sounds a bit Draconian to me. Wait, no…where else have I heard about an antagonistic force that can’t be mentioned by name? Hmm…

All things pass with time, be it a natural disaster, bad fashion trends, horrible politicians, or a bad TV show. This will be contained, hopefully without charging people an arm and a leg so they can stay healthy. Comparisons to the flu should be discouraged, but truthfully, unless you are an older citizen or one with a weakened immune system, you’ll be fine, even if you are unfortunate enough to catch it.

Now that I’ve finished typing, I’m going to wash my hands