How To Not Panic in the Face of Pandemic Hysteria
Source: StareCat
As of right now, 2020 is off to a sordidly awful start. In fact, it’s been absolute chaos.
Right now, we face the first flu-like pandemic this world has seen since the Flu Pandemic of 1968. The death toll predicted for the novel coronavirus is similar to the aforementioned flu pandemic—around one million dead. UCSF studies predict that, within the next 12-18 months, 40-70 percent of the U.S. population (160 million people) will be infected by COVID-19. The fatality rate is ten times that of influenza. At a 1% mortality rate, 1.6 million would die.
It would be an understatement to cast off the word “scary” during this time. The word frightening does it some more justice.
I don’t want to lay out these facts to terrify anyone more than they likely are, what with the state of the American nation being what it is, let alone nations like Italy and China being at a much more advanced stage of containment. I lay out these facts because they are facts we are entitled to know, yet I believe the lede is being buried under mass hysteria. So, I’d like to present a guide, a fruitfully factful one, to follow in this time of fear, confusion, and well, panic.
Wash your hands. Seriously.
With normal soap. Underestimating the value of meticulous hand-washing with a surgeon’s precision can be dangerous at this time, as silly as it may sound. Here’s why: COVID-19 is a virus that is a self-made nanoparticle, whose weakest link is a lipid bilayer. Soap, normal soap, dissolves that outer membrane, causing the virus to become inactive. Or die. Whichever you prefer to imagine when scrubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds. This, while not effective in obviously curing the illness, can help prevent you from spreading the virus into yourself via touching your hands to your face, mouth or eyes.
By helping you help yourself, you help yourself help others, too. And, if you don’t have access to running water at the moment, using hand-sanitizer of a 60% (or higher) alcohol base will do fine as a temporary fix.
Consider yourself.
Obviously (I assume), you should distance yourself entirely from anyone who has presented flu-like symptoms, or has been tested positive for COVID-19 (even if they are asymptomatic). But if you start feeling a tickle in the throat, a bit warmer than usual, a minuscule aching all over, please find your way to a hospital immediately. Soon enough, Trump’s national decree of having convenience stores like CVS, Target, Duane Reade, Walmart, and all the rest, will make this process easier and leave other people less at risk—they will all be working to provide drive-through testing for the virus.
If you do feel sick, isolate yourself from others to the most possible extent you can. This is for you as much as it is for others.
Consider others, now.
Panicking right now? Do you have a compromised immune system? Are you over 60? Do you have heart disease? Diabetes? Any lung conditions?
If not, please recognize that your panic-infused bulk buying is stripping people who do check off those boxes from the bulk supplies they will need. They are at a much higher risk of not only contracting this virus, but suffering from much more severe conditions as well. They need to isolate more than anyone, and if you’re in perfect health with perfectly pumping organs, stockpiling over 3 packages of toilet paper is absolutely inconsiderate of others who are more in need. It’s also inconsiderate of those who do not have the means to spend hundreds on various household items like dish soap and Tostitos Con Queso dip. Or whatever your priorities are. Those are mine.
Don’t be selfish, and don’t panic. So many other things can be used to wipe your bum, if, you know, absolutely needed.
For the love of any God, stop spreading conspiracy theories.
Listen, as much as it goes against all journalistic integrity I may have to put this in writing, I am a sucker for a good conspiracy theory. It’s natural to distrust things in the same way that it’s natural to keep secrets, lie and deceive when in a position of power.
However, to all willful conspiracy theorists, I beg of you, pipe down. At the very least, please discontinue your theories from being spread through the internet until panic and fear have subsided, because your theories that lack any real information are actually making things worse. Shocker, I know.
To question, essentially, the only people who can provide us the safety and protection and resources we desperately need right now is not only biting the hand that feeds you, but sadistically tearing apart any form of unity we could possibly assemble in keeping a rational and logical head during this hell of a trying time. So, kindly put a muzzle on it.
Do the basics. They’re basics for a reason.
Cover your cough with your elbow. Wipe down your phone, laptop, and doorknobs after you’ve left your home. Stay away from sick people. Did I say wash your hands? I’ll say it again. Wash your hands like the civilized human being you know you are. Incessantly. Also, carry hand lotion. If you do the hand-washing part right, your palms might get ashy. Don’t wear facemasks unless you are actually sick, because it doesn’t protect you all that well from catching things, but rather spreading things.
Work from home if you can. Most schools and offices have moved online at this point to contain the virus spreading further. Adhere to that as much as you physically can.
Try and breathe. You know what’s better than panicking? Preparing. We’re all about preparation in this house.
Want to help further?
Many public health professionals, health organizations, nonprofit organizations and businesses, and more related are struggling with maintaining a steady supply of resources while trying to help maintain normal societal function while also effectively neutralizing the spread of this pandemic. If you’re reading this and flush with cash, or just feeling generous, below is a list of reputable organizations you can donate to in order to speed along some processes that can make all of our lives a little bit more normal.
To donate to Direct Relief, click here.
To find out more information about donating to a food bank, click here.
To donate to Global Giving, click here.
To learn more about donating blood to the American Red Cross, click here.
In an ideal world that wasn't essentially an ongoing Black Mirror episode, we wouldn’t need a how-to-not-panic-guide. Alas, this is life. We will make it through, as we have before, and we will learn from it. And, then we’ll probably forget what we learned in time for the next pandemic, realistically. But really—everything will be okay if we are all vigilant and considerate. The panic, the fear, the loss of reason and logic; those are the worst parts of this pandemic.
Stay safe, as always.