Okay, now that the ravages of panic hopefully have past, take a deep breath and hold it for a few second and then slowly let it out. Now take a seat someplace quite and think about the situation, calmly and rationally.
Ask yourself what is the real problem and how serious is it to yourself and your family? Out of a population of 325 million people in the United States, 27 or so have died and several thousand are infected. Ask the question, how does this relate to you and your community?
The Centers for Disease Control(CDC) says keep this virus in perspective when it's seen side by side with the Flu, Influenzas that infects more then 10 million a year and kills more then 30,000 like it did 2018- 2019. Yet no panic! How come? One report by the CDC said 50,000 died in that time period.
Start by finding out why you're in the panic mode today. Take a serious look at where you're getting your information and are they honest. What is there history of reporting the events of the day? Do they have your best interest in mind or are they involved in fostering chaos and conflict for political reasons!?(Who would knowingly inflict panic in the general population for political reason?)
Survival under any condition or events depends on good information.
Ask yourself what is the real problem and how serious is it to yourself and your family? Out of a population of 325 million people in the United States, 27 or so have died and several thousand are infected. Ask the question, how does this relate to you and your community?
The Centers for Disease Control(CDC) says keep this virus in perspective when it's seen side by side with the Flu, Influenzas that infects more then 10 million a year and kills more then 30,000 like it did 2018- 2019. Yet no panic! How come? One report by the CDC said 50,000 died in that time period.
Start by finding out why you're in the panic mode today. Take a serious look at where you're getting your information and are they honest. What is there history of reporting the events of the day? Do they have your best interest in mind or are they involved in fostering chaos and conflict for political reasons!?(Who would knowingly inflict panic in the general population for political reason?)
Survival under any condition or events depends on good information.
Coronavirus - by Ahmed Sharkawy
I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.
I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.
What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world.
I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others.
I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they " probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.
I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you even imagine?
I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.
But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, open-mindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.
Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous.
I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.
Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.
Our children will thank us for it.
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