CCD

You are wise to be concerned about SARS-CoV-2.  This is not "like the flu" and is not going away anytime soon.  China does not shut down for the flu.  This is a highly infectious agent that will not make most people very sick and leaves many completely asymptomatic.  While this may seem like good news (and it is for healthy young people), it is a death knell for older folks who have a much higher tendency to get very sick and to be hard to treat once they are sick. They are about to be faced with a world full of carriers for an extended period.  Because between 40 to 70% of the world's population is likely to contract the disease at least once (!) on its first sweep around the globe, the death toll will be high, much higher than for the seasonal flus. The identification of effective anti-virals and the eventual development of a vaccine will tame the virus in time but not until after it has killed many.  Even the US is shockingly behind the ball, without sufficient testing kits to perfom even a modest surveillance program.  And the testing kits they did distribute were defective.  Let's face it, in the molecular age, a reverse-transcriptase PCR test is not that hard to develop. WTF were they doing?  Fortunately, the Chinese and Koreans seem to have the hang of it.  Officials everywhere are trying to discourage 'panic' and contributing to the eventual chaos and harm that will ensue. 

Make sure you are not a victim and prepare to care for yourself (I know you are good at this).  So stock up on the essentials like tequila and rum and prepare to hunker down in style.  We may have to put off the beach party for now but save that beach chair with my name on it because I intend to be here after the pandemic! 

Jupe