Thread: Coronavirus: How should we be responding?

For me, life is pretty normal so far. The only thing I miss is riding my bike around town. Considering I spend most of my time indoors as an introvert anyway, I'll be able to withstand most of it. I've got books, tea, internet, and food. I'll manage just fine.

Some places in the US are being more contained and restricted than others. New York banned dog walking and alcohol sales I believe. This started just the other days I think. The cases over there are spreading too fast and they can't keep up.

I was quite enthusiastic about the lockdown. It's not every day that somebody should be optimistic about something like that, but this isn't every day, week, month, or year. Everywhere I go (well, in the digital space since that's all that's physically possible at the moment, lol) I see people (both the left and right) who are pissed at the government. I've never been a patriot or overly supportive of any government, but many governments are doing correct things at this time.

I saw this guy waffling about this being because of 5G and another saying that the coronavirus is a scheme masterminded by the EU. People can go full-retard all they want, but people who would normally seem quite sane to me have become very paranoid about the government. Let's get one thing out of the way. Generally speaking I do not like our police, but thinking that the police are using this situation to their advantage to abuse everybody is a little bit silly.

Everyone's got a role to play at the moment, whether that's as simple (comparatively anyway) as staying at home or battling this crisis at the frontlines. The police don't have time to lollygag right now. Apparently the public does though. Many government measures seem to come across as harsh, but people need to realise that they're doing what it takes to slow and eventually halt contagion. 260 deaths from the It's Only The Flu™ Coronavirus today and now we've passed 1000. I'd say it would take numbers like Italy's to convince people. We're already on that path.

Edit:

If it isn't Isaac Kleiner from the Black Mesa Research Facility! He's advising us on projections.

"Boris Johnson! You finally found us!"
"Of course, you owe us nothing, Mr. Johnson. But you've come this far. You know as much about this virus as anyone."
"Boris Johnson—it is you, isn't it? Parliament has been tracking your progress with the Great Britain security system. Unfortunately, so has the military. That suit of yours is full of tracking devices. Still, it's better than going naked in this place."
"Well I can't take all the credit, Boris Johnson proved an able assistant."
"If you let us all die, Johnson, you'll never get out of here!"

I heard the UK was going to be doing a 14-day lockdown where travel is being put to a bare minimum. I didn't look into the facts on this so it might not be accurate but in the US, a lot of states are lifting their quarantine. As of tomorrow, my state will be allowing most businesses to reopen with restrictions in place and as of May 21st I think it was, restaurants will be allowed to open again.

Since most airlines are offering zero-fee reschedules and cancellations, I booked a vacation to Japan in October. My round-trip flight is $590, less than half of what I paid in the past. October may be a bit optimistic, but then I'll just reschedule. My wife paid for her ticket with credit card points, so we are both going for under $600 total. I found the silver lining in this whole situation!