My 2 cents....
In this thread, in this forum, in the news we see a lot of complaining. Mostly complaining that the current administration is composed of a bunch of idiots. But with the complaints there's very little in the way of "what should have been done?" commentary. And even when there has been something along those lines (i.e., "here's what should have been done") there's very little supporting how "what should have been done" results in something different from the "what shouldn't have been done" commentary. Mostly, the results are the same. In a word, unhelpful. And that's what makes this "event" more political than medical.
Sort of like this (hopefully, y'all find this flowchart - from the politics of relationships - funny):
View attachment 145961
This also applies to how people are reacting.
WRT the ICUs in Italy overflowing.... Do we know why? Sure, the simple answer is that these folks filling the beds have coronavirus. But at this point it could equally be the case that Italian medical authorities are reacting to pressures that they not be seen as MISSING some cases. And people don't want to stay home if they think there is a remote chance they have the coronavirus. So the result is a "the more, the better" dynamic where social circumstances pile on/pile up.
Normal human psychology, right? But that also sends the signal (both explicitly and implicitly) that the coronavirus is an EOTWAWKI event. More people become even more cautious, breeding more fear, breeding more caution, etc. Decisions that are ultimately based not on fact, but fear.
The coronavirus may turn out to be a tough cookie for some, but at this point some of the worry (perhaps, most of the worry) is what FDR cautioned us against: the fear of fear. Meaning, the shadow of the monster is almost always much bigger and much more fearsome than the "monster" itself.
View attachment 145962
So where does that leave us?
For me, the best measures are the things we should be doing during any bad flu season: cover your gob when you sneeze/cough, don't hawk loogies on the ground, try to self-quarantine when you have a cold (or if you suspect you have one), hydrate, wash hands, eat well, sleep well, exercise.
And I say this being (as I've mentioned before) someone who is in several of the high risk categories for this (or any) flu.
Enjoy the weekend!
--- End of line (MCP)