[Pebbles82]

Yes it isn't just panic it is trying to control a very fast spreading virus which nobody in the world has immunity to. The Uk has been slower than most in implementing social distancing but in a few days, the deaths rocketed and although the social distancing is hard, it does help organisations survive, by allowing people to work from home. It is also unknown if people will develop immunity, or whether they could get it more than once. And the people that get it mildly will be carriers.

It isn't just pneumonia - it is interstitial double pneumonia and the theory is, I believe, that it is not being caused by the virus itself, but by peoples' immune reactions to the virus. Hence even people younger than 50 can have a serious immune reaction. People in their 20s and younger seem to only have a mild case due to their immune systems being less developed and hence reacting differently. But even then there are an awful lot of younger people with asthma in the world and that is high risk with this condition.

I think the statistics are quite a lot more than 4% if nothing is done. If you lose a big chunk of the population, then everything would grind to a halt anyway. You need people, and skilled people with knowledge, to rebuild an economy. It is also the psychological effects on those who have it mildly, of knowing they could pass it to someone who could die. Children are anxious. And who would look after children if their parents die? Not all parents are in their twenties and thirties.

It is basically a national emergency, like a war, for all countries and I think it's good they are taking these measures to get control of the situation. I read that in Italy they don't have enough medical staff and ventilators to treat everyone so anyone over 40 is basically left to die. It is particularly bad there. So other countries are implementing social distancing earlier to try and prevent that scenario. Medical staff are also dying of it and there is a shortage of protective equipment for them. For the hospitals it is a very serious crisis.

I agree it is very very strange when it is so quiet everywhere and it makes you think it's not real. But a short hard time now could prevent all the economies collapsing entirely. It has changed everything - it is something that can affect every family regardless of wealth, importance or job etc.

I think of it as like during WW2 when people had to accept rationing and blackouts for the survival of the country as a whole.