...and yet, we are still so much further ahead than we were even only 20 years ago. This virus was caught by the early detection mechanisms setup after SARS, a

...and yet, we are still so much further ahead than we were even only 20 years ago. This virus was caught by the early detection mechanisms setup after SARS, and it was DNA sequenced from samples taken from some of the first victims within a couple of weeks - pointing to a near match with a sample collected in 2014 in a cave from bat poop as part of a "preparatory program" also setup after SARS. New sequencing tech has allowed the global distribution of test kits, allowing us to have thousands of confirmed cases shown to us in real time - globally. Vaccines are already in development and the FDA is prepared to fast-track their testing under procedures, you guessed it, updated after SARS. ...and yet, this turned into a global outbreak that we're desperately trying to stop from becoming a global pandemic. Sadly, Chinese prosperity has meant prolific Chinese tourist industries which helped spread the disease robustly throughout South-east Asia. And so there's a very real possibility that, unlike SARS, this new Coronavirus will become endemic and return each year like the seasonal flu, possibly causing hundreds of thousands of dead per year until a vaccine is deployed. Based on projected numbers, it seems like it has spread far beyond our ability to contain it. So while it certainly could have been worse, had we not been as prepared - I like to think that when this happens again 20 years from now, we'll be far better prepared. I'll have to learn to use those three sea shells.