> The effectiveness of this warning on people who would not already limit their gatherings is questionable. Many people are just in denial or deluded about how

> The effectiveness of this warning on people who would not already limit their gatherings is questionable. Many people are just in denial or deluded about how serious this pandemic is, and are unlikely to significantly change their behavior until and unless people start dropping dead all around them. I disagree. People are definitely in denial, and seeing people die around them will "help" in getting them over that denial. But it's not the only way. The government encouraging or enforcing a quarantine, for example, is also going to get people to take this seriously. E.g. over here in Israel, we've seen cases go up a bunch but deaths are luckily still not that high. However, while people here still aren't taking this seriously enough IMO, the fact that the government has effectively shut down all restaurants, all educational establishments, etc., is definitely helping to get through to people that this isn't business as usual.