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I am 100% in agreement with the author. It’s refreshing to see someone admit how much they don’t know — one of the most annoying things about our social media e

by numair 7y ago

I am 100% in agreement with the author. It’s refreshing to see someone admit how much they don’t know — one of the most annoying things about our social media era, when combined with this current situation, is that everyone thinks they’re an expert and that their course of action is the One True Way to defeat the virus. Fact of the matter is, we’re flying blind, and governmental action is more about crowd control than a real fix. My advice to the young people for whom this virus is not a major threat is ... Enjoy yourself, enjoy your time with your friends. There’s a chance that this virus could mutate to pose as much of a threat to young, healthy people as old, unhealthy ones (and ironically there’s a chance this whole quarantine thing might be of assistance, as OP carefully alludes to). That’s not a sci-fi disaster scenario, that’s just 1918, baby. Governments really need to increase the penalties — meaning, jail time, huge fines, etc — on spreading misinformation on social media. That is as big of a problem as any during this time. And so-called “medical experts” on Twitter or Facebook or whatever, trying to validate themselves, are a large component of that. If we don’t get people to stop playing games online about this now, we are going to have a full-scale meltdown if this virus mutates later in the year.

tsimionescu 7y ago
You are wrong on almost every count. Crowd control is a real fix for an epidemic. And while we don't know the details of the infection, we know enough to understand that we can't let it roam free. Your advice to young people is horrible, and based on nothing. One of the things we don't know is whether there is any lasting damage in recovered patients. We don't know if the virus might mutate. The only safe thing to do is to avoid catching it, whether you are 80 or 20. Note that SARS left permanent damage in some recovered patients. Even without that, the death rate among less than 40 is similar to the flu in the entire population. This is all not to mention that young people have old relatives that may need their help, especially if they are to stay in isolation for extended periods of time. And while fake news in the media is a problem, it is one of the last things that governments should be spending resources on at this time,especially as there have been no cases of breaking quarantine or isolation based on fake news.
- ojilles 7y ago
  Upvoted. But, I would change this: >> The only safe thing to do is to avoid catching it to >> The only safe thing to do is to avoid spreading it (And this is why young people need to take as much note as older people)

by numair 7y ago

tsimionescu 7y ago

You are wrong on almost every count. Crowd control is a real fix for an epidemic. And while we don't know the details of the infection, we know enough to understand that we can't let it roam free. Your advice to young people is horrible, and based on nothing. One of the things we don't know is whether there is any lasting damage in recovered patients. We don't know if the virus might mutate. The only safe thing to do is to avoid catching it, whether you are 80 or 20. Note that SARS left permanent damage in some recovered patients. Even without that, the death rate among less than 40 is similar to the flu in the entire population. This is all not to mention that young people have old relatives that may need their help, especially if they are to stay in isolation for extended periods of time. And while fake news in the media is a problem, it is one of the last things that governments should be spending resources on at this time,especially as there have been no cases of breaking quarantine or isolation based on fake news.

ojilles 7y ago
Upvoted. But, I would change this: >> The only safe thing to do is to avoid catching it to >> The only safe thing to do is to avoid spreading it (And this is why young people need to take as much note as older people)