Last, week the City of Austin, TX shut down the 34th annual South by Southwest Festival, the city’s seminal music, film and technology conference, which was scheduled for this week.
The new James Bond movie scheduled for release in April will now be screened for the first time in November.
The National Basketball Association has floated the idea of playing its remaining games without fans in the arenas.
These are just some of the recent extreme responses to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which, as of Monday, surpassed 110,000 confirmed cases worldwide with roughly 4,000 deaths.
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“A person is smart, people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it,” said Agent K in the movie Men in Black.
We are not saying there is no cause for concern, or that public health authorities shouldn’t be taking the threat seriously, but panic is never a good response to anything.
To put things in a little bit of perspective, Austin had not had a single case of COVID-19 when it told festival organizers to pull the plug. Last year the event contributed $356 million to the Austin economy.
As of Monday, there were only 70 confirmed cases in Canada and one death. There have been no cases so far in northern B.C.
Meanwhile, there have been more than 35,000 cases of the everyday, ordinary flu, which has killed at least 81 people. In a typical flu season, fatalities average approximately 1,500 - 3,500 in Canada.
The United States Centre for Disease Control estimates as of Feb. 29 influenza has claimed between 20,000 and 52,000 lives so far in the U.S.. That’s a pretty typical flu season.
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Granted, the mortality rate for COVID-19 is much higher than that of influenza, but is it worth shutting down our lives over?
Canadian and B.C. health authorities are doing a very good job of containing the spread.
And, fortunately the measured response to both diseases is the same and common sense.
From the B.C. Centre for Disease control: “Wash your hands often with soap and water, cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, avoid others who are unwell, and stay home when you are sick or exhibiting flu-like symptoms. The most important thing you can do to prevent coronavirus and other illnesses is to wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your face.”
editor@interior-news.com
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