Andrew Bolt: Time for shoppers to stop the addiction to panic
Yes, the coronavirus is bad news but the panicked reaction across Australia seems to have left reality far behind. And what’s with the toilet paper obsession, asks Andrew Bolt.
Andrew Bolt
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We’ve heard the scary worst about the coronavirus and many of us have freaked like fools. Did this virus just kill the easygoing Australian?
Only one very elderly Australian has died of this virus, yet people are stripping stores of toilet paper.
How mad. We make toilet paper here and aren’t running out of the stuff. And coronavirus — this COVID-19 — gives you the cough, rarely the trots.
Wow, are we addicted to panic. But we already knew that from all that wailing about how global warming will drain our dams, kill our crops and end all human life.
But after being told the worst about the coronavirus, now hear the best.
First, China — virus central — reported only 129 new cases on Tuesday. That is astonishing.
After a bungled start and nearly 3000 deaths, China is showing this virus can be virtually stopped with aggressive quarantines.
Second, the death rate outside China is only one out of every 100 people who get sick. That’s worse than the flu, but much lower than first seen in Wuhan.
Third, this virus does not hurt children as the flu does. Children are less likely to get sick and, if they do, are more likely to feel very few symptoms.
Fourth: So far, very few Australians have caught the virus from another.
None of that means we shouldn’t be careful. It’s being careful that will keep us safe.
And that’s more good news. Keeping personally safe, or relatively safe, is cheap.
How often did your mum tell you to wash your hands? So now wash them, in warm water with soap for 30 seconds.
Because here is how you usually get sick from COVID-19 — not by breathing, but by bringing the virus to your mouth or nose with your dirty hands.
Who knows what those dirty hands have touched? A table where someone sneezed. A handrail or a lift button touched by someone who’d just wiped their nose.
See, COVID-19 can live for hours in spit or sputum that’s been smeared on some surface.
That’s why face masks can help. They stop you from touching your face.
Of course, other protection measures do cost. Travel bans hurt us and China shut down whole cities to stop the virus spreading.
But we’re starting way ahead of China, so can we stop freaking? Leave panic to the professionals.
Originally published as Andrew Bolt: Time for shoppers to stop the addiction to panic
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