I have not noticed a great deal of 'panic' over the virus here at ETS - mostly good advice on hand washing, anti-viral products, etc. However for those here who need to reassure others this article may help.

5 Reasons to Stop Freaking Out About Coronavirus

Coronavirus is an “info-demic,” a panic caused by the spread of partial and often misleading information about a health risk, sometimes deliberately.

The virus is real, and a small number of people have been infected. But it is going to pass.

It is an unpleasant respiratory illness, but it is not an organ-destroying horror like Ebola. Precautions are being taken, a vaccine will emerge, and life will continue as usual.

Here are five specific reasons to chill out.

1. Coronavirus is a familiar illness, and not as bad as others. It is from the SARS family — and less deadly. As Ha’aretz noted, “the mortality rate from the current disease ranges from 0.5 to 2 percent, and is significantly lower than the mortality rate from the 2002 SARS outbreak (9.5 percent) and much lower than the 2012 SARS outbreak (34.4 percent). It may even be close to the mortality rate from an ordinary flu outbreak in the United States.”

2. The U.S. response has been exceptionally good. There have only been 16 cases thus far, none deadly. [I removed some political content here]

3. We are going to have a vaccine soon. There are private companies in the U.S. and around the world racing to develop a vaccine — not just because of the urgent public health need, but because whoever finds it first stands to make a lot of money. (This is where the profit motive, and the pharmaceutical industry, are so crucial [removed political content]

4. China is going to be all right. The number of cases in China sounds large — until you consider the size of China. True, the Chinese government has been duplicitous about coronavirus, as it is about everything. (Amartya Sen famously observed that India, unlike China, has never suffered famine because India has a free press.) And U.S. firms are learning a long-overdue lesson about the risks of investing there. But China will eventually pull through.

5. The same people who want you to panic about coronavirus want you to panic about everything. The news business thrives on chaos. [removed political content] Coronavirus is not a hoax, but pundits should be asked if they cared enough about flu — which kills far more people — to get their shot this year. If not, ignore them. Remember to wash your hands, and stay cool.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart

https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/02/28/pollak-5-reasons-to-stop-freaking-out-about-coronavirus/