I can empathise, my OCD sends me haywire about the usual viruses let alone this.
Big social media is the absolute worst. Not only do you have the general rabble of the population spreading unsubstantiated panic, you have both the mainstream media pushing whatever tosh they can get away with for clicks and ad revenue compounded by well established foreign interference who will seize any opportunity to bring certain countries grinding to a halt.
Some preparations are useful, I like this gif on 'flattening the curve'. It shows how by taking precautions and spreading out the cases over a longer period of time will make things easier to manage particularly for healthcare but also logistically for food & supplies etc.
Germany seems to be doing well with the virus so far with very low mortality rate, but even the BBC who I would consider one of the better news sources is running with stupid headlines. "Coronavirus: Up to 70% of Germany could become infected - Merkel". But here's what's not in the article. German Health Minister Jens Spahn pointed out that 80 percent of all infected people would get through the epidemic with almost no symptoms.
In the UK, our supermarkets have started rationing soap. It is almost like some people are learning hand hygiene for the first time? Have these people not been buying soap before now? There is no hand sanitisers available anywhere either but at least people are washing themselves. I wonder how much easier flu season would be if people maintained a good level of hand hygeine.
You do just have to laugh about some things. I was in the supermarket yesterday and they are rationing toilet roll even because some people are stocking up. Why? Because some Americans started bulk buying to send to China where they apparently had shortages, which meant that other Americans started bulk buying so they didn't miss out, which via social media spread to the UK who started panic buying toilet roll thinking they were going to run out which actually ended up making them run out.
Pasta is out of stock also but the rest of the supermarket was absolutely full of everything else. I feel sorry for the poor families eating nothing but pasta and toilet roll(?) when they could have had anything else they wanted.
Remember where most news has come out of also. China obviously has its own problems and the USAs healthcare situation can't really be compared to ours in most of Europe. Italy is a bit worrying but they are making good progress curbing it.
