We’re overreacting (but we’re prepping)
(Pandemic Diary - day 13)
From my journal: 11 March 2020 (Wednesday)
We’re overreacting, I feel sure of that.
This new coronavirus that’s spreading across the globe is more lethal than the flu, but it’s still not very lethal (at least not compared to how it could be), and I suspect if you ran the numbers you’d find that even in nursing homes, where the death rate might be as high as 15% for those who get the disease, there are higher-risk factors that we’re not reacting to. And even if I’m wrong about that, 15% doesn’t seem so high.
I’m not saying it isn’t a bad thing, and if you or someone you love is on the wrong side of that statistic, it’s surely a terrible thing. But that’s true of heart disease and pneumonia from the plain old flu, too. I’m just saying that this is one risk among many others in a risky world that none of us will get out of alive, so be careful, now and before and after this particular threat makes it’s way through your life. But also, keep on living.
That said, I think this is still a net good thing, because I think it might ultimately help us when the next one of these comes along. The next one of these might not be so benign. I’m thinking of this as a wake-up call for some of us, as a dry run or dress rehearsal for others, and as a good trigger reason for all of us to figure out just how we handle things, how we should handle things, when we’re faced with a threat like this.
“I’m thinking of this as a wake-up call for some of us, as a dry run or dress rehearsal for others, and as a good trigger reason for all of us to figure out just how we handle things...”
We personally aren’t that prepared, and I suspect that’s true for a lot of us. It’s pretty clear that we aren’t quite there yet publicly, either. I guess what I hope is that this current virus is just bad enough that it can be effective as a wake-up call, something that we’ll pay attention to, learn from, and then take action on the things we learn.
At this point it’s too late to (at least responsibly) stockpile your family’s stash of face masks and hand sanitizer and other more general supplies, but this one is going to pass, and on the other side of it there will probably be time to take action, to correct our deficits and prepare more seriously for the next round, because surely there will be another round, with a different viral or bacterial opponent that is scarier than the one we’re facing at the moment.
At the personal and family level, there are two main elements of “prepared” in the context of being ready for future disasters.
The first of those is plans and preparation — mainly having the right things stockpiled in reasonable amounts and perhaps having certain equipment on hand as well. There are many steps to this, from learning what those things are and deciding how much of them you need, to acquiring them, to storing them, to keeping them stocked and ready in the long term. But it’s also a pretty straightforward process that there really is no excuse for not working your way through.
The second element is a little tougher, at least for me. That’s to get (and keep) your house in order, in all senses of that phrase. Physically it includes things like de-cluttering your home so it’s easier to clean/disinfect. Administratively it means keeping your legal and financial affairs up to date and well-documented. It probably includes enlarging your emergency fund. It means becoming light and agile enough that you could go mobile without great trauma, not that you’d be able to take everything with you, but that you could quickly and easily take the things that are important, and be able to continue to function. It means staying current on things like medical appointments and prescriptions and all that sort of thing, not delaying such things until the last minute.
“It means becoming light and agile enough that you could go mobile without great trauma”
There’s more, probably much more, and I’m far short of being ready for anything like this, but the good thing is that getting ready for a disaster is a good motivation for doing things that will help you and give you a better life, even if that disaster never comes. Get your house in order, and you’re likely to be healthier both physically and mentally, and you’re likely to be happier.
It’s a big order, but I suspect it’s worth it.