Thoughts and prayers won't help, if there is a message in the meme it is simply that. Too many of the people in the world are relying on divine intervention when simple precautionary measures are what is needed.

@Surfpirate
Oh. I guess I was hoping you meant the ideas would be discussed without reference to religion.

Unfortunately, religion is already in play and is having an impact on this pandemic. Mike Pence is in charge of the US response to this virus, holy mother of dog, this will not end well. He doesn't even understand science, let alone believe in it.

@Surfpirate
yep

Praise the lord, winner winner chicken dinner. However, the belief in some that Jesus is the cure will make matters worse.

@Surfpirate Yeah, my attitude is "You just keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better"... suckers....

Thanks Raven.

Hope it all goes well for everyone there. I would really stay indoors as much as possible at this time.

I don't think it is panicking to limit contact with large groups of people, especially in areas where contagion is more likely like hospitals and airports, etc.

It's open to everyone, just look for it in groups.

At least one thing they fail to mention is this bug can live on hard surfaces.

I've been cautioning folks in spoonie groups to wash their hands after opening their mail or packages that are delivered. It's going to be another point of transmission.

They also said yesterday they think anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of the population will have this bug before it's done. (That's way higher than flu stats and probably due to the lousy response).

COVID-19 is far more contagious, and has a higher mortality rate, than seasonal flu. Here's some relevant information: [propublica.org]

@Twainwide
...and those who were released in China after being in quarantine are affected again. Now that's scary.

Check to see if chlorine is already in the system as one does not want to ingest to much.

@dalefvictor That is exactly why the formula for water purification is 6 to 8 drops per gallon. Some people choose the one and some choose the other.

@DenoPenno I do not want people to get sick, since you have already researched this then OK. Thanks for the work.

You might want to consider using food grade hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine bleach. Safer and easier to handle, no obnoxious odor or taste, available at water treatment supply companies like Culligan.

@Surfpirate Hydrogen peroxide is not a water purifier and cannot make water drinkable. Water is needed for life and bleach does the trick nicely, believe it or not, without odors. This would kill a pathogen. Would I take water this way to prevent coronavirus or anything? No, but I would start using my treated water if I developed coronavirus. My family drank water purified this way all through my early teen years because we had a cistern and not the normal home water supply.

@DenoPenno - Hydrogen Peroxide is an effective disinfectant but must be used at higher concentrations than the 3% over the counter variety that is readily available. I use a 15% solution and microdose between shocks and I periodically use a chlorine shock because it lingers longer than the hydrogen peroxide oxidizer. The use of chlorine is largely an economic decision as it lasts longer and costs less, readily available at the corner grocery store it can cause problems when people are too enthusiastic with the concentrations used. I ran into this with a germaphobe boy scout leader who made his troop sick by using too much bleach on a back country scout camp. Chlorine and Hydrogen Peroxide used in sequence is actually better than either sanitizer used alone.

@SurfpirateThe boy scout leader needs to learn how to follow instructions.

My over-55 retirement condo community is having a meeting later this month to discuss temporarily closing our lodge/clubhouse building in order to slow possible spread of the virus in our community. We have a lot of old people here who would likely die if they got infected.

I would completely expect event cancellations and hope for a lot more of them. One fact being underreported by the media is the total number of cases versus how many are ACTIVE. Well over half of the total number of cases have already recovered or passed away. I feel omitting this number is misleading on the part of the media.

Just saw that the NCAA is recommending that all tournament games be played without spectators.
Even if I had tickets, at this point, I wouldn't go.

I think the Chinese government was able to act swiftly because of the totalitarian nature of that regime. Our freedom in the West may be working against us when it comes to fighting this bug. If people were thoughtful about their actions and behaved responsibly then there would be less of an impact. Stockpiling like a bunch of crazy preppers or going to work or public places when you are ill is not the sort of behavior we need.