[irq11]

Sure, but “don’t panic” is not an extreme sentiment, nor does it imply you shouldn’t prepare. Panic over an illness that has infected a grand total of less than 100,000 people...out of 7 billion, is probably an overreaction, in almost every case.

The amount of absolute garbage information flooding the internet right now has caused a lot of folks I know to freak out, when the relative risk of this virus is lower than any number of other things they do on a daily basis without a second thought.

So yes, wash your hands more, try to avoid large crowds amd have a plan for when they cancel your kid’s school or whatever, but don’t start a run on canned goods at the local grocery store. It’s important to maintain perspective.

[ceejayoz]

Ah, but I panic a bit about other people panicking.

[hartator]

How is avoid large crowd advice have more perspective than buy can food?

[irq11]

Your choice to avoid crowds helps everyone, because the crowds are one person smaller.

Hoarding canned food from your local store hurts everyone, because now they have less food.

[ithkuil]

My sister in law was in Milan a few days ago. In her words the city was deserted and the reaction by immediate family members to the description was to fuel more panic and suggestions to react by hoarding basic food supplies asap. The main rationale for suggesting that was to react on other people panicking.

Everything we do has consequences.

[irq11]

It’s especially important to manage your sense of panic when everyone else is losing their mind.

The fact that a simple acknowledgement that hoarding is objectively worse than avoiding large crowds is voted down to -1, should tell you everything you need to know about the sense of panic that is sweeping the internet right now.

[oxymoran]

Buying 46 cans of beans and corn is hardly hoarding. Everyone shouldn’t have been so apathetic.