Emergency Post: What You Need to Know about COVID-19

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Hello my dear happiness nerds, welcome back!

The current coronavirus pandemic is maybe the worst of its kind in over a hundred years. Millions of people are likely already infected (but not tested) and a few million will likely die.

This being said, don’t panic. Don’t spread apocalyptic rumors. Don’t flood hospitals, because you sneezed once. If you’re below the age of 50 and don’t have any other risk factors, in over 99% of cases you’ll be perfectly fine. You’ll have some symptoms, maybe stay in bed for 10-14 days, but that’s nothing too extraordinary, right?! It’s so important right now to keep the hospitals free and functioning for the people, who actually need them! Here’s what else you should do:

• Stay home as much as humanly possible even if you don’t have symptoms (this means: No bars, no clubs, no restaurants, no nothing except for the essentials like grocery shopping)
• If you have to go out, keep a distance of at least 2 meters (6.5 feet) from people
• Wash your hands thoroughly and regularly (and do it right)
• Don’t touch your (or anyone’s) face
• Open the windows to get fresh air regularly
• Clean surfaces at your place regularly
• Drink a lot and keep your throat moist
• Cough/sneeze in your elbow or a disposable tissue
• If you think you might have COVID-19 (the most common symptoms are dry cough, fever, and shortness of breath), DON’T GO TO THE DOCTOR, BUT CALL A DOCTOR.
• Needless to say: Don’t be racist or stupid. Asian-looking people are not responsible for this crisis and are not more likely to carry/spread the virus.

Below are some well-researched and trustworthy resources for you. Understand what’s happening, share this knowledge with others, and follow the recommendations. You’re literally saving lives. Every year around half a million people die from the flu. And this is despite everything we know about the flu, despite having vaccines etc. This coronavirus is new. It’s at least as contageous as the flu and many times more deadly (2 times more deadly at an absolute minimum, probably 8 times more deadly). If everybody followed the recommendations above, fewer moms, dads, brothers, sisters, friends and especially grannies would die. Please help protect them. I send you much love, please stay healthy by staying home.

Resources

A short and nicely illustrated overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSQztKXR6k0

More thorough recommendations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1xBiBVH7U4

Two interviews with leading experts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwE0ldRtwGA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9vIUtXa9ug

How to wash your hands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IisgnbMfKvI

If you prefer to read (note that true cases are likely around 10 times higher than official figures, because testing is still relatively rare): https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Last but not least, an essential article on the true number of cases (as far as we can estimate them): https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca