Do you believe the coronavirus threat is for real and has the potential for a major disaster? Or is it mostly just hype by the media and on social media?
Please let us know what you think. Feel free to leave a comment (but keep it respectful and intelligent and avoid name-calling or we’ll send it off to cyber prison).
Stand by. It may take a few moments for the poll to load.
Not sure when you posted this but we can only hope to be come to. Your senses in the past few days.
I take the threat seriously, but I’m not particularly worried, We did attend the Strawberry Festival near Tampa and it was mobbed. That was 12 days ago (before we heard much about the virus). Other than that, when we travel we mostly only see each other. We are now at home on a farm, where we usually don’t go out all that much anyway. Daughter-in-law, who is much younger, does most of the shopping. Besides washing our hands frequently, we don’t do much and we don’t go anywhere. Let’s hear it for Netflix.
I take it seriously but listen to the guidelines and therefore feel I am reasonably safe. I hate to see the various social platforms where RV’ers ignore all the suggestions and are travelling anyway. They feel they are invincible and are more concerned with their personal wants and not the danger they pose to others.
Please put your juvenile and uninformed political ideology in check. America is as great as its populace. All Americans must put differences aside and be part of the solution instead of the problem.
The survey is surprising and scary. I would have thought the majority of RVer’s would have taken the virus more seriously. But I’m assuming an average age of 65 on this site, maybe I’m wrong.
I’m a conservative, and I guess all my life I have been “trained” to LOVE. Love the outdoors, love my brother and sister as myself, love my family, and to love my Father in Heaven above all else. One more thing PGR, you must have a lot weight on your shoulders speaking for the “rest of the world”.
Well then, this was in response to a posting of a person that goes by PGR. It appears it was removed, which as well should have been. Thank you RVTravel staff!
Difficult to keep up with everything these days, Sink, especially when I can’t get online because of the heavy load on the internet. Better late than never, I guess. Have a great day and stay healthy, Sink! 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
You don’t have to be a conservative to be loving and all those other good things. I didn’t have to be “trained” to be that way. It just came naturally.
The 2/3 here that are not seriously concerned about COVID-19 will remember how dismissive they used to be of the virus. Post this same survey a month from now and you will see how terribly the times have changed.
This virus which we humans have no resistance to is serious as a heart attack and it will continue to be an immense threat to each and every one of us until a vaccine is developed.
“and you will see..” – This is knowledge you got from yer crystal ball or the Ouija board?
Humans also have no resistance to overeating, alcohol, opioids,… you name it and there will NEVER be a vaccine for those. Big business would never allow it.
No, magic has nothing to do with science. The trends are clear. ALL health experts are warning that a full-scale disaster is underway. The virus is FATAL for 15% of infected people 60+ years old and/or those of any age with health issues. And of those in the high risk age/health categories who survive the infection, 20% get severely ill and require hospitalization.
Fully 1/3 of infected older people and people with health problems die or require serious medical care. No one should roll those kind of dice.
Pot calling the kettle black as the saying goes. We have a wonderful country, but it is being spoiled by a generation that knows little to nothing about history, economics or God. Remember this, “IN GOD WE TRUST! And those who fail to honor history are bound to repeat it. May the good Lord bless and keep you, and reform your ignorance about the real, honest and successful RV community is about.
Two things that concern me: 1. I am 75 and have had MS for a number of years causing my immune system to be compromised. My wife is also 75.
2. It scares me that the younger generations feel they are invincible and do not hesitate to gather in groups (spring break on the Florida/Texas beaches, etc.). They may not care but some of them will pass it on to others who will pass it on, who will pass it on, who will pass it on…
It concerns you that BOTH of you made it to 75?? You should be proud that you made it through the ‘tough times’, you should relax and just watch the youngin’s running around in a panic, you’ve been there I am sure.
Then for spring break, I would think it will be sparse this year, but if not, they have always done stupid things. Just give the grandkids two weeks before they come visit… just to be safe.
I hope you enjoy many more years together.
From the CDC website, weekly USA deaths from:
Week ending Feb 29/20: Influenza – 384; Pneumonia – 2,280
Week ending Feb 22/20: Influenza – 415; Pneumonia – 2,911
Week ending Feb 15/20: Influenza – 440; Pneumonia – 3,251
All this worry from a virus that may kill you?
This is not influenza! Have you not been paying attention? As a 70 yr. old with comprised immunity, I am worried.
This viris is hundred times worse than the flu plus there’s immunization for the flu. After getting what they called the hong kong flu I’ve had the shot for 50 years and never had the flu.
I have found the RV community to be open minded, friendly and careful. Many of them know how to read and research local & world events. The Spanish Flu was only 100 years ago. Biological weapons may be outlawed, but still exist. The older campers pick up trash that some younger campers leave behind. covid-19 may of been created in a laboratory, and got loose by accident. It has different effects on different races, different blood types, different ages. As the Boy Scouts say, “Be Prepared”
I believe it could be and will be a serious threat if young people don’t stop congregating and passing it on to the elderly and chronically ill. But we need to black out the media’s opinion and their “experts” who are dealing in chaos, paranoia and constantly questioning the actual experts because of a lack of respect for those in office. We all need to get off our political high horses and follow the actual experts instructions, whether you like the person or not. The media is who lead to the food crisis, the TP crisis and the reason I can’t even see my Drs. Just stop the hysteria and follow the laid out advice.
I think you are following the wrong media. Instead of the commercial, sensationalized BS, why not try PBS Newshour and NPR (any time of day)? There are lots of print/online media that take the same approach. They are not hard to find. Just go down the list of news organizations that have been condemned as “fake media” by the president, and you will find them.
“will be a serious threat if young people don’t stop congregating and passing it on to the elderly”
Ah! Now there is a good reason for the young to stop visiting the elderly family members. I hope you enjoy your ‘quiet time’ in the nursing home.
More information coming to light. You tell me if it’s overblown:
Virus particles remain viable on surfaces for hours to days:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-study/new-coronavirus-can-persist-in-air-for-hours-and-on-surfaces-for-days-study-idUSKBN2143QP
West Virginia was the last state to report any cases – not becauase there were none, but because they didn’t have enough tests to go around and were imposing strict guidelines and refusing requests. Unfortunately of all the states, they may have the most vulnerable population of all:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/17/health/west-virginia-no-confirmed-coronavirus/index.html
Take a good look at other nations’ responses, then think back to how this was all handled, and ask yourself who and what were really to blame.
I absolutely agree with you about the tests. I live in a small community of 30,000. We have the regional hospital for a 9 county rural area. We have 23 test kits. I know this because my DIL is on the COVID-19 planning team and is an RN. They do not have enough masks, gowns, anything. She tells us to stay home every chance she gets. It’s not that some areas don’t have any cases to report…it’s that they are not testing because they don’t have kits. This, more than anything, is what makes this virus so scary to me.
You’re right about the market – it’s bad. I’m 65, and my retirement investments have taken a beating. But sometimes things are actually worse than you think. Would you rather keep your money and see millions of people die, or see investments drop for a while, but ultimately recover? Who dies in that case?
As Ann said: It will be interesting to rerun this poll in a couple of weeks. People have trouble wrapping their heads around exponential spread rates.
As I said Sunday:
Every virus has different features. A few features of this one:
1) It’s very easy to get it. Not all viruses are easy to get. Most strains of flu are harder to get, and HIV, for example, is much harder to get.
2) Not everyone who gets it knows they have it. Younger people in particular apparently don’t always show symptoms, so are unaware they have it – but they are contagious. There are a LOT of infected people running around infecting other people (see #1 above).
3) The virus affects people more the older they are. In the worst cases, the body’s own response to the virus causes as much damage to the lungs as the virus itself.
4) There is NO EFFECTIVE TREATMENT. The only thing that works in the worst cases, where pneumonia develops, is to put the person on a ventilator and pray.
5) Unless we’re able to seriously slow down the rate of infection, there will be a lot more people in need of critical care (ventilators, i.e.) than we actually have or can bring online in the short term, and doctors will then have to make agonizing decisions about who will live and who will die, just as they’ve been doing in Italy the past several days – even while the numbers continue to grow. Even more alarming – our trajectory looks a lot like Italy’s due to the delayed response and the terribly short supply of tests.
One last time: It’s HIGHLY and UWITTINGLY contagious.
One more point: Because we are WAY BEHIND with testing, you can take the number of confirmed infections and multiply it by 4 *at least* (based on the calculated number for passing the infection, and it’s probably higher, possibly much higher. See (2) above. Nothing I’ve said here is exaggerated – it’s just the facts.
One more point: this is an *entirely new virus*, so *nobody has immunity, and there is no vaccine*. That increases the infection rate way beyond anything you or I have ever seen.
Thank you, RichT, for posting the best, most rational and fact based comment. I wholly agree that a great many people don’t grasp the frightening power of exponential dispersion.
The two facts that – 1. The virus was allowed to freely spread around the country for 6 weeks; and 2. Young people in some cases are massively contacting and spreading the virus – mean that the reported numbers for infected people are *way* too low.
This gives everyone a false sense of limited safety and causes them to be careless. Putting *everyone* at risk, even those who are truly trying to avoid contamination, yet somewhere, sometime, make an inadvertent error.
I could go on, but am more interested in reading on to get a sense of others’ views.
Very serious. My husband is 85 with asthma. I care about him, do you?
Not as much as you do, but I wish him well.
Someone yells fire in a crowded room an panic ensues. We have many people yelling fire!
I feel the government and media blew this way out of proportion. This isn’t the first virus we’ve been through and it won’t be the last. The treatment is the same as if you had the flu. Will we go through this every year?
I guess we will – if every year there is a brand new never before seen virus that nobody is immune to, that no vaccine exists for, that there is no effective treatment for, and that is 8-10 times as lethal as the flu (for which of the above exist – some immunity, some vaccines, less contagious and less lethal).
The virus will be done by June. The financial impact of government forced panic will take years from which we recover.
Are you taking bets? I’ll take that action. Wanna check back in June? Do everyone a favor – wake up.
I believe your June forcast is a bit off but I do agree it will take years to recover. Thankfully I have a good 5-6 years until retirement so my investments can recover.
I hope you’re right.
I guess we will see how serious the virus is%
As an RN, I take it seriously. As a 12 year heart transplant recipient, I take it doubly serious.