That was my initial understanding, too. Unfortunately, the statistics are not bearing out that notion. The infection rate is much higher than that of influenza, and the mortality is much higher, as well. The authorities are right to try to slow the spread of this virus as much as possible. The virus will spread; we just need to slow the rate of new infections to one that the hospital system can handle.
Take care of yourselves. At least we can all still communicate over teh Interwebz. 
Be prepared for numbers much worse than those of influenza. I didnāt believe at first that coronavirus was all that big a deal, but the latest statistics are terrifying. It is much more infectious than influenza, so the spread is more rapid and more people get infected. Not only that, but those who get more than a mild case get really sick. The good news is that effective treatment can pull patients through; the problem is that if coronavirus were to spread unchecked, the medical system is inadequate to handle the case load. The whole point of these precautions is to slow the rate of new infections to a manageable level.
My sister is a nurse with a degree in public health, and she works for an international aid organization. The information coming in from all over the world is getting pretty scary.
My family lost quite a few people to the big influenza epidemic a century ago; they were still remembering it during my childhood, fifty years later. In time, as we and the virus adapt to each other, the effects will moderate; but this is a new virus and requires effort at the moment. As I have learned, the problem isnāt so much learning how to treat an individual caseāwe can do that quite wellābut rather to handle the size of the case load. If we can keep that manageable, we should pull through okay.
And if your avatar indicates you are in Massachusetts, Congratulations. Your gym just closed with your āStay at home orderā just issued that is in effect till April 6thā¦
Paul, I was the same but have changed my mind. My daughter is an ICU nurse and a moth ago thought this was a joke. Now she has been exposed and cannot be tested unless she has symptoms. A bandanna qualifies as part of her protective gear. Any gear she has is placed in a paper bag for reuse the next day.
Reality check.
The study that Eschenbach cites: PDF 88.2K
For me, this is all good news. 83% of the people on the ship didnāt get it, despite perfect conditions for transmission. If you get it, you have about a 50/50 chance of showing no symptoms at all. And the fatality rate is lower than the earlier estimates of 2% or above.
More good news on chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine:
To sum up, the science supports President Trumpās assessment that, in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, chloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin is indeed a āgame changer.ā Or, as a physician friend said to me, āItās a major breakthrough!ā
Acquires 70,000 Doses of Hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 doses of Zithromax and 750,000 Doses of Chloroquine to Implement Drug Trials - Trials Will Start Tuesday
Not to seem biased, hereās fodder for all you doom and gloom folks:
From the study:
On 1st February 2020, a patient tested positive for COVID-19 in Hong Kong; they disembarked from the Diamond Princess cruise ship on the 25th January [2,3]. This patient had onset of symptoms on the 19th January, one day before boarding the ship[2]. Upon returning to Yokohama, Japan, on February 3rd, the ship was held in quarantine, during which testing was performed in order to measure COVID-19 infections among the 3,711 passengers and crew members onboard.
Passengers were initially to be held in quarantine for 14 days. However, those that had intense exposure to the confirmed case-patient, such as sharing a cabin, were held in quarantine beyond the initial 14-day window [3]. By 20th February, there were 634 confirmed cases onboard (17%), with 328 of these asymptomatic (asymptomatic cases were either self-assessed or tested positive before symptom onset) [3]. Overall 3,063 PCR tests were performed among passengers and crew members. Testing started among the elderly passengers, descending by age [3]. For details on the testing procedure, see [2] and [3].
I would guess that on the voyage from Hong Kong to Yokohama there was no confinement and only upon arrival at Yokohama was confinement started when the entire ship was quarantined. Maybe you can find another source of data/info that mentions it.
I guess we will still have to wait a week to see if my prediction holds water. Keep me posted.
So even if confined on a ship the the control of spread via quarantine worked. This must have allowed those infected to become immune, Those not infected to not be exposed and the virus to die off on contaminated surfaces. I must also speculate that there must have been a high rate of compliance with the quarantine directive.
Iām 72 and not working for the past year. Iām going to try and avoid infection. If that fails, and I recover, Iāll seriously consider helping with the āwar effortā by stocking shelves at walmart or something else that helps things run more smoothly. A younger brother of mine is working away from home in MN. He is working as a tradesman building custom machines for industrial production. Talking to him yesterday we realized heās currently building a machine that does an assembly step for N95 masks. I wonder if he will be allowed to continue coming to work. The kids home from college could help out at grocery stores instead of hanging out in the park.
Iām teleworking and trying to get out every day for a minimum of 60 minutes. I do P90X yoga or Insanity. Watch Netflix or something. Cleaned the house, wash the windows, cleaned out the garage, etc. I need a puzzle or something!
Until yesterday I was carrying on as normal and taking precautions, helping others to get supplies they needed and still having to go to work every day.
Yesterday morning I developed a tickle in my throatā¦ last night I was awake half the night coughing, this morning I sought advice and am now on the seven day lockdown as specified by the UK government.
So Iāll be spending lots of time with my hens and finding things to do around the house.
Social distancing, FREQUENT hand washing, decreasing trips to the grocery store, doing counseling on the phone but I still have to come into the office, keeping my distance from coworkers, NOT petting dogs, keeping a distance from strangers outdoors on our walks, stocking up on meat a bit when I canā¦ already got a little extra toilet paper but not a crazy amount like some peopleā¦ not visiting my nieces and nephew or my sister with heart disease who is also a freaking DOCTOR so that scares the fuck out of meā¦ plus her eating habits are absolute shit.
Not doing any fasting over 24 hours as Iāve heard that can compromise the immune system in the short run even though it improves things in the long run. Definitely keeping keto as Iāve heard that really does help, especially with Cytokine regulation (according to Dr. Boz). Trying not to make any MORE stupid, impulsive decisions like I did last week 
Thatās itā¦ @Shortstuff I hope you recover from whatever that is! Sending healing energy your way 
Be well everyone
Also, the minor throat irritation I mention only lasted about 3 days. Best wishes.
