A three tiered plan for coronaVirus Hysteria

So the NBA has shut down and Travel bans are being instituted all over the country. People who can work from home are working from home, and people who cannot may soon find themselves home from work. I’ve been reviewing a lot of information regarding these issues on the internet and I think there are some important factors for consideration.

What you Shouldn’t Worry About

If you’re healthy, and young you have almost nothing to worry about with COVID 19. The impact of the virus is not much more lethal to the healthful youth of the country than the flu and less deadly than regular pneumonia. As a matter of fact, the younger you are they more likely this virus will not impact you. The CDC reported that symptoms of the virus present mildly in children, and severe compllications are extremely uncommon.

As long as you or your loved ones have no underlying health conditions you can rest assured that the virus has a lower probability of lethality than pneumonia. Which kills less than .16 % of every 100,000 people in our population. From what I do read we are not to be as worried about the virus as we are about the incubation period and how rapidly it is transferring from person to person.

What you should be Aware of

COVID-19 has been classified as a “Pandemic” by the World Health Organization. While that sounds extremely scary to many of us, it is actually a term used to classify the spread of a disease or virus. This term and a host of other terms are a method for epidemiologists to classify the spread of a specific issue. More on that here. For the sake of this article though, you merely need to know that pandemic means it is spreading across a large area, I.E. the entire world. Where as an Epidemic is a rapid spike in the number of cases in a specific area.

The major fear is the rapid transmission of this issue and the fact that it could overwhelm our infrastructure. The issue isn’t the lethality COVID-19 but rather the ability for mass amounts of people to contract the virus and then spread it even further. Which could overwhelm our healthcare system and prevent our ability to respond to the virus. Additionally the incubation period of the virus means that you could be passing it onto the elderly or individuals with auto-immune disorders who are at a higher risk of death.

My Recommendations

1. Remember that Fear is Nothing more than a sign to prepare

If you are one of those people reading about this disease and getting worried I commend you for embracing your natural instinct to survive and pass your genes on to another generation. Survival from outbreaks like this is what has gotten the human race as far as we have come. As Gavin Debecker taught us, Fear is a Gift. Be thankful for the message and take it as a sign to prepare. The way we frame our reactions to different emotions has a very large impact on our ability to deal with them and to prevent any emotions from paralyzing us. Remember Fight or flight has an additional response known as Freeze. We want to limit the capability of freezing in the face of fear at all costs.

2. How to Prepare

It is highly likely that we will see more institutions close down in response to this virus. Merely in an attempt to prevent people from spreading COVID-19. I hope we can do whatever we need to stop this so all of our market portfolios quit bleeding. In the meantime I highly recommend preparing yourself with the following items in case we go into a Walking Dead Response to this thing. The list below are things that I think everyone should have stocked up in their homes in case of any kind of emergency. That way if you are ever stuck in your home due to any major disaster, to include but not limited to weather related state’s of emergency; you are prepared.

This is what I stocked up on in my home:

25 Gallons of water in large 5 gallon containers (They can serve as water storage and purification later on ((may not be needed in response to COVID-19, but definitely necessary for a host of other disasters))

Water purification capability (iodine tablets, life straws)

Freeze Dried Meals are always good to have (good luck finding them for an affordable price or in stock now)

Granola (individual packets last longer)

Oatmeal (individual packets last longer)

Tuna (canned)

Beans (canned)

Nuts

Nut butters*

Soups

Broths

Canned Chili

Crackers

Other Cereals

Baby Food Jars (pick things that last longest)*

Noodles

Waterproof Matches/cotton soaked in fire-starter fluid

Fishing equipment *

Firearms/ammunition*

*You always want to pick calorie dense foods that are going to last as long as possible. Food is fuel in serious situations so things dense in calories and high in fat will give your body the fuel it needs to survive large scale problems. Fortunately we currently have fat and carbohydrates in abundance in our nation. If our infrastructure were to shut down for a long time period, that is where firearms, ammunition, and fishing equipment comes into play.

I don’t like to discuss the need for stock piling ammunition because it gets people really fired up. All I will say is that I believe in the good-will of my fellow man. However, the world does become a leviathan of sorts when it comes to providing for our youth. Insert Fury Quote “Wait until you see what one man can do to another man.”

More importantly you need the fire arms, ammo, and fish hooks to be able to go out and provide food for your family after a large scale infrastructure breakdown. I highly recommend reading this article when you have some time. Enough with the dooms day prepping though. Do half of these things and you will be way ahead of the game.

3. Probably What is Hardest: Be Nice to People

The entire country is freaked out right now. You can see it on peoples faces. When I was picking up last minute items at the grocery store today people looked scared. I hate seeing that. We live in the greatest country in the world and I have long sought to ensure people feel safe here. A part of being a good American is being neighborly and looking out for each other. At times like this we need to know that we can depend on each other. We may not need to hug as much, but we should definitely extend the warm welcome to people, to let them know we’re here for each other.

Keep Calm and Carry On

The slogan, created by the British Government to encourage their people to maintain their lives in the face of frequent Nazi bombings during WWII holds water. The recommendations above are universally applicable to a host of situations. Be thankful for the message that the emotion fear provides us. Take that message as a sign to prepare. Find an expert in their given field and ask them how they recommend preparing for the task ahead of you. Be nice to people in the process. Simple and effective.

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About the Author

John McCarthy is a Father, Son, Husband and former Marine Infantry Officer. He serves his local community and just wants to push people to be better humans. Check out the Tough Talk Podcast and other writings on this website to learn more.

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