To help stop the spread of the Coronavirus, most of us are experiencing some sort of restricted living. The restrictions seem logical if you consider the evidence, but every once in awhile I catch a whiff of scorn about the measures being taken. It seems that some people think the social isolation, the closing of schools, canceling of public events, shuttering of bars and restaurants, and the travel restrictions are unnecessary and the costs (halted economic activity, limited daily freedom and the real potential for a recession or worse) too great.
But the reality is that in today’s hyper-connected global community, this kind of pandemic spread was inevitable. We’re faced with a virus completely new to the human species, to which we have no natural immunity, and with a mortality rate above one percent (maybe more if we could get accurate data). It spreads fast. And the first government to see it acted too slowly.
The New York Times article linked below does an amazing job of two things. First, it is the best explanation I’ve seen as to why a virus that leaped the animal-to-human barrier in an open-air meat market in Wuhan, China has brought our American lives to a halt.
Second, it visualizes the impact of the outbreak of this virus and its rapid spread in a way that really brings home why we all need to do our part following the CDC guidelines for protecting ourselves and our communities.
How the Virus Got Out
By Jin Wu, Weiyi Cai, Derek Watkins and James GlanzMarch 22, 2020
The most extensive travel restrictions to stop an outbreak in human history haven’t been enough. We analyzed the movements of hundreds of millions of people to show why…