It's a global pandemic. A lot of people were laughing at those who saw the writing on the wall and got prepared. I bought all my supplies / dried goods back when this was still contained in china - A flu that has a 2 week period to infect people where you dont show symptoms? Even if its a .5% mortality rate, thats a scary virus to have floating around.
I'm in my 30s, never smoked a day in my life - I'm not worried if I get it. Theres like a 0% mortality rate on people under 18, so I'm not worried about my kid either. I'm not afraid of the virus, I'm afraid of the consequences of it - if I were to get it... Anyone I come into even if theyre young, could pass it onto someone who is likely to end up dying. We all know someone thats over the hill, Half the people I work with are approaching their 70s.
Shutting down isnt about protecting you as an individual, it's about protecting those who're unable to protect themselves. It's about not bogging down all our resources - If the hospitals are overwhelmed and you need a doctor for something... do you think you'll get treatment?
I wish we were doing more. I think everything should be shut down while we curb the spread of the virus - everyday it's doubling ... And they say not to worry, itll get under control, then next day...double. Then we close down the schools... then close down the restaurants... Then in a few days it's going to be a mandatory shutdown like italy/france is having... Why not skip waiting until our health system is on its knees, and just go straight there? I know there's a lot of consequences and businesses that will lose their business due to it... But there is no escaping it, its inevitable. Not one country that has the disease under control has done it without shutting everything down.