All good points.
One of the variables that I have been kicking around in my head is this:
There is a term “virulence” which is used to describe how likely a person is to become ill from a virus if exposed. The common cold and the flu both have a certain virulence, which we accept as part of normal life.
We can *markedly* decrease the effect of becoming ill from any virus by doing the following SIMPLE things that we don’t typically do:
- Frequent hand washing
- Staying out of public if mildly ill/staying away from people who are mildly ill
- Masking in pubic (this is not unusual in Asia, the purpose being to prevent yourself from touching your face).
So, what’s on my mind is IF WE WERE TO MAKE THOSE THREE BEHAVIORS “NORMAL”, DOES THE CHANCE OF BECOMING ILL FROM COVID19 DROP TO THE POINT WHERE WE CONSIDER IT PART OF “NORMAL LIFE” AS WE DO THE COLD AND FLU?
We don’t know enough about COVID to answer that question. But what we can do is state generically that if we wash/selfquarantine/mask, the chances that we get sick drop dramatically.
Time will tell.
