Loyal Scaiaholics will recall my position on panicking.
But, and this may sound unfathomable, many journalists are not Scaiaholics, so we’ve reported breathlessly about how coronavirus is about to swallow the world.
In three separate stories last week, different health officials in different parts of the state all had a common theme: Fort Worth is the better community in the DFW region.
Also, we shouldn’t panic over coronavirus.
Dallas County health director says Texas has had 0 cases of coronavirus, but 15 people have died in Dallas County from the flu this season and 10,000 across the country. “The main message for our community is the immediate health risk for [coronavirus] is still considered low.” pic.twitter.com/2R83EKzGfx
— Alan Scaia (@scaia) February 4, 2020
This strain of virus is a legitimate concern. More than a thousand people have died, almost all of them in China. More people have died from this coronavirus than were killed by SARS. Some pilots and flight attendants worry about flying to China during all of this.
But in one of those links above, the CDC said the mortality rate from the virus is “reassuringly low.” More than 1,000 people have died, but more than 40,000 have been infected. Each of those stories also has the same message: people are understandably concerned about a new virus, but the flu has killed more than 1,100 people in Texas alone this season, including 15 kids. In Texas, hospitals and clinics have seen about 32,000 people with flu symptoms this season.
Not one to miss an opportunity, the public relations guy for MedStar, the ambulance provider for a lot of cities in Tarrant County, mentioned the same thing you do to protect against the flu can also protect against coronavirus. It’s a two-fer [It’s possible he did not use the phrase, “two-fer,” however].
We should take coronavirus seriously. But having said that, the CDC and World Health Organization have slightly more know-how than most of my blog readers. So coronavirus shouldn’t stop us from imagining the people being quarantined at Lackland in San Antonio getting into some sort of hilarious “military bases are rooted in discipline, but the people in quarantine are getting cabin fever” situation.
It’s Odd Couple meets Major Dad!
Attention network executives: This is going to be an epic sitcom. We’ll just need to hire the guy who played Lieutenant Holowachuk. He’ll be overseeing the misadventures at the coronavirus quarantine because, after years in the service, he’s no longer a lovable dunce. He’s a respected general, but he finds himself out of his element.
Maybe a quarantined fella from Texas wants to smoke some brisket in the mess hall, but a guy from Boston wants to make chowder. To handle this culture clash, General Holowachuk may even have to call his mentor, Gerald McRaney. The show writes itself!
