Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a once-in-a-lifetime virus that is quickly spreading all over the world. As people are forced to adapt to a new way of life until the crisis is under control, we’re also going to adapt our content to help those who are most impacted by this.
Current Outlook
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and even then it’s questionable), you’ve heard about this coronavirus and how its an incredibly dangerous virus. It’s all you read in the newspapers, hear on TV, or talk about on social media.
Some are asking questions like, “Isn’t this overblown?” or “Isn’t this just another version of the flu?”.
NO, NO, NO.
The U.S. was slow to respond at first and it’s coming back to bite us in the butt. It’s now seems very likely we’re going to get as bad as Italy and South Korea – countries that weren’t proactive compared to Singapore and Japan who took aggressive measures to prevent it from spreading:
The best available estimates at the time of this writing is that it’s 20x more dangerous than the common flu. The average mortality rate of the flu is 0.01% whereas the coronavirus is 2.0%.
Do they all look like small percentages? Well, let’s say all of America (roughly 330 million people) got sick from the common flu today. About 330,000 (0.01%) will die from it eventually. If they got infected with the coronavirus instead, total deaths would be a staggering 6,600,000 (2.0%).
Yes, more people have the flu because it’s more widespread. For now.
If we don’t try drastic measures to contain the coronavirus, it has shown the ability to be highly contagious. Worse, people can be carriers of the virus, but appear symptom-free for 14+ days – two weeks of infecting others without knowing it.
Don’t panic, but help yourself and protect others around you. Wash your hands and watch for symptoms:
Speaking of washing hands, do you know that almost everyone washes their hand wrong? Watch this Jimmy Kimmel segment and see how to do it right and what gets left behind if you don’t:
Effects on the Economy
Even if the pandemic were to end today, the economy would be left in terrible shape. The numbers aren’t out yet, but be prepared for really bad results.
China has essentially been at a standstill for the past couple of months and that’s something we’re starting to see happen in other countries.
The travel industry is in a free-fall. Airlines are cutting more than half of their capacity and grounding airplanes. Hotels can’t get people in the door.
Restaurant staff have no work to do, Uber/Lyft drivers have no one to drive around, and retailers have no one to buy their stuff.
We’re in a recession.
How We’re Responding
The Money Ninja has always been about finances; how to make more money, save it better, and spend it wisely. And we’ll continue to produce content revolving around those themes.
However, with more states and cities banning large gatherings, suspending restaurants and bars, and encouraging people to stay indoors, here’s how we’re going to tailor our site during these unprecedented times:
- Decreasing the amount of posts that require you go outside; which in turn will expose you to additional risks
- Increasing content that you can do in the comfort of your own home or activities that require being around less people
- Focusing on stories that will help people most affected by this; retail employees, restaurant workers, and people working in the gig-economy (Uber, AirBnB, etc.)
You may see smaller deals to help those who need to make a little income while they’re stuck inside or tips on how to really stretch your dollar.
Once things go back to normal, we’ll expand our content again.
Related:
- Coronavirus Stimulus: Government Sending $1,200 Checks To Most People
- Coronavirus Relief Checks – Check Your Status
- Lowering Your Car Insurance Premium Due To Coronavirus
The Bottom Line
I remember reading a BBC article about some “new disease” in China’s Wuhan region infecting a few people. Never would I have imagined the size, scope, and speed of what is now known as coronavirus or COVID-19.
These are unprecedented times like I said earlier. It’s okay to be anxious and nervous. None of us have gone through something like this before.
Let’s follow what the experts advise us to do, let the world get a handle on the situation, and maybe even shut off the TV for a while and spend the extra time with your loved ones.
Stay safe everyone.
