How I Remain Sane During the Coronavirus

How I am surviving #coronavirus and #COVIDー19.

1) I ignore ANYTHING from a politician. They are not experts, are sometimes idiots, frequently lie, and seldom say anything clear and coherent.

2) I ignore any “expert”who lacks actual credentials in epidemiology or medicine, or for whom my spidey-sense says “nut-job.”

3) Nothing is changing fast enough to merit more frequent news, so I listen to ONE newscast each day, from a reputable, non-sensational outlet. For me that’s BBC News but it could be NPR or another public broadcaster. Avoid news sources with commercials.

4) I check ONE statistical site daily to see where global, national, and local numbers are at. All that I want is a general idea whether my town is about get hammered.

5) I glance at news headlines on-line, but don´t bother reading beyond that. In all seriousness there just isn’t enough actual new information to bother.

6) I bought one package of toilet paper, because we were out, which will last us for a month. (Update: we bought a hand-held bidet.)

7) Based on my past experience in the Ottawa ice storm of 1998 and the Northeast blackout of 2003 I have no expectation that the Canadian government will manage anything beyond Public Service Announcements.
(Update: despite promises, if you’re self-employed, still true.) (Later update: OK, they did make some CERB money available.)

8) I also have little expectation that they’ll be able to accurately predict what will happen in the next few weeks.

9) Finally I frequently stop to ask “What’s a REASONABLE response to the situation? Do I need one bottle of Lysol cleaner, or ten? Do I need to hide in my home for two weeks, or just avoid crowds? Am I low risk or high risk?”

Late addition! 10) WEAR A MASK!