My Fellow Americans: Calm Down and Walk Away from the Cash Register
Watching Americans storm the shelves of supermarkets for foodstuffs would be hilarious if it wasn’t so alarming.
Hong Kong, with a population of about 7.5 million has seen a little more than 130 cases* of diagnosed COVID-19 infections with four confirmed deaths. About a month ago we had a three-day to one-week run on toilet paper because of social media rumors about shortages and that 2-ply and 4-ply TP could be used as an alternative to masks. Masks had been sold out citywide for about two weeks.
But, and this is a city where almost everything has to be flown or shipped in, we never ran out of food on the shelves of supermarkets. The wet markets and produce markets remained well-stocked. No one panicked and cleared the shelves of baked beans and cans of chicken soup.
Society has NOT collapsed, but because of the ineptitude of the Trump Administration, the misinformation from Fox News and right-wing talk radio, as well as the constant barrage of fear-mongering on CNN and MSNBC and network television, from here it looks like the world of Mad Max is one bad shopping weekend away.
Calm down. Turn off Fox News. Ignore President Trump. Get your COVID-19 information from respected legitimate health organizations — Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic, New…
