As the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus rises, along with the number of deaths, fear of the disease has led to cancellation of conferences in New Orleans.
The popular cover band, The Topcats, lost one of their gigs since the convention they were set to play at was being cancelled. As of the writing of this blog – there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in New Orleans, but the local market has been affected.
But the City of New Orleans is using facts to fight the fears, and New Orleans & Company Vice President of Communications and Public Relations Kristian Sonnier, says, “We’re reminding everyone that all of the health experts are telling us there’s no reason to cancel domestic travel or events taking place in the U.S.” Sonnier is announcing that the city of New Orleans is staying open!
Upcoming festivals and open air event planners are monitoring the latest updates on the coronavirus, but everything is scheduled to happen.
However, precautionary measures are feeding fears that the coronavirus is worse that health experts indicate. Thousands of Americans die every year from the flu, so panic over the coronavirus does seem to be irrational. But as we know – people are not always rational.
While the state of California has declared a state of emergency, there is good news to put fears into perspective. Of the over 94,000 cases of coronavirus reported, the majority in China, 51,000 have completely recovered. Those most vulnerable are individuals with underlying conditions and the elderly, which runs congruent with the impact of common forms of the flu.
As an admitted “germophobe,” I already wash my hands often and use hand sanitizer and sanitation wipes constantly during the day. My behavior hasn’t changed, but one positive aspect of fear over the coronavirus might be that more people take new precautions that might protect them from contracting any virus.
I expect the fist and elbow bumps to become an instant alternative to shaking hands. And what’s wrong with a good hip bump when greeting people?
There is a vicious cycle that occurs when something like the coronavirus first hits the mainstream media. The new media responsibly reports the facts with a tendency to create a sense of urgency that feeds their desire to attract an audience. Then the masses further enhance the story by showing great interest, which causes the new media to make the story even more prominent. But we need to remember that the demand to fill the daily news with compelling stories that attract attention is a normal function of the news media. 24-hour cable channels repeat stories over and over to fill time, but that should not be reason to believe that the threat is greater than it really is.
Accept the news about the coronavirus as information that will help keep you and your family safe – but an irrational fear that the end is near is foolish.
We have been through this before - Ebola, SARS and the Swine Flu are all examples that the fear of dying from an unusual disease does not live up to the panic that possesses the masses.
Be cautious – wash your hands – but don’t stop living your life!