Developments in the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 or Covid-19 have triggered panic, which is unhelpful behavior and unjustified given the evidence reported so far. On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic, meaning Covid-19 has spread to large regions across several continents. Even before President Duterte announced the lockdown, there were reports of panic buying and hoarding at groceries, particularly for alcohol and other disinfectants. It might calm frayed nerves to compare that to the number of people worldwide who die from the seasonal flu — about 291,000 to 650,000 annually. Granted, Covid-19 is deadlier than the seasonal flu, and this new virus still has no cure or vaccine.

Source: Manila Times March 14, 2020 16:27 UTC