Only time will tell, but 'experts' ( usually those who invade the media for conceit and money) are often wrong. Models implied we were all going to die of AIDS or Ebola, nobody denies these infectious diseases have caused untold suffering but not to the extent that certain pundits almost seemed to be thirsting for....Vaccines for Common Flu are debatable and are based on an optimistic cocktail of previous strains, I wouldn't take one out of choice anyway
If we look at the death rates from the Spanish Flu (likely originated in the US) of 1918, it was staggering: more dead than in the whole of World WarI, mainly fitter younger people and the rapidity of death was terrifying. I believe that the death toll in the US alone was higher than all deaths in both World Wars over 600k and other countries even worse. Due to this, virologists have been predicting another huge pandemic some time or other as an inevitability of the morphing&adaptation of viruses-factor in monstrous population explosion during the past 70 years tripling of global population and it seems certain.
However, not all virologists agree about this strain of Corona. Because it appeared in Wuhan and it seemed novel the Chinese authorities took certain sudden, drastic measures- isolating the city but international travel was not restricted until far later. A kind of snowball effect emerges, because of these measures in China, plus the regime's secrecy mixed with sensationalist exaggeration in some western medias the whole thing takes on a massively serious profile. Other countries become infected due to rapid air-travel etc cases explode. Govts turn to scientific experts -most of whom never really want to admit to hazard guessing etc- is this the Pandemic we've been fearing?? Could be. Govts become excessively nervous of their neighbours and developments there. they're restricting this, they're doing that ergo we need to follow suit. So the same type of imitative copycat reflexes kick in yet govts denounce people for idiotic panic buying, hysteria and short termism when they are doing exactly the same! Meanwhile people find they are sectioned at home, no social activities, economic disruption, shuttered life-never before seen-so it must be serious must be true-what next??
More draconian measures? We don't know and the fact appears to be that 'experts' don't know what this particular strain of Corona will bring us either and this can lead to a situation where rational objective thinking get's abandoned . Add to that all politicians' revulsion for losing face....Finding out infection rates is notoriously difficult, if you test people at hospitals or health centres the infection rates are bound to be high and is the test actually reliable, as many of the allegedly infected seem to have mild to no symptoms that clear up? Therefore either it's widespread among the general pop with few consequences or it's not actually that infectious? Hard to know.
What bothers me most is that globally people have had to overnight submit to this out of fear and due to fear everything gets magnified and yet more edicts and laws become inevitable, the potential for permanent loss of liberty is sobering indeed. In Europe at least, many people live as singles-quite often the elderly too and to expect them to be quarantined is intolerable and impractical. There is another aspect too, the elderly could get stigmatised, scapegoated or expended, ageism seems almost acceptable in some minds. Many elderly people are notably fitter than people decades younger but that seems to be being forgotten, as could other individual aspects or rights...
Only time will tell. But in the meantime, keep in touch with those you care about or who seem to need it, pay scant attention to social media if you want to remain sane&optimistic
and watch the media with care and scrutiny.
I'm pretty socially excluded on one level, my friends, family and others are not AT ALL interested in knives so staying indoors with my knives and being in touch with my community of Knife Believers here is no ordeal at all
