You’re absolutely correct in identifying mindless panic as the real disease that’s threatening the world today. With the mass media driving everyone into a state of hysteria, it was always predictable that the secondary effects of the current pandemic would likely be worse (for the world as a whole) than the effects of the virus itself. Sadly we humans aren’t evolved to cope with complexity, nor behave rationally even at the best of times. Today it’s a case of “panic, aim, fire…”

During the 27 years I lived in California I maintained a rotating 60-day supply of food and water, plus two camping stoves for cooking, plus 80 gallons of stabilized fuel. I knew that in the event of a major incident (such as an earthquake) the shops would be full of panicking people stripping the shelves bare and, in a nation where guns outnumber people, behaving dangerously. So I maintained enough to feed my family and help out my immediate neighbors. But apparently in our overly-pampered world, few think even a day or two ahead. And this includes politicians, whose actions are likely to cause far more harm than good. If you’re interested, I elaborate here: https://medium.com/@allanmlees59/the-price-of-fear-30ab5e4beec9