Most of us have already had a Coronavirus at some stage, so stay calm…

I was trying to see how long we could go without writing about the Coronavirus. But it is such a hot topic we had to crack and give you a chance to air your views.

It does seem like every media outlet is doing their best to scare the absolute be-Jesus out of us. Every front page screams doom, and every phone-in show competes to terrify us.

For the best coverage on the issue, listen to this week’s David McWilliams podcast. He interviews Professor Luke O’Neill from TCD. The good Professor is a specialist immunologist and an expert in all this stuff. He explains in a calm rational manner how it came about, how it will be treated, and how it will in all likely hood be gone in a few months. Most importantly, if you do get it, it will be nothing worse than a bad cold for most of us. Here is the good doctor on the Late Late Show:

"That's the number 1 recommendation, keep washing your hands."

Luke O'Neill, Professor of Immunology at Trinity College Dublin gives some practical info about the Coronavirus and how to get advice on https://t.co/NCaPhLB5HJ. #LateLate pic.twitter.com/W871q90sKc

— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) February 28, 2020

The key message is that the new virus is a member of the Coronavirus family. It is basically the younger brother to the existing Coronaviruses that have been circulating since at least 8000 BC. From the Wikipedia page:

Coronaviruses are believed to cause 15 to 30% of all common colds in adults and children.

So if you have had a cold the past few years you are likely to be familiar with this troublesome family of viruses.

Like a lot of respiratory diseases, the key risk groups are older people with underlying health problems. Any death is a tragedy, but it is important to keep a sense of perspective. You might have seen this knocking around on social media:

I can’t verify the figures, but you get the overall idea. You are very unlikely to die from the Coronavirus. Instead, what will finish you off is smoking, drinking too much, poor diet, too much stress, lack of exercise, etc. But all these are boring, so instead we prefer to freak the feck out about new viruses from the East. Like most parents, I find the most terrifying thing is the thought that they might close the schools – it is bad enough trying to entertain them for 2 months in the summer.

For reference here are the current risks of dying per age group:

The worst effects are going to be economic. Tourism is getting hit, as is the hospitality industry. So do your bit for the economy and do as the good book tells us – eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we will very likely not die.

My advice is simple – only panic when the experts panic. When I see Professor Luke O’Neill stopping off at LIDL to stock up on canned goods before heading to his remote hideaway in Leitrim then I will panic. Until then be sceptical of a media who make money from scaring you. Go about your business until you are told otherwise, and most importantly: please wash your hands.

Brian O'Neill

Managing Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.