Stop panicking.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That is the simple but important message we need to heed as the deadly coronavirus spreads.
It is ridiculous to think panicked consumers have cleared supermarket shelves of toilet paper rolls, including in Warrnambool.
Port Fairy's supermarket couldn't get enough this week as it prepared for the town's busiest weekend with about 9000 people expected to flock to the annual folk festival. There's a real likelihood the town's supermarket won't have enough rolls after we revealed people were travelling from Warrnambool to stock up.
There is no doubt the virus is deadly. More than 3200 have died from it in the past month across the world, including two in Australia. There have been no confirmed cases in the south-west.
South West Healthcare's infectious diseases expert Dr Mark Page said the virus was not as severe an infection as many believed.
"95 per cent of people who get COVID-19 only get mild flu-like illness, five per cent of people who get it can have a more significant illness but they are generally older patients with significant co-morbidities," he said this week.
"Whilst we are concerned and we are planning for having more infections it's not severe. It's best to think of it is as a seasonal influenza that we have every year, in Australia we get up to 200,000 people who get influenza every season.
"In a bad season there may be 1000 people who have an illness that causes them to pass away related to influenza, and we're not expecting COVID-19 to be worse than that."
The state's health department, the region's hospitals and medical professionals are well prepared.
Individually we need to be prepared by following the expert advice. That includes washing hands with soap and water regularly. Before visiting your GP or emergency department you should call ahead and tell them about your recent travel and symptoms. If you feel sick, you should avoid contact with others.
The virus is indeed worrying but there's no need to panic. And there's certainly no need to panic-buy.