+1 for Tacho, well +0.5 anyway. imo it's a good idea to have a bit of social distancing etc to slow down the spread, to give the medical system time to prepare a bit and to get a bit more understanding of the virus before it becomes truly pandemic (which it will, no doubt about that).
I've been chatting (at a social distance of course, since we're on different continents) with my brother about it all. He happens to be a virologist. We've agreed that the big problem with all the extrapolations and forecasts of millions dead is that nobody has a clue how many people get infected, have an immune response, but never have symptoms and maybe never become infectious. It's clear that pretty much all children and <20 follow this path.
As for becoming less dependent on China etc - ain't gonna happen, because the lowest price always wins. My favourite subject in that regard is supply of rare earths. They are essential for all sorts of things (notably electric motors) and they all come from China. There are plenty of reserves elsewhere, but every time anyone tries to reopen a mine, they fail because it's cheaper to get it from China. (Actually the last attempt in the US went broke, got bought by a Chinese company, then shut down). Do governments say "this stuff matters, we'll subsidise local production"? Hell no. Rinse and repeat for everything else.
Last edited by n5296s; 20th Mar 2020 at 18:31.