Corona Scare (Additional Blog 2)

Obviously, the covid-19 or coronavirus disease has been at the forefront of many minds during the past few weeks (mine no exception). This has affected me greatly. This year, I applied to present my research at a conference that occurs only once every 4 years. It is a huge conference focusing entirely on my research interest and this year, it just so happens to be in Italy. I have never been to Europe, so naturally, I was over the moon when I was informed that my abstract was accepted.

Unfortunately, due to the corona virus scare, I will not be able to attend this conference. I cannot (and do not want to) travel until the area is cleared, but by the time that happens (if it happens in time for the conference this summer), the cost to book the flight and hotel will be through the roof and ultimately not affordable for me. This was rather depressing, but also reminded me how fortunate I am.

While my biggest worry (for the most part) has been about this conference, there are so many people who are immuno-compromised for one reason or another, or people living in coronavirus saturated areas who are genuinely fearful for their lives. As we all continue to monitor the situation, I am also thankful that it seems that there are more of my friends making informed decisions vs following the blind panic that it seems a few of the population are falling for. This seems to be the only outbreak in several years where the nature of the disease is not understood. This has posed an interesting challenge for both the scientific community and the public. While I obviously am hopeful that this outbreak will be managed quickly and without any further deaths, I am also interested to see how the scientific community and media handle supplying the public with crucial information.