“Avoiding panic, steering clear of sick people, and washing your hands are the most important things to do in preparation for COVID-19, experts say.”

“Even if COVID-19 runs rampant in the United States,” says Connor, “I don’t see us reverting to radio stations and no power. Keeping extra candy bars around is a good idea, but just because life is always better with candy,” says John Connor. (Credit: Getty Images)

“The outbreak of COVID-19, which began in China in December, has since migrated across borders and oceans to at least 47 countries and has resulted in nearly 3,000 global fatalities. Last week, world stock markets tanked over the economic fallout resulting from the spread of the virus.

“But while experts caution that cases will rise here in the United States, they also caution against panic, especially as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says any immediate risk is low. To date, only about 60 people have contracted the virus in the United States, two-thirds of them travelers on a Diamond Princess cruise ship.

“Some experts are feeding unnecessary public alarm by advocating that families assemble emergency kits of first aid, flashlights, candy, and battery-powered radios as a precaution, says John Connor, an associate professor of microbiology in Boston University’s School of Medicine and a researcher at the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL)”

Read this Futurity.org article in its entirety, click here.