Thanks for the explanation on extreme individual precautions, that made things clearer.
I’m curious what you’re thinking of when you say “adopt measures that can plausibly be sustained for one year or even longer”?
I’m thinking of simple, low-cost changes to habits and my living environment that reduce chances of infection with Coronavirus and other illnesses. For example: improving personal hygiene practices (how to handle laundry, when to desinfect hands, how to keep the kitchen super clean, desinfecting electronic devices), changing workout times (to hit the gym at times when it’s empty), invite my friends to use hand sanitizer when eating together, going to smaller events instead of mass gatherings, keeping a 1-month food supply at home.
These would be easy to sustain for a year or even longer. On the other hand, “not leaving the house” or “cancel all events” incurs significant cost, so I would not be willing to do that for an entire year unless the risk was very high. (Of course, the risk might become “very high” if >10% of the population becomes infected).
This makes sense. To say the obvious, it is sensible for everyone to judge their risk individually and adjust precautions as we have more info. A particularly large factor is your age and comorbid conditions, as well as those of people who you would have the opportunity to infect (who may have higher risk and lower risk tolerance).
I think it is likely enough that most people will consider the risk “very high” at some point before we get a treatment to recommend preparing for that eventuality.
Thanks for the explanation on extreme individual precautions, that made things clearer.
I’m thinking of simple, low-cost changes to habits and my living environment that reduce chances of infection with Coronavirus and other illnesses. For example: improving personal hygiene practices (how to handle laundry, when to desinfect hands, how to keep the kitchen super clean, desinfecting electronic devices), changing workout times (to hit the gym at times when it’s empty), invite my friends to use hand sanitizer when eating together, going to smaller events instead of mass gatherings, keeping a 1-month food supply at home.
These would be easy to sustain for a year or even longer. On the other hand, “not leaving the house” or “cancel all events” incurs significant cost, so I would not be willing to do that for an entire year unless the risk was very high. (Of course, the risk might become “very high” if >10% of the population becomes infected).
This makes sense. To say the obvious, it is sensible for everyone to judge their risk individually and adjust precautions as we have more info. A particularly large factor is your age and comorbid conditions, as well as those of people who you would have the opportunity to infect (who may have higher risk and lower risk tolerance).
I think it is likely enough that most people will consider the risk “very high” at some point before we get a treatment to recommend preparing for that eventuality.