Today, my employer sent an email to everyone in the company with safety instructions related to the new coronavirus, which arrived in Switzerland two days ago. Unfortunately, the email didn’t share its title with this post. There was some sensible advice, such as washing hands instead of shaking them and not sneezing into colleagues’ faces, but the email also handed out a worldwide travel ban until the middle of March. What is up with this? As I don’t see the point of arguing with those responsible for them about rules that make no sense – it’s like airport security – I have to vent here.
What is the benefit of a blanket travel ban? If it’s to protect us from coronavirus, why does the ban cover all countries? The virus has so far been found in forty countries only. Maybe traveling in tight spaces with lots of other people such as on planes or trains should be avoided? Then why can’t I take the company car and drive to Liechtenstein, which doesn’t have any infections? Maybe it's to avoid conferences with their dense crowds? Then why ban traveling to visit individual customers? It makes no sense at all and sounds rather like a policy of someone trying to appear proactive and serious instead of thinking through the problem.
The problem is to avoid infection with SARS-CoV-2, as the virus is known. But what is the chance? I’d say it’s minimal and pales in comparison to other common risks. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that influenza kills between 290.000 und 645.000 people per year. Around 2300 die in Switzerland, where we have now nine confirmed cases of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2. Are you scared yet?
I just read on the BBC website that this year alone, more than 2300 people have been killed with firearms in the US. And you’re worried about a little virus? Even getting killed in traffic carries a higher risk (around 12 per month in Switzerland). Why do we focus all our attention on this virus?
I think part of this is the fact that we see in reality what we normally see in movies only. I’ve just watched Contagion again, and it’s still brilliant. It also shows a pandemic on a whole different level from the current threat. Maybe this movie and scenarios like it cause people to extrapolate from the current situation to something essentially fictional but rather worrying.
News outlets are happy to run with these stories, to benefit from the sudden interest and at the same time stoke it to burn even brighter. As much is still unknown about this virus and it’s not clear at what point of the epidemic we stand, it’s easy to construct bold narrative edifices based solely on conjecture.
After my surgery in September, I missed one conference because I wasn’t allowed to fly for five weeks afterwards. The surgery was made necessary by a tangible, immediate and serious threat to my health. It would be quite ironic if something diffuse, hypothetical and comparatively trivial caused me to miss another trip. Let’s hope sense will prevail by the end of March.
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