The world feels shaky. Coronavirus is the culprit.

The New York Times called the virus’ worldwide paranoia out of control. And the virus is not a stand-alone problem.

The virus has affected world travel, the stock market and the world economy.

The broader picture reveals some deeper struggles.

There is an undercurrent

Fear. Many are afraid. What we don’t understand we often fear.

If you don’t think so, just try to find some hand sanitizer at your local Walmart. You won’t find a large supply.

Fear sells and opportunists are always ready.

Amazon reported:

As Wired reported, some items were having their prices increased by three to four times the standard level. Since then, the gouging has become worse, with 24-packs of 2-ounce hand sanitizer bottles seeing jumps from $10 per box to more than $400. Shipping costs are also being raised to exorbitant levels.

Fear running wild

Fear is running rampant at the possibility of the virus moving to pandemic levels.

Some fear is legit. With no vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, there is great concern. Although the fatality rate is low, it is higher than the fatality rate of the flu virus.

“Anxiety spreads faster than the virus,” Catherine Belling, associate professor of Medical Education at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said in an interview with ABC News.

Fear and worry are not friends in fighting off the virus

Ultimately, the most important thing to do is not to panic, because panic is a killer. Take a deep breath, remember that “pandemic” describes a disease’s spread not its severity.

The Spectrum reported that tech employees are experiencing a Fear of Going to Work due to the corona-virus. They call it FOG. And also reported it’s leading to a lot more people who are WFM (Working From Home).

Remember:

• Stay level headed
• Use common sense
• Get a flu shot
• Wash your hands with warm water for 2 minutes
• Touch your face as little as possible
• Do not overindulge in the news or social media
• Stay engaged in the public health announcements of your local community

Great advice, for sure.

Doctors suggestions are; “If you have difficulty breathing, where it’s hard for you to catch your breath, if you are having fevers that are uncontrolled, or if you cannot eat or drink, go see your doctor.”

If you don’t have these symptoms and even if you do, tell fear to get lost.

This article was first published at Medium.