We wonder.  The Coronavirus has the world gripped in fear and firmly in its nasty little paws.

How bad would it be if you were stuck on a cruise ship that has over 50 cases and counting and no cities or states want you?  Oakland stepped up and now you step off of the confinement of the ship into a different confinement with your fellow passengers to see if you will become the latest confirmed case.  It’s a two-week mind game that you hope to not have to play.

How bad would it be if your business was sailing cruise ships?  The US State Department issued a statement this weekend advising all citizens to avoid cruise ships for their own protection from the virus.  Our wild guess is that future bookings might be down 80% or more.

How bad will this entire surreal medical emergency get?  On one hand, it seems (assuming that the Chinese government is telling the truth) that the spread of cases in China has slowed a good bit.  On the other hand, the cases in South Korea, Italy, and Iran seem to be accelerating.

How bad is it in Italy?  Sixteen million citizens are now being self quarantined in Northern Italy.  The plan to do so got leaked.  And with it many citizens rushed to get out of the quarantined zone.  So much for quarantining it.  The plan got leaked and so did the virus.  Italian stocks on the blue-chip FTSE MIB initially failed to open Monday along with other European markets. When the index did open, stocks were trading down 2,290 points, or about 11% lower.   Italy has over 7500 confirmed cases and 366 deaths and counting.

The NBA told its teams to prepare for playing games in empty areas to try to help slow the transmission.  All Italian sporting events will do just that till April at a minimum.  Japan is the host country for the 2020 Summer Games in late July.  There are a lot of yen bet that the torch never gets lit.

How bad is the perception?  In a word, it is terrible.  How bad is the reality?  That’s the unknown and hence the fear which is now bordering on panic.

We suppose as the weather warms, our immune systems do what they do, or if a vaccine were to be developed that this too shall somehow pass.

Why does it feel different this time?

We wonder.

We hope.

Stay strong.