Coronavirus: A Brief History of the Past, Present, Future of Plagues, Pandemics, Influenza and What We Must Do Next: Cultural History

Bob Batchelor

Coronavirus

A Brief History of the Past, Present, and Future of Plagues, Pandemics, Influenza, and What We Must Do Next

First published by JW Percival Publishing 2020

Copyright © 2020 by Bob Batchelor

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

Bob Batchelor has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

First edition

This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

Find out more at reedsy.com

Contents

1. Introduction

2. 1. What is Coronavirus

3. 2. What to Do

4. 3. Worst-Case: 1918 Pandemic

5. 4. Best-Case

6. 5. Avoiding the Terror

Notes

About the Author

Also by Bob Batchelor

1

Introduction

Popular culture is filled with apocalyptic content. End-of-the-world scenarios run the gamut from aliens determined to destroy humankind to stories set in far off epochs long after people have been eliminated. For millennia, audiences have reveled in ghastly and chilling scenes. There seems to be a kind of brain loop that takes place. Make-believe mayhem helps us to (possibly) forget our real-life troubles for a few moments as harrowing scenes unfurl and destruction abounds.

Yet, coronavirus is real and the threats humankind know faces will require a new kind of communal commitment to stave off a potential cataclysmic event.

We’ve seen this movie…we know what could be on the horizon…

Those in positions of power and influence stand at a pivotal moment in world history. Decisions that seemed simple, even effortless, just a few weeks ago have taken on Herculean importance. Leaders and influencers must act quickly, but without really knowing where today’s decisions lead.

I spoke to a public official on March 9, 2020, and our conversation illustrates the challenges hampering efforts to deal with coronavirus. In this case, for example, many public employees are constantly interacting and engaging with customers and consumers regarding sensitive issues in a face-to-face setting. For leadership in public-facing organizations, questions immediately arise about the safest way to interact with people who need assistance. Yet, executives must also establish how the organization protects its own employees as well.¹

At the community level, these decisions impact not only potential friends and neighbors among customers, but also coworkers who are friends and associates. How does someone or a committee decide what level of threat an organization faces, particularly if even casual interaction could have deadly consequences?

Hospitals, care clinics, physician offices, and other healthcare enterprises are a natural environment for strategic thinking about how to help people who are suffering, but simultaneously, plans must be designed and