This CoronaVirus thingy

(Two computers again. Art on old; actual blog on new.)

—“The World Health Organization has a recommendation for mental health: only check the news once or twice a day.”
So said a small note on my Firefox Internet browser.
I thought right-away of my aquacise-instructor, and copy/pasted it to her in a text.
She later gave me a thumbs-up.
I thought of her because some time ago I overheard her tell a gentleman she gave up watching the news.
She’s not the only one.
Much as I feel I’ve already thrown too much at her, her thumbs-up prompted a response.
I explained I still record the national news — I gave up the local news — so I didn’t miss the latest 3 a.m. Tweet® from the White-House toilet.
But the national news has become as-depressing-as-Hell.
It’s this CoronaVirus thingy.
Much as CoronaVirus is worth worrying about, I’ve become suspicious. Like our reaction to CoronaVirus became a wild-ass media junket.
I’m sorry, but part of my career was in the newspaper-biz, where we manufactured the news.
“News” is all about making contacts. Make a contact, and you can write a story.
Andrew Cuomo, NY’s Governor, became an easy contact on CoronaVirus. So New York City is ravaged.
Whither Philadelphia and Baltimore? They’re all part of the east-coast megalopolis, but aren’t as interviewable as Cuomo.
Cuomo is eying the presidency. Not hard when The Donald is more inclined to badmouth than be presidential.
So Cuomo became a contact, and therefore New York City gets all the ink.
Thousands dying from CoronaVirus is awful, but as many as 61,000 die from the flu per year. And 1.35 million people die in road crashes every year.
Where are the news-hounds?
And it seems we’re getting the same advice we get regarding the flu. Wash-yer-hands often, cover-your-cough, etc. And avoid people — “social distancing” they call it.
And you can’t vaccinate against CoronaVirus — yet. With the flu you can.
But whither Philadelphia and Baltimore? They’re as congested as New York City.