Probably the most fearful thing that literature and film has to offer is the serial killer. And in real life, Rhonda can attest that during the summers of 1976 and 1977, everyone in Brooklyn was terrified– especially young women with long, dark hair who the Son of Sam targeted. Indeed, the city was in fear and it is reminiscent of the fear we have today. Today, most people in NYC are afraid of the virus, and with good reason. It is killing thousands, but during the 1970s, David Berkowitz only killed 6 people, plus the chances of getting killed by him–even if you fit the profile–were very slim as Brooklyn is huge and the last incident was in Queens anyway. Like the virus, there was a certain comfort in being away from a certain area, until the area widened.
While NYC is now the epicenter, people all over the world are afraid of COVID-19, but what are our chances of getting it? According to the CDC website page related to risk assessment (as of March 22, 2020) your risk is high if you are living with someone who has it if you take no precautions, and Medium if you do. And it is much less, according to the site if you go about your business while taking the necessary precautions. The message? Take precautions–do everything they say– and don’t worry too much.
So we started out talking about serial killers. Why? People are scared of them but the fear is unwarranted. The odds of being killed by a serial killer is very very small, but the panic and fear can be significant when media reports that a murderer is on the loose. Similarly, with COVID-19, we have to assess the risk. There is some risk, but likely you are blowing it out of proportion. Just like the serial killers, or the fears we have about our health and safety routinely, our worries are usually more than the actual threat.
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