I agree. But they instituted quarantines to stop the spread of the disease. The President himself said this was a possibility. He doesn't think it will go that far but he said it could happen.
Let me say that the thought of a quarantine doesn’t panic me. It doesn’t concern me. I have 4 months worth of food. I’m healthy so if I get the virus I’m likely to beat it. I’m not the youngest person so if I die (a small chance) I’m at peace with my maker.
If so, then you would know that there were NO hysterics nor massive quarantines back then and yes, people died from that epidemic! There were NO flu shots back then and NO meds for it either.
I lived in China for 16 years. They live in population densities that the US just cannot imagine. The last place I liked had 27,000 per sq. mile. Nothing close to that in the USA.
Chinese look for a crowd to gather with; most Americans are happy to be left alone and don’t look for crowds (many seek to avoid crowds).
I think the drastic quarantine in China is needed to halt a cultural predisposition to be together. At least a majority of Americans can handle a measure of isolation. But major urban areas in the US could see a greater spread of this.
I don’t think we Americans will respond at all to the idea of forced quarantines. I do think we will see schools and businesses closed. Work and school from home will be possible at least until the summer does it’s magic on this.
BTW, I lived there when SARS hit in 2003. This is obviously well past that level, but it eventually waned. I’m hopeful this will be the same.