And part of people not knowing what to believe is some of the absolutely crazy rumors floating around there. There's more than a little bit of that going on at FR, just like at a lot of on-line forums. Thankfully, people are getting called out where appropriate.
Unfortunately, there are people going in every direction. Some "the sky is falling", many "it's just the flu bro", and plenty of "deep state plot/bio-weapon/hoax" folks. Most are called out. But while there is some "noise" most on this thread at least, are just tracking real world numbers and trends and making mostly reasonable suggestions on how to prepare.
Agreed. Where I live, I don't see any shortages. That certainly is a product of how close confirmed cases are to an area. I agree with the LT - the economic repercussions of this are going to be substantial. I believe China's position as an economic superpower will be under strain as businesses consider the lost revenue when parts, sub-assemblies, etc that are made in China are delayed due to the prolonged Chinese COVID-19 recovery.
We have been quietly purchasing more of supplies, which we normally do in the Spring anyways. I always go in after work, which is at night and there are few people in the stores.