COVID-19 is here! We have to
Do what we can to slow its spread.
Failure to act appropriately
Will mean scarier times ahead.

Experts say the mortality rate
Of the flu is zero point one percent;
COVID-19 is ten times worse.
Someone, PLEASE tell the president!

It's also NOT something that we
Control through travel bans,° they say.
Testing is crucial. South Korea
Tests 10,000 people a day!

Have bureaucratic snags prevented
Testing here? If testing is key
To help suppress the spread of the virus,
And others can do it, why can't we?

Identify and isolate.
We need more tests and on the double.
If health systems are overburdened,
We will be in a heap of trouble.

Yes, we have to "flatten the curve"
And practice precautions to the letter.
Still, the situation is going to
Get much worse before it gets better.

One thing we've learned: Trump and his cronies
Had stifled many efforts to contain
The spread of the virus by carrying on
Their reckless disinformation campaign.

Clear, honest messaging
And not a suspicious, distrustful inaction
Is what we need; otherwise,
You're going to dislike the coming attraction.

-by Bob B (3-12-20)

°At first experts disagreed as to the effectiveness of travel bans--especially arbitrary travel bans.