IF the coronavirus was the ONLY reason people got sick, then a lot of the comments and debates circling the globe about wearing masks or not wearing masks, contracting the virus and "fighting through a week of the flu", social distancing, opening up classrooms, closing down businesses and hugging grandparents would be more valid.
Unfortunately the issue isn't about masks, and handwashing and personal space — It's about the STRAIN this one virus can put on the healthcare system and particularly the hospitals that continue to deal with trauma, disease, birth and end of life cases every day.
How many people with liver disease, cancer ... stab wounds or complicated pregnancies will die if the system is packed with COVID cases? THAT is the fear that affects everyone, whether they want to wear a mask or not.