New week, new coronavirus update

Well, I was seriously thinking about the whole coronavirus: that it will blow over again. Probably exaggerated, it's really not that bad at all. That went a bit differently, didn't it? I won't bring home face masks and that kind of nonsense, but it does make me a bit nervous sometimes. Especially since it doesn't really seem to be stopping. In fact, I have the feeling that it's only getting worse. But I'm not one for unnecessarily scaring people, so let's just put the latest facts in a row. You immediately know where you stand.

• In Italy, the entire Lombardy region is going into lockdown. A good plan in itself, if it weren't for the fact that this plan was leaked a bit too early. As a result: all of Lombardy is emptying out before everything is locked down. The rest of Italy is not very happy about this, and several regions are warning that residents from Lombardy will be immediately quarantined when they ‘flee’.
• Yesterday was definitely a low point in Italy regarding the coronavirus: 133 deaths in one day. That meant the total number came down to 366. That's no small number, I must say. Infections also rose by 25 percent on Sunday. The positive thing is that more and more people are being declared cured, a total of 622.
• Let's take a look at the Dutch numbers: 321 infections, of which 56 new patients yesterday and 3 people have died from the virus. In Brabant, a considerable number of schools are closed due to the risks, for example in Breda, Tilburg, and Geldrop.
• At the end of last week, it was announced that the winter edition of Tomorrowland was canceled. Also, larger events like Don’t Let Daddy Know were shortened (and no money was refunded, much to the displeasure of visitors). On the internet and Instagram, many Dutch tourists are stranded at the border of Vietnam, where they were not allowed to enter. I googled a lot, but couldn't find anything official about this. But it's good to keep an eye on this if you're heading to Vietnam or Asia.
• And so also be a bit careful with Brabant — sorry Brabo's. The virus has appeared there without people having been in contact with Northern Italy, South Korea, or China. In other words: it's a bit of a mystery how the virus ended up there, and that makes it very difficult to combat effectively. So if you're in Brabant and have any symptoms at all: you're in quarantine.
• They are indeed busy detecting the source in Brabant, you know. By Tuesday (tomorrow), we will receive news about that. There is a good chance that we will move to phase 2 of combating the coronavirus in North Brabant. Phase 1 is trying to keep the virus under control, which has indeed been moderately successful so far. Phase 2 is the mitigation or delay phase. Well, that means that schools will be kept closed and events will be canceled. So you could say that we are already in that transition to phase 2.
• If you're a bit of a misfortunate soul who has contracted the coronavirus, then there's a good chance that you will infect two to three people. Hence the quarantine. Because those two or three you infect will also do the same to others. So, yes, it spreads quite quickly from person to person.
• Iran has the most inventive way of dealing with the coronavirus. They have released 70,000 prisoners (yes, you read that right: 70,000). Temporarily, they say themselves. I just wonder how you can be sure that all 70,000 temporary ex-detainees will actually come back, instead of, for example... fleeing? But anyway. These are prisoners who have a sentence of less than five years and have tested negative for the virus. By letting these people go ‘temporarily’, they want to counteract the spread. Very curious how this will develop.
• Iran has indeed been hard hit by the coronavirus so far. The count stands at 237 deaths and 7161 infections. That's no joke, no.

And then of course the big question: should we really be scared? I find that a bit difficult to answer. I myself am not really scared yet, and I also don't really see the point of living in fear. Just be careful, maybe a bit more cautious than usual, and then it should be fine with you, I think (but I'm not a medical specialist). For now, the virus is not deadly for most people, although a two-week quarantine doesn't seem very pleasant to me either. But I would definitely cancel that vacation to Northern Italy, yes.