Please Remove Housing Timers During the Covid-19 Epidemic

[VenKitsune]

This is incorrect - they suspended the timers during two disasters in Japan.

well yea, EARTHQUAKES (and a Tsunami i think). Not because it's unfair to players, but because Demolishing an ingame house after an actual earthquake would be in poor taste. Does covid-19 shake the ground and break your house or your neighbours houses apart?

[dotsforlife]

The only real threat is the misinformation and mass panic over something less harmful than the flu. The flu kills tens of thousands of people a year and this has killed like... 2k in 6 months? Mankind as usual makes things worse than it actually is. Your house will be fine. And if you for some reason have to keep working, well I guess it'll just be business as usual won't it? Buying up mass amounts supplies because you're paranoid isn't an excuse for extending a feature for a fictional object of no real value.

[MomomiMomi]

The only real threat is the misinformation and mass panic over something less harmful than the flu. The flu kills tens of thousands of people a year and this has killed like... 2k in 6 months? Mankind as usual makes things worse than it actually is. Your house will be fine. And if you for some reason have to keep working, well I guess it'll just be business as usual won't it? Buying up mass amounts supplies because you're paranoid isn't an excuse for extending a feature for a fictional object of no real value.

You're right, one of the big threats is misinformation. Your post is a good example of misinformation being spread.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

You're right, one of the big threats is misinformation. Your post is a good example of misinformation being spread.

Pretty much everything being spread about the virus is misinformation. There are no 2 sources that say the same thing. It's mind-boggling how bad the media are handling this.

[DamianFatale]

Google it, but be wary of the results. Check for official sources. Don't rely on social media for (mis)information.

Yes it's a pandemic, but it's basically the flu. (Edit: A potentially severe form that we don't have immunity/vaccines for at this point, but still part of that family of viruses.) The average person who gets it will be dealing with it by staying home. That's what the panic buying is about - people being paranoid about the idea that they wouldn't be able to go out to the shops if they got sick.

Official sources are saying that the flu comparison isn't accurate.

[Iscah]

Best information is directly from the source: in this case, the World Health Organization.

https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-de...-coronaviruses

[Kenky]

No ITS NOT.
Its 20-30 times more deadlier than normal flu and about 20% of all cases requires hospitalization including oxygen intake, it also gives several times worse complications that could do permanent damage to your lungs, heart and nerve system that could carry on for the rest of infected person life. Stop being ignorant.

Plenty of people sadly pass away from the Flu every year, in plenty of countries, making its mortality rate about 2 - 3% (Maybe higher / lower, depending on countrys medical structure)

COVID-19 has a mortality rate of 0.2% (at present and only including confirmed cases. But that's all the info we have)

20-30 times weaker, more like. Stop overreacting.

That isn't to say it can just flip a switch and suddenly become incredibly dangerous (But that would take quite a long time, as no virus 'evolves' overnight) but if you keep with basic hygiene and common sense you can fight off most of the symptoms and minimize spread. Over here in the UK, we're actually being told to avoid going to the doctors and hospitals, purely to avoid potential spread of the virus. Not to mention several clinics in my town itself have been quarantined and "deep cleaned" just to be sure. That's not because "it's dangerous" but to slow the spread and give medical companies (NHS, WHO, etc) time to work on medication and vaccination.

Wash your hands a lot, don't touch your face and if you have to go outside and have a bad cough, wear a mask. The masks are meant to stop YOU spreading it, not to stop others from catching it.

But onto the main point of the thread:

Plenty of countries are trying to get you to stay home and away from other people. Wouldn't that technically make it pointless to delay the timer? I mean, you're meant to be at home anyways. But I can understand some people being unable to log-in or pass their info to a trusted friend or family member to do it for you, should you be otherwise occupied. (Not something I'd personally recommend, but it's your call at the end of the day)

In either case, It'd be good to have a little delay. Maybe an extra week or two on the timer, but not stopping it all-together.

[MomomiMomi]

Plenty of people sadly pass away from the Flu every year, in plenty of countries, making its mortality rate about 2 - 3% (Maybe higher / lower, depending on countrys medical structure)

COVID-19 has a mortality rate of 0.2% (at present and only including confirmed cases. But that's all the info we have)

This info is all wrong.

Based on the WHO's numbers, the mortality rate on COVID-19 is currently around 3.2%. The seasonal flu is typically less than 1%.

[Kenky]

This info is all wrong.

Based on the WHO's numbers, the mortality rate on COVID-19 is currently around 3.2%. The seasonal flu is typically less than 1%.

If that truly is the case, then I apologize. But it is still not something that should induce mass-panic. The rest of my post still remains true to form.

But there's talk of, say.. 150,000+ cases in south Korea, with the mortality there being 0.6% (as of March 8th) so there may be some uncertainty with the ACTUAL numbers, just that it's in a general ball-park. It's why I stated the whole "can be higher / lower depending on country and medical structure" more-so hinting that it's obviously going to fluctuate between countries, as different medical practices and strengths / weaknesses come into play.

And, while I don't mean any harm in saying this, but the WHO can be wrong too. It's Human Error and understandable when the unknowns are piling up on people.

[MomomiMomi]

If that truly is the case, then I apologize. But it is still not something that should induce mass-panic. The rest of my post still remains true to form.

EDIT: After a bit of sleuthing, I found the info I had posted was outdated. Once again, I apologize.

We all make mistakes. I didn't want to put in numbers on my post because they're quickly changing, and actually my numbers weren't even correct. Of the confirmed cases, 3.6% of people have died. And this is assuming the numbers are correct.

For all the people who keep saying that the flu is worse: if as many people get COVID-19 as people get the flu each flu season, with the current mortality rate, we would have about 1,000,000 dead people in the US alone. There is no need to panic, but please take it seriously. Take precautions and try to avoid unnecessary social contact if you're in an affected area.