The content quoted in the "The Star" makes it seems more to me that he's calling the _panic_ dumb, not the necessities required to fight the pandemic, which he acknowledges exists in his follow-on tweets, at least the ones "The Star" quoted.
I also think the "coronavirus panic" is dumb, but I'm defining the "panic" when I say this as people buying 5 years of toilet paper, and unless there's more context that's what I am also assuming he is referring to.
Exactly. I don't understand why people are so avert to the word "panic". Extreme situations require extreme measures, which sure as hell look like "panic". If somebody is shooting at you - you're expected to panic and run and hide.
"Panic" is associated to irrational decision making, and is usually not what produces the best outcome. This is why there is a lot of training provided to professionals and even everyday people in potentially serious situations. If a plane crashes, they don't want you to panic and storm your way out of the plane, you'll just end up putting more lives at risk.
“My frank opinion remains that the harm from the coronavirus panic far exceeds that of the virus itself. If there is a massive redirection of medical resources out of proportion to the danger, it will result in less available care to those with critical medical needs, which does not serve the greater good.”
“My best guess, for what it’s worth, based on the latest Center for Disease Control data, is that confirmed COVID-19 (this specific form of the common cold) cases will not exceed 0.1% of the US population. Moreover, I do not think when we look back on 2020, that the causes of death or serious injury will have changed much from 2017.”
No, he wasn't talking about toilet paper hoarders. He was yet another overly self-absorbed person who thought that because he knows about something, ergo he knows about everything. HN is full of those types. That the "panic" response of actual professionals who are experts in this field just didn't match his imagination of how to respond to this "form of the common cold".
As an aside - the MAGA brigade is out in heavy force lately. The type of comments that are being flagged is absolutely ludicrous. If you find a comment that's politically unpalatable, be sure to flag it.
I also think the "coronavirus panic" is dumb, but I'm defining the "panic" when I say this as people buying 5 years of toilet paper, and unless there's more context that's what I am also assuming he is referring to.