Maybe, and maybe. I would expect to see a range of responses from panicking people acting on all parts of fight/flight/freeze instincts. And I think bunkering down safe at home is certainly one possible freeze reaction. One likely flight reaction is driving/walking aimlessly “away” from the threat (think, “if I just get far enough away from the city I’ll be fine”). If enough people take the latter action, they are likely to meet up and start moving aimlessly as a group* despite the increased risk of infection (“Those people look healthy, and there’s safety in numbers”), and I think we all know how groups of humans can act. :(
*A group, BTW, with next to no planning or leadership structure, probably limited food and water supplies, not using sanitary facilities reliably, not washing their hands often, and most likely carrying lots of guns.
As for the army, if they were able to help at all I think it would be because they were following orders given to them by an officer who had the distance and training to be able to think more clearly. Would a military presence in the street scare more people into staying inside? Probably, and especially if there were clear instructions being broadcast at regular intervals. I’ve seen some people behave very well when you take their need to think out of the equation. On the other hand, you’re going to have the folks who freak out into fight mode because they think “they’re here to take our guns!” or some such, resulting in more needless deaths. Furthermore, mobilizing a military force mixes people around more and further exacerbates exposure risks. This is not a step I would choose to take at this time.
Hm, it does seem likely that some people would flee, thinking “if I just get far enough away from the city I’ll be fine”. And as jimrandomh mentions, this would lead to more spread of the virus. However, my intuition is that 1) there wouldn’t be too many people trying to flee, and that 2) deploying the army would make that risk trivial. My intuition could very well be wrong though.
Maybe, and maybe. I would expect to see a range of responses from panicking people acting on all parts of fight/flight/freeze instincts. And I think bunkering down safe at home is certainly one possible freeze reaction. One likely flight reaction is driving/walking aimlessly “away” from the threat (think, “if I just get far enough away from the city I’ll be fine”). If enough people take the latter action, they are likely to meet up and start moving aimlessly as a group* despite the increased risk of infection (“Those people look healthy, and there’s safety in numbers”), and I think we all know how groups of humans can act. :(
*A group, BTW, with next to no planning or leadership structure, probably limited food and water supplies, not using sanitary facilities reliably, not washing their hands often, and most likely carrying lots of guns.
As for the army, if they were able to help at all I think it would be because they were following orders given to them by an officer who had the distance and training to be able to think more clearly. Would a military presence in the street scare more people into staying inside? Probably, and especially if there were clear instructions being broadcast at regular intervals. I’ve seen some people behave very well when you take their need to think out of the equation. On the other hand, you’re going to have the folks who freak out into fight mode because they think “they’re here to take our guns!” or some such, resulting in more needless deaths. Furthermore, mobilizing a military force mixes people around more and further exacerbates exposure risks. This is not a step I would choose to take at this time.
Hm, it does seem likely that some people would flee, thinking “if I just get far enough away from the city I’ll be fine”. And as jimrandomh mentions, this would lead to more spread of the virus. However, my intuition is that 1) there wouldn’t be too many people trying to flee, and that 2) deploying the army would make that risk trivial. My intuition could very well be wrong though.