Update:
At my insistence (OK nagging), DH finally agreed to reschedule his appt. and now it's in April. He is having second thoughts at this point, but is still undecided.
Your responses BTW, have also given me much to think about......
First - That many of us 'vulnerable seniors' seem to be in a similar predicament.
Second - That many unanswered questions surrounding this virus, make it very hard to come up with an informed decision.
For perspective, in the US, we seniors are being told to avoid cruise ships and airplanes and to practice social distancing or better still, to quarantine in place and avoid getting sick.
My GPs secretary called this morning to tell me not to worry about rescheduling my (follow up) appt. for the time being. Urgent patients only, going forward, I was told; everyone else stay home. Hospitals reporting they are short on life saving intubators to treat respiratory distress. In some other countries, sufferers are already being turned away for lack of sufficient medical equipment and resources.
News reports say that Italy went from regional shutdown to total lock down overnight. In NY, they went from 2 cases to more than 150 in less than a week and still counting. In one NY town, they've summoned the National Guard to cordon them off and help contain the outbreak. I just learned of first two cases in my own town!
As far as I know, not everyone is being tested and that includes our fearless leader ('He who must not be named') It appears he was recently exposed. They aren't testing enough or in an organized manner to really know who has it and who doesn't.
In other news, the stock markets have been going apesh$%t and at this point, all my alarm bells are going off at once!
Sooo.....
On the one hand, we have the immediate (increasingly growing) probability of being exposed to CoVid-19 (Novel Coronavirus). For vulnerable seniors that appears to be a death sentence, not to mention the chance of coming back and exposing loved ones and others.
On the other hand, by cancelling doctor visits and putting off (non emergency) diagnostic tests or planned procedures indefinitely, important health issues will be deliberately ignored and the subsequent outcomes uncertain.
So how do we measure the risk so we can make the right choice?