I was in a similar position at work. I was continually pointing out from mid-January onwards, that this was a serious issue that might spread world-wide. That we should at least conduct some tests/drills to insure that our business could function remotely. I was treated like a third head had grown atop my shoulders.
Jump to mid-March, when the pandemic was obvious to anyone with the least amount of curiosity, and the same group was saying "It's just a flu." The only thing that was socially acceptable to discuss was how many guns you might need in an apocalypse.
Technically, not an influenza virus. However, from what we know of virus diseases that cross species, it's not the 1st time a virus with this severe capability to spread rapidly has crossed over into humans. It's also not going to be the last.
The aspect of that statement that's true, which is worse than a lie, is that, "It's just a flu," puts people in mind of a disease that's a normalized part of everyday life. It's often the case, that when a virus crosses over to our species, the situation is far more dire than normal.
IIRC, when syphilis crossed over into humans, it would flat-out kill people in 2 weeks.
Jump to mid-March, when the pandemic was obvious to anyone with the least amount of curiosity, and the same group was saying "It's just a flu." The only thing that was socially acceptable to discuss was how many guns you might need in an apocalypse.
Denial is a powerful opiate.