Confession: I've Never Gone on a Cruise, and...

...now the possibility seems ever more unlikely.

The cruise industry has been hard hit by contagious diseases in the recent past. Illnesses such as norovirus, which was first identified in 1968, have broken out on cruise ships over the last couple of decades. The disease is sometimes called the Winter Vomiting Bug, and its spread roughly overlaps the most common times for cruises.

Like coronavirus, norovirus can linger on surfaces for weeks (sometimes months). Thorough decontamination is essential to getting rid of it. It spreads quickly, and has been associated with improperly cooked shellfish (which, of course, is a staple on cruise ships).

The impact of coronavirus may well tank many of the mass human transportation industries - planes, boats, and buses. Soft surfaces, such as upholstered seats, are very difficult to clean and disinfect. The military may have less trouble - their transport tends to be stripped down of comfortable seating, which should make sterilizing it easier.

Will that be the end of travel?

Unlikely - Americans have more cars than most of the world. We could ride out a temporary lull in transport of people.

Our packaged goods and tankers can be fairly easily stripped and disinfected. Many truckers own their own cabs, which should limit cross-contamination.

Colleges - the in-person kind - may find themselves ghost towns after this year. Online education - from pre-K through college - should be a gold mine.

The fact that so many industries have gone to virtual positions/work from home in the USA may mean that our economy could withstand this assault by virus easier than much of the world. Teleconferencing is common, both in business and education.

Also, the cleanliness of our food industry is better, from farm to factory to table. With the exception of those Democratic swamps and their lazy acceptance of public defecation, illegal alien influx, and poor government management of the growing health crisis, America may be in better shape to withstand this disease outbreak.

Also, our population is more spread out. We are more likely to live in detached homes, with generous space between them. We are used to 'loading up' on groceries for 2 or more weeks at a time. We have the space for food storage, and more, and better, home refrigeration. Most of us could, if necessary, hunker down for an extended period of time in our living places.

If this coronavirus outbreak hits pandemic level, the Democrats can kiss their immigration issue goodbye. That, alone, should doom their party to near-oblivion in the fall election.

Even without their crazy Leftist candidates.