In a world turned upside down and gripped with panic, we thought we’d point out a few pieces of information that you might have missed, and a few potential opportunities that you may be missing:

Evidence over hysteria — COVID-19. Keep calm and carry on, and if you’re constantly checking the somewhat sensationalist Johns Hopkins bubble map, this is a must read.

STUDY: 99% Of Patients Killed By Coronavirus In Italy Had Existing Illnesses. “Research into 355 deaths found that only three of the victims, 0.8 per cent, had been clear of illnesses before they were infected,” The Daily Mail reported. “Nearly half of them – 48.5 per cent – already had three or even more health conditions before they were diagnosed with Covid-19.  Another 25.6 per cent had two other ‘pathologies’, while 25.1 per cent had one.” Lest we forget, Back In February Italians Nationwide Were Encouraged To Hug Chinese People And Remove Their Masks.

Here is Why this Nobel laureate predicts a quicker coronavirus recovery: ‘We’re going to be fine’

Note to self (and investors): The ‘shelter in place’ policy led to a huge uptick in the Blue Apron stock. Back in February, Techcrunch reported that Blue Apron is considering selling itself. Last week, the meal kit delivery company saw a more than 1,100%  jump in its stock price, while Louisiana-based Waitr Holdings “jumped from a penny stock to a firm with a $290 million market value,” according to Crain’s.

Also note that Domino’s Pizza is hiring 10,000 workers to meet delivery demand during coronavirus crisis. Drone delivery isn’t available yet, “Open positions include delivery drivers, pizza makers, customer service representatives, managers and assistant managers. Supply chain centers are also hiring truck drivers,” according to Nation’s Restaurant News. In a time when restaurant workers across the nation are being sidelines, looks like Domino’s Pizza does deliver!

For the conspiracy theorists

This job was posted on the CDC website 11/15/2019 and removed. Hmmm. One of our readers grabbed it and shared. May also give some insight as to how long the quarantine will last:

Public Health Advisor (Quarantine Program)

Job ID HHS-CDC-D3-20-10640010 Date posted 11/15/2019 Location Dallas, Texas, El Paso,Texas, Houston, Texas, Seattle, Washington, Anchorage, Alaska, Los Angeles, California, SanDiego, California, San Francisco, California, Miami, Florida, Atlanta, Georgia, Honolulu, Ha-waii, Chicago, Illinois, Boston, Massachusetts, Detroit, Michigan, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Newark, New Jersey, New York, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, San Juan

Department: Department of Health And Human Services

Agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Job Announcement Number: HHS-CDC-D3-20-10640010SALARY RANGE: $51440.0 to $93077.0/Per Year

OPEN PERIOD: 2019-11-15 to 2020-05-15

SERIES & GRADE: GS–9/11

Another reader gave us a heads up that around the time that the virus hit Wuhan, 5G was also rolled out, and we will remind you that not too long ago, it was reported that Birds are Dying Near Newly Installed  5G Towers. Could the roll out of 5G in Wuhan have been a contributing factor? Not for us to say.

For the entrepreneurs:

And then there are lessons learned. Good time to look around to see where we may be heading in upcoming times:

Drones – think drone delivery, and not having to stand in line for hours for toilet paper

Self-driving vehicles – especially trucks. Drivers are being overworked at this juncture, what to speak of warehouse employees and those shelf re-stockers.

Telemedicine – Very Well Health points out that “Today, almost anyone with a smartphone or laptop can access telehealth services.” With the ‘new normal’ there’s almost no doubt (as the article again points out), that people will “use telehealth services during the covid-19 outbreak and beyond.”

Remote Work Solutions – example, Around is the new floating head video chat multitasking app. Unlike Zoom, it doesn’t take over your screen and instead “crops participants down to just circles that float on your screen so you have space for other apps,” says Techcrunch.

Sex Dolls – According the New York Post, Sex doll companies are trying to cash in on coronavirus. Sales are on the rise, but apparently, not of those imported from China.

AR/VR – In the era of social distancing, it may not just be for breakfast – or strictly a SaaS/enterprise play – anymore. Thinking cap? Put on your head mounted devices and get to it!

How much toilet paper? “London based student Software Developer Ben Sassoon and Artist Sam Harris created this site after they had a discussion about how much toilet paper they each used on a day to day basis and how that would change during the pandemic. It has now been used by over 5,000,000 people and is helping to reduce toilet paper shortage round the world,” according to the site. They ask for donations or buy them a cup of coffee. All things considered, go for the former for the time being. Let’s not help to deplete their toilet paper personal supplies.

As our investor friend Brian Laung Aoaeh (Refashiond Ventures) tweeted, “The past ran on supply chains. The present runs on supply chains. The future will run on supply chains…

I believe that; 1. THE WORLD IS A SUPPLY CHAIN™, and 2. Due to a perfect storm of irreversible SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, TECHNOLOGICAL and ENVIRONMENTAL forces, supply chain presents the biggest investment opportunity of the next half-century.

Let’s also not forget that brick and mortars are not dinosaurs quite yet. While Amazon can no longer guarantee next day delivery (and in some cases, even in the next few weeks), and while the shelves at many a, say Walmart, may have been cleared out at the onset of the panic, we spoke to a Walmart manager who said that they’d be stocked again soon. Walmart functions on JIT delivery and were caught unawares. The shelves, at least at Walmarts et als, we visited are being constantly restocked. Arrive early in the day.

It’s always important for entrepreneurs to think outside of the box – or in the case of Spoton, the pet carrier: the ride share service for pet owners saw their ridership practically come to a screeching halt, since people aren’t going into the offices and taking their pets with them. So, they pivoted a bit: there are still vet appointments to be kept, so Spoton is getting the four-leggeds safely to the vet and back, without the human having accompany them (they are GPS-enable). They’re also giving rides to veterinary facility workers – and giving 100% of the fares to the drivers, sans taxes and regulatory fees. They’ve also partnered Care Pod for people who are flying with pets, to make everyone’s life easier.  with created a driver fund to help drivers pay their bills. Currently, NYC only (full disclosure: we are a shareholder in the company).

We will leave you with three points: Remember that staying healthy isn’t just a matter of hygiene. While we’ve seen grocery carts piled high with toilet paper, Lysol and bottled water, don’t forget to stock up on – and eat – your fruits and vegetables or you may not need quite so much of that toilet paper. Next, people will always be social. In fact, South Korea drive-in cinemas enjoy sales boom over virus fears. Finally, necessity will always be the mother of invention. Pay attention. This, too, shall pass and some of the best companies tend to arise during tough times, because come what may, the world will always move onward and forward.