NTT Pro Cycling's Ben King returned to the United States from his European base in Tuscany after a coronavirus pandemic suspended all racing. While Italian hospitals were exhausted and the death toll exceeded 6,000, the American said he felt more at risk at home than he did in Italy.

In his Flobikes.com blog (opens in new tab), King recounts the "six stages of cobid" after three weeks of quarantine in Italy, a mostly empty flight through an "eerily quiet and sterile" airport, and further quarantine at home in Virginia.

"I am grateful to be back home and near my family, but honestly, after only 24 hours of observation, I feel more at risk in the US than I did in Italy," King wrote.

"I am still not afraid for myself, but for those vulnerable to the virus. Please do not take your freedom for granted. It is still your choice to take appropriate measures."

King recalled that most people in Italy thought it was a Chinese problem until the virus quickly became their problem, and wrote: "You may think I'm overreacting, but a month ago, I would have thought so too, and a month ago I would have done the same. But we just went through all of this. I don't want to preach or come off as self-righteous, but I have seen where we are headed.

He listed six stages of reaction to the coronavirus pandemic and said, "I have observed the same stages of reaction in diverse cultures and admit that I was not immune to all of them. I hope that my hindsight will provide the foresight to make good choices."

The stages he observed were first downplaying the problem, followed by denial that Covid-19 disease was serious, resenting the inconvenience of pubs and restaurants closing, nervousness, working from home or being laid off but meeting friends outside The first phase of the project was the first phase of the project. In the fifth stage, government quarantine was in place, criticism of others going out, increased paranoia, followed by fear and anger at the reality that people were actually dying behind the numbers.

"From what I have seen, the attitudes in the countries hardest hit follow this trend," King writes. 'Here's the fact: Most COVID-19 carriers are asymptomatic. For every one who is positive, three are infected. The United States has one of the highest rates of infection, even though it does not test as many as Italy (I believe the number is much higher).

Dr. King wrote of his surprise when he landed in the U.S., "The parking lots were filled with people, as if nothing had changed. To them, nothing had changed yet.

"It is too late to stop, but there is still time to make a change. This is not Italy's problem. It is our problem. It is my problem and yours."