It's not that bad. the disease is mostly affecting people with weakened immune systems, the really young and the really old. This is not too different than the flu in that regard, except it's much more difficult to control the spread of it and it has some really nasty side effects if it goes untreated.
That said, I think treating it like a dire emergency is not the right way to go. I really don't want me or my children breathing in any chemicals unnecessarily. If any of us get sick from the virus, we'll go to our doctors that we trust or a emergency room. With all the pollution we already have on top of allergens, I really don't want to know what adding those chemicals to the mix will do, but there's a chance that it may be even less treatable than the disease.