I wouldn’t call it “optimism” lol. I just believe that Varsity will, with all their effort, avoid the logistical nightmare and profit loss of cancelling such a huge event. I work in rescue and it’s a pain cancelling fundraisers at the last minute: redirecting animal transport, losing deposits on table rentals, etc. And that’s a local event that only lasts a few hours. I literally cannot imagine the chaos that would come from cancelling the multi-day, multinational event that is Worlds, not to mention the profit loss that would come with it. Unless this virus turns into another Ebola strain, they’ll avoid that mess.
Plus, I’m sitting here right smack dab in the middle of it all in the Bay Area, and it’s not exactly the hellscape that the media is painting it out to be. We’re cautious, but we’re fine.
And with all these quarantines, cancellations, protocols, etc., designed to curb transmission and exposure, I think we’ll see a turning point soon. Between all the class/sports/event cancellations, the self-imposed work quarantines, and the Purell mania, this thing will have nowhere to go. If it takes two weeks for carriers to manifest symptoms and only a few days to recover, I think we’ll see a definite downslide in four weeks.