Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, ebola or another disease were to balloon into a full blown pandemic, complete with mandatory quarantines and such. Aside from the immediate risks of infection and such, what would a pandemic look like here in the United States?

There would be massive closures, especially with schools and many areas of business. You thought you’d finally gotten the kids out of your hair when summer vacation ended, didn’t you? Guess what? Not only could this be a child care issue for those who are still expected to go to work, many families rely upon the schools to feed their kids at least one quasi-decent meal a day.

Speaking of food, supply lines would likely be erratic if not non-existent. Trucks don’t load themselves, nor do they drive themselves. If employees aren’t there, either due to being sick or because they’re under quarantine at home, those semis are going to just sit. That means the few stores that might manage to stay open aren’t going to have much in the way of selection.

Now, on top of all that, let’s say your employer is one of the first companies to close up, even if only temporarily. That probably means you won’t be seeing a paycheck any time soon. Got enough dough to cover the mortgage and other payments for at least a few months?

Hospitals will be overcrowded, of course. What might have been a routine visit because of a child’s strep throat would become a potentially life-threatening journey. Rescue squads, police, and fire departments would all be understaffed and response times could be measured in days, rather than minutes.

I would anticipate at least some degree of power outages and problems with other utility services. Sure, a lot of that stuff is, in large part, automated. But, gotta have human beings to be there from time to time to keep the computers from becoming self-aware and starting their own version of Skynet, right?

It should go without saying that restaurants would be among the very first to close up. For those who eat out 7 nights a week because you don’t know how to cook, you just might want to pick up a cookbook and start practicing how to make something other than ice.

I would expect quite a bit of civil unrest, especially in urban areas. Lots of looting and rioting as people become angry, upset, and desperate. There would likely be a fair amount of paranoia and hysteria, as well, as people scrutinize one another, suspecting possible infections.

It might sound trivial, but even services like trash removal would likely cease operation, at least for a time. Again, need people to run those routes and drive those trucks. Garbage would be piling up in most communities with no one to take care of it.

I guess if there is a silver lining, it would be the distinct lack of door to door salesmen and Jehovah’s Witnesses coming by at dinner time.