First recorded patient in Wuhan was December 8. It’s been 2 months since then. Even exponential growth takes some time.

Don’t you think there is a difference when no one is aware (back in December) and the way it is now?

Not too much, no. But we will know who is right in just a few weeks, so we’ll see.

Fast quarantine for example is one big difference. People with symptoms that could be Corona related going to hospitals is another big difference. Tests being developed. Hospitals being on alert. But believe whatever you want.

That certainly helped with SARS. But nCov appears to be transmissible at the time symptoms appear or even earlier. That is a big difference from SARS and makes self-isolation and quarantine significantly less effective.

So we went from "no difference at all" to "the differences won't matter". If want to panic, do it. But please don't spread it, online or offline. Already too many people are doing just that.

While there may be some other protective factors, the status of the infection in North America is similar to what it was in China in early December (the likely start of the outbreak).