Have you seen that sci-fi movie in which the nations of earth are going about their usual business of trying to exterminate one another, until alien ships fill the skies, and then we all pull together like a team to crush the bug-like monsters? The coronavirus is that alien invader, and its presence has eliminated all talk of trade wars. The trouble is, we are only part way through this movie, and the bug-like monsters are winning all the early battles. With over 100,000 reported cases worldwide and more than 3,000 deaths, the mortality rate is higher than that for seasonal flu. Fortunately, the rate of infection appears to be slowing in China about two months after the virus was first identified. The fervid hope is that COVID-19 retains its relatively low lethality and is contained and eliminated before it mutates into something worse.