Dr. Bill Lloyd has a way of calming anxious patients when they are in an examining room awaiting surgery.

“I just pull out an anatomy book and show them this is where we are, this is what we are going to do, this is how we are going to make things better and this is why you need to get better,” he explained.

And Dr. Lloyd, a pathologist and the health director at Transamerica, is urging financial advisors to use a similar tactic to calm the fears of clients who are concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on their finances.

Dr. Lloyd spoke Wednesday during a webcast titled, “Making Sense of COVID-19: Current Evidence and Best Practices,” sponsored by TD Ameritrade. The session was designed to help advisors gain a better understanding of the COVID-19 outbreak; how they can protect themselves, manage anxiety and fear at their firms; and how to have productive conversations with clients.

He pointed out that Transamerica has prepared two one-page tools that will allow advisors to approach anxious clients the way he does anxious patients. The tools, he said, explain what’s going on in the market now and compares it to what happened decades ago. One document speaks to equity and the other talks about bonds, he said, noting that the tools go back to 1980 and show the performance of the stock market and market performance through sickness and health during various global epidemics such as AIDS, SARS, dengue fever, and West Nile fever.

“At the six-months mark after every global epidemic since 1980, the market always comes back. True for stocks, true for bonds,” he said. “This is a powerful tool that you can use to educate your clients, help them dial down that anxiety and help them look forward to a prosperous future,” he said, adding that advisors should also use the tools to help clients understand that time is on their side.

Dr. Lloyd noted that SARS, which began in late winter of 2002 and lasted into the beginning of 2003, was a deadlier coronavirus than COVID-19. Both viruses originated in China. But SARS, he said, did not have the financial impact that COVID-19 has had. That's partly because, during the earlier outbreak America, was at war with Iraq and SARS had to settle for headlines below the fold of newspapers. “And you know it is news that drives the markets,” Lloyd said. 

China, he noted, was the sixth largest economy in the world in 2003, which accounted for 4% of global GDP. Today, it’s No. 2 in the world and boasts 15% of global GDP. “Most people probably know somebody who traveled to China in the last 12 months,” he said. That was not likely the case in 2003. U.S. trade and travel have changed tremendously since then.

In June 2003, when the SARS pandemic was declared over and the last case disappeared, the markets were up 14% from the beginning of the outbreak, he said. “Most sectors rebounded with vigor within just two quarters. The bounce backs included hospitality and travel.”

The most pessimistic projections about the financial impact of SARS were incorrect, and that’s because the war news was driving the market, and SARS took a backseat, he said. 

Because COVID-19 has only the Democratic presidential campaign to compete with in the current news cycle, the disease has been able to shake the markets. Interestingly though, Lloyd noted that some financial experts wonder whether the markets were looking for a catalyst for correction anyway. “Everybody has been talking about a correction for over a year. Were they just looking for a reason? I don’t know. It’s worth considering,” he said.

As for the health impact of COVID-19, he said it’s “far less deadly, but far more contagious” than other pandemic outbreaks. There are more than 220,000 documented cases worldwide with more than 9,000 deaths, mostly in China, Italy and Iran.

The U.S. has seen more than 10,000 cases of COVID-19 and 150 deaths. “And we know many, many more people are carrying the virus and they may not have symptoms,” Lloyd said.

The symptoms of COVID-19, an acute respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, are similar to other respiratory illnesses causing fever, coughing, congestion, difficulty breathing—and the real problem, which is viral pneumonia, he said.

“And for individuals suffering from viral pneumonia, they may need support from a ventilator, and there are only a finite number of ventilators on this planet right now.” Many of the preventative strategies being used now are meant to delay the onset of the disease so that as many people will have access to that advance care as need it if it becomes necessary, he said.

Lloyd said it’s important to know that the coronavirus mutates easily. “Think of it as an automobile. When mutation occurs, the only change that happens to coronavirus is the license plate. The identity that your immune system uses to recognize that virus. It’s the same reason why we get a different flu shot every year, he said, explaining that mutations in the influenza virus year to year alter your body’s ability to recognize it. “And that’s why they keep trying to stay ahead of the curve in making a brand new vaccine every year.”

And while COVID-19 is highly contagious, it’s not nearly as contagious as the measles or chicken pox. Lloyd explained that epidemiologists use a number called R0 (R naught) to measure the number of cases, on average, an infected person will cause during their infectious period. “We think the number is slightly above 2, meaning one active sick COVID-19 patient will give the disease to two other people.

By comparison, one sick person infected with the measles virus will give the disease to 20 other people. “It’s at the other side of the spectrum,” he said.

So the chance of getting the disease is high but the fatality rate from the disease is low, Lloyd said. We know how many people have died, but we really don’t know how many people have been exposed, how many are infected by the virus, how many people have symptoms, or how many people actually got sick. “And we may not know that for months or even years, so it’s important to take that into account,” he said.

“But up until now in the pandemic, we know that in countries that practice rigorous preventative measures like South Korea, their infection fatality rate is less than 1%,” he said, noting that South Korea’s numbers are the most valid because they lead the world in early testing.

Unlike a lot of other viral illnesses, COVID-19 is transferred by tiny droplets of moisture from the body—the mouth, nose and throat—that carry the virus to other people. With measles or chicken pox, you simply get in the room with somebody and you get it, he said.

Because of the way COVID-19 transfers, simple preventative measures—good handwashing, social isolation, maintaining that distance—will go far in protecting you, your business associates and your family from contracting COVID-19, Lloyd said.

And as for children, he said they are tremendous vectors for COVID-19, meaning they carry it but not many get sick from it. They do bring it to their mothers and grandparents, however. “That’s why so many schools are closed,” he said.

Lloyd stressed that if you are not exposed to COVID-19, you will not get it and there is no need for testing. He said the coronavirus is more prevalent in people older than 60 because their immune capabilities deteriorate over time. Also, anyone with a weakened immune system and underlying issues such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, emphysema, an autoimmune disease, high blood pressure, cancer, asthma, a previous lung infection or an organ transplant, are at risk.

He cautioned to call your doctor if you develop flu-like symptoms, if you have been around someone with COVID-19 or if you have traveled to an area where it is ubiquitous. “Do not race to an emergency room. That’s the last place you want to go to,” he said.