John Oliver Advises Seth Meyers On How Much To Panic Over Coronavirus

The coronavirus, which is officially known as COVID-19 and has killed thousands of people worldwide, has now reached New York City.

The development stoked a conversation Tuesday between New York residents Seth Meyers and John Oliver on Meyers’s “Late Night.” (Watch the clip above.)

Oliver covered the coronavirus in a segment on his own show, HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” so Meyers asked his fellow host and guest how much one should panic over the global health crisis.

Describing his own typical panic level of 6 or 7 on a scale of 1 to 10, Oliver told Meyers that panic levels depend on the person.

“You probably have to go up a notch from wherever you were, but not too much,” he said. “That’s the thing. You’ve got to try and balance. Basically, just don’t be an idiot either way.”

But Oliver admitted that news of the virus invading Gotham has ratcheted up his anxiety.

“Everybody’s gonna have to wrestle with their darkest, stupidest instincts,” he added before going into a bit about his extreme reaction.

Remember, when you listen to the clip above, he’s just kidding.