Although there's really no "good" time for a pandemic to break out, the timing of the spread of the COVID-19 virus throughout the world has likely introduced more stresses than it otherwise would at other times of year.
For one thing, parents who were already gearing up for March Break have now found themselves wondering what they'll do now that their kids will likely remain home for weeks longer. For another, the time in which quarantine and social distancing efforts have begun in earnest has coincided with St. Patrick's Day festivities this year.
In and of itself, that doesn't sound like a big deal. But the problem is that efforts to "flattern the curve" only work as far as people are willing to participate in them.
And what we're about to see suggests that convincing people to let this year's festivities pass them by may not be so easy.