It could have been cognitive dissonance. Certain segments of the population couldn't possibly be dismissing this virus as no worse than the flu, could they?
https://www.scottadamssays.com/2020/03/05/episode-840-scott-...
"Nobody under 70 has died, and over 700 people infected on that ship. So that's impressive."
That's just from randomly seeking through one of his recordings.