A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 157

America’s first Ebola patient, Eric Stanley.

Originally from Liberia, he was visiting his family in Texas when he began suffering from a high fever for several days and eventually went to a hospital.

However, the medical staff overlooked the fact that he had come from Liberia, misdiagnosed him, and sent him home.

Two days later, when his condition deteriorated rapidly, only then did the staff confirm he had Ebola.

This incident immediately drew the attention of every media outlet.

[The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dispatched a special response team to trace those who had contact with Stanley and announced that there was no significant risk to the general public.]

This report instantly captivated everyone’s attention.

Until then, Ebola was nothing more than a distant story for most Americans.

Even when it was mentioned in the news, it was only in the context of “What kind of humanitarian aid should the U.S. provide to Africa?”

But now, this dangerous disease had crossed the Atlantic and landed on American soil.

This reality delivered a great shock to the American public.

The country had implemented procedures like traveler screenings and quarantines, but the fact that this had happened meant those systems had failed.

Now, to Americans, Ebola was no longer someone else’s problem—it was a real threat that could affect themselves and their families.

People rapidly turned their attention to Ebola, and every news channel flooded the airwaves with related information.

However, the information presented only heightened people’s anxiety.

[The fatality rate of this Ebola strain is reported to be as high as 90%………….]

[Early symptoms resemble the flu, but the condition can rapidly worsen, accompanied by severe bleeding. It spreads through contact with bodily fluids from infected individuals…………….]

[A vaccine is currently under development, but none are yet available on the market. Therefore, extreme caution is advised……………]

As these horrifying facts were reported day after day, the public was horrified.

The high fatality rate, shocking symptoms, and deadly infectiousness… made Ebola feel like something straight out of a Hollywood disaster film.

And with no treatment available, the public couldn’t help but be reminded of viruses in movies that sweep across the globe and cause mass panic.

[Ebola is highly contagious, but it only spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. It is not an airborne disease.]

Thankfully, Ebola was not a disease that could be transmitted through the air alone.

However, experts invited to various media outlets raised additional possibilities.

[During close-range conversations, tiny droplets of bodily fluid that are invisible to the naked eye can sometimes spread more widely than expected. If such droplets reach a mucous membrane, infection is possible.]

[Modern toilet flush systems are so powerful that micro-droplets can be sprayed. A virus could remain on the toilet surface without our knowledge, and if someone with a cut comes into contact with it………….]

Strictly speaking, the likelihood was extremely low.

But ironically, the public’s fear was fueled by another reason.

There had been a similar scene in a blockbuster Hollywood film released a few years prior.

A supporting character becomes infected when a drop of blood from a corpse falls into their eye.

That film had been so popular that the scene was seared into the audience’s memory.

And in response to such questions, experts all said the same thing.

[Of course, the possibility is slim—but we can’t say it’s entirely impossible.]

“Incredibly unlikely, but not a zero percent chance,” they said.

Naturally, these expert opinions only fueled public anxiety, and to some extent, this was intentional.

Every news outlet was chasing ratings, and crises always sold well.

The only thing that sold better after that was… assigning blame.

Panicked people began looking for someone to hold accountable.

[The alarming point is that the patient went to the hospital himself but was misdiagnosed. He even mentioned he came from Liberia, but that information wasn’t passed on to the staff. As a result, he wandered around for two days without being isolated. Does that make any sense?]

[The family already suspected Ebola. All the symptoms were present, yet an official diagnosis was delayed. In fact, during that time, he wasn’t even isolated and had to share a room with other patients.]

[This reveals a major flaw in our healthcare system. A mistake like this, during the outbreak of the worst epidemic in history….!]

Though there was only one patient, the media spent 24 hours a day focused on Ebola and exposed the flaws in the healthcare system.

And ten days later, this news broke.

[First patient Stanley has died.]

Stanley had passed away.

Not in Africa’s poor conditions, but in the United States, a country with an advanced medical system.

But this was only the beginning.

A more serious issue soon emerged.

[Breaking news. Additional confirmed cases have been reported. Two nurses who treated Stanley have tested positive…………]

The very nurses who treated him had been infected.

They weren’t regular people.

They had protective gear and were more familiar with infection control than anyone else.

[Despite knowing he was an Ebola patient and following CDC guidelines, they still got infected—this shows the dangers of the disease…………….]

The infection of medical staff raised the fear surrounding Ebola to new heights.

But as investigations dug deeper into the case, a more shocking truth came to light.

There weren’t even proper protection guidelines in place for such an outbreak.

[Nurses who initially treated Stanley wore gowns without waterproofing, gloves without wrist seals, and surgical masks. They were told N-95 masks and face shields were optional.]

[The protective suits provided to them left their necks exposed, which are the areas closest to the face and mouth. Concerned, the nurses wrapped their necks with medical tape themselves……………]

This was revealed by a whistleblowing nurse from the same hospital.

The medical staff treated the patient without proper equipment.

At the time, Stanley was experiencing severe vomiting and diarrhea.

Given the poor protective gear, it was inevitable that bodily fluid contact occurred during treatment.

And that wasn’t the only problem.

[Stanley’s samples were transported through the hospital’s plumbing system. They should have been sealed and hand-carried according to protocol, but…….]

[Other samples that used the same system may also have been contaminated, and the lab workers handling them may have been exposed to risk………………]

Even this was just the beginning.

The most terrifying detail came next.

[One of the nurses visited her family in Cleveland while showing symptoms………….]

It was revealed that the infected nurse had traveled.

Even more shocking was that she had flown on a commercial airplane.

While infected.

[The CDC is currently tracking 132 passengers who were on the same flight as the nurse…………….]

As already stated, Ebola is not airborne by default.

So unless her bodily fluids contacted someone else, the chance of infection was extremely low.

However.

In the public’s mind, the “what if” scenarios raised by experts lingered.

The possibility of her micro-droplets penetrating someone’s mucous membrane—just like in the movies.

The media invited experts daily to discuss potential transmission.

[What’s important is that the nurse wasn’t just on the plane. If even one of the people she interacted with becomes infected, there is a risk of exponential spread…………….]

Although there were only three confirmed patients at the time, every news channel displayed maps of the U.S. with predicted infection zones marked in red dots.

They were maps based on the worst-case scenario.

And then, another variable came into play.

This incident occurred just two months before the midterm elections.

In a time of national crisis, politicians weren’t going to sit still.

***

[The current administration is not to be trusted. This kind of response is unacceptable!]

[If Romney had been elected instead of Obama, this situation would never have happened!]

Some politicians took advantage of the situation to revive hot-button topics like "immigration" and "foreign threats."

[What if Hamas intentionally sends Ebola patients to the U.S. to cause infection? That could be a new form of biological terrorism!]

That statement came from none other than a congressman from South Carolina.

[Now is the time to seal the borders.]

[Even now, countless infected children from Mexico are crossing over with innocent-looking faces. For the safety of our nation, it’s time to block all travelers!]

They used public fear to push for stronger immigration restrictions.

And to criticize the current administration’s poor handling, they brought out all sorts of materials.

One of them was…

[Did you see the photo from the nurse’s transport? There was a man standing next to a confirmed patient without wearing any protective gear!]

A photo was released showing a man standing nearby without any protection while the confirmed nurse was being transported on a private plane.

However.

There was actually a valid reason for this.

Wearing full protective gear limited visibility, and there was a risk of accidentally bumping into something and tearing the suit.

If that happened, it could lead to infection, so by protocol, someone without protective gear was supposed to assist with visual guidance from a safe distance.

But such explanations didn’t matter to a public gripped by fear of airborne transmission.

To them, this was clear proof that the government was covering up its mistakes.

[This isn’t the only thing the government is hiding! What an incompetent administration!]

In the midst of this fear and distrust, all sorts of conspiracy theories started to spread.

Some claimed the U.S. had manufactured Ebola to experiment on Africans…

— If you look at the African countries where the outbreaks occurred, they’re all resource-rich. Is that just a coincidence?

— It’s a strategy to block China’s growing influence in Africa! Make them sick and then sell them medicine from American pharmaceutical companies…

Of course, only a small number of people believed in these outlandish theories, but distrust in the government and fear of where the deadly disease might be hiding spread rapidly.

And amid all this.

Another confirmed case emerged.

[A doctor who recently returned from working with Doctors Without Borders in Africa tested positive, raising concerns in New York…]

A confirmed case—this time, in New York.

Even more shocking was the doctor’s activity before testing positive.

He hadn’t stayed home.

He had gone to a bowling alley, and even visited a restaurant.

Right in the middle of New York City.

Online, outrage exploded.

–It’s not Doctors Without Borders—it’s Doctors Without Common Sense!

–Common sense for pandemic prevention… don’t go to pandemic regions.

–They got sick eating bats or whatever! Serves them right—just let them die…

— Are they trying to endanger America? They should’ve stayed there and died instead of coming back…

Public opinion became more and more hostile, xenophobia reached its peak, and numerous incidents related to panic reactions made the news.

[A passenger with a nosebleed on a Washington-bound flight causes emergency plane turnaround…………….]

The passenger had never been to Africa and had no fever, but nosebleeds were one of Ebola’s symptoms.

Terrified, the pilot decided to turn the plane around just for a single nosebleed.

[Parents demand school closure after it’s revealed the principal recently visited South Africa…]

South Africa is located at the very southern tip of the African continent—about 3,700 miles away from the main outbreak zones.

For reference, the distance from New York to Guinea is roughly 4,300 miles.

[A man who called 911 complaining of flu-like symptoms mentioned he was from Mali, prompting a special response team to be dispatched…………]

[A Haitian woman vomited on the subway, causing an entire station to be shut down…….]

This situation escalated into a widespread phobia of Africa, and even led to extreme fear toward dark-skinned people from Central and South America.

To many, Africa was just one big lump.

But roughly 13% of the U.S. population is Black.

This only fueled the fear even more, and soon, several photos went viral online.

One of the most well-known showed a woman on the Washington Metro wearing protective gear.

She was, in fact, wearing a hazmat suit.

She wasn’t the only one to take such an extreme step.

Even at airports, travelers in full protective suits were occasionally spotted.

Of course, they weren’t the majority…

But that photo became the starting point, and soon hazmat suits were selling like hotcakes online.

Even with a price tag over $2,000, they flew off the shelves, and the U.S. government even made this announcement:

<The U.S. government offers a $1 million prize for hazmat suit design…………>

Meanwhile, there were some who responded to all this not with fear, but with suspicion.

They were people in the financial industry who had already heard Ha Si-heon’s "Pandemic Forecast."

“How in the world…?”

When Ha Si-heon first warned of the early signs of a pandemic, they didn’t believe him.

They thought the likelihood of a large-scale outbreak in the U.S. was very low.

And technically, their assessment was correct.

As of this point, there were only four confirmed cases.

The first patient, Stanley, two nurses, and one doctor.

Only four people—hardly enough to call it a pandemic.

But…

Ha Si-heon never said the pandemic would happen this time.

He only called it a “warning sign.”

During that meeting, he had focused not on the health impact of the disease, but on the effect such an outbreak would have on the market.

And in the end, his prediction was right.

The stock prices of two pharmaceutical companies developing an Ebola vaccine soared nearly 50%.

Meanwhile, major companies in the airline and hotel industries saw their stock prices fall by nearly 10%.

This wasn’t surprising.

It was within the realm of expected outcomes.

But…

A little-known hazmat suit manufacturer saw its stock price surge 50% in just one day.

By the time all this was unfolding, its stock price—once under $7—had climbed to nearly $30.

Other big and small protective equipment companies also issued daily press releases announcing they would double production.

Of course, most of these were small firms, so the actual profits wouldn’t be that significant.

But institutional investors weren’t wondering things like “How much money did we make this time?”

Because Ha Si-heon had never said this was a chance for high returns.

He had said this was just a warning.

A case to show how the market responds even to a small panic.

— A few years from now, there is a real risk of a truly airborne pandemic, and when that time comes, the market may experience a shock comparable to a financial crisis…

If this is what happens with just four cases…

What if the “real thing” he warned about actually happens?

Ha Si-heon said that when that time comes, the market will swing like it did during the financial crisis—and advised investors to prepare.

To increase their investment.

Can such a warning… really be ignored?

No, it couldn’t.

From the moment the first patient appeared, investors had been flooding in with demands to raise their stakes, and the $2.3 billion target fund had long since been met.