You know what, I'm postponing.
Thanks for your responses. Seriously, they've been eye-opening and somewhat bewildering. I mean, it's “crazy” to put an exam on hold? “Giving up” to wait? You'd rather pass and die?
Are you guys okay?
I say that with NO malice. I mean my god, it's just an exam, settle down. When you die, NOBODY at your funeral will be like “Did you know he passed this random test? What a swell guy!” You don't test for anyone to ‘recognize' you or whatever, you do it for yourself and push your job in a positive direction. That's all, it shouldn't be this grand life-and-death matter. There's motivation, and then there's just sounding like a ‘cult,' for lack of better word.
And I must ask: If a PANDEMIC isn't enough to be cautious, what is? What'll it take for you to step back and think you know what, this thing that I'm only using for my job can wait? Has your job seriously become THAT vital to your life? Where you put a test on a pedestal? I can already sense your “it's more than a test” responses, but that just proves my point because it's not LIFE. Settle down, don't you have friends or a hobby or…?
End of day, gotta do what's best for you. I'm not prepared to possibly hurt myself and, more importantly, family and friends who are more at-risk. If I went to Prometric, turned out fine, but became an asymptomatic carrier and severely hurt or killed someone I cared for, I couldn't live with myself. Just cuz you're low-risk doesn't mean you SHOULD risk it. This thing doesn't discriminate, ANY of you or someone close to you can die. One of the first people to die in Italy was a marathon runner. Lets face it, you're not half as healthy as he was, let alone many of your own family. The risk isn't just on you, it's also being a carrier and killing someone you love (or even just harming them, read some of the stories on the permanent damage this thing causes, death isn't the only bar we're setting here). There is no “oh it couldn't happen to me” here.
I don't know what kind of life you wanna lead, but that's not what I want. No amount of passing or getting that little raise at work will compensate for losing a loved one, while knowing I COULD have stopped it.
If nothing else, I challenge you to read some of the horror stories of people in hospitals (or more often being denied from hospitals). EVERY one of them will tell you don't be dumb, this is serious. Data is already all over Google and I could give you a million, but frankly we both know that's a waste cuz you're already too entrenched in your position to change your mind. Or you have a vested interest to deny this is even a thing because you gotta sell more of your product.
Instead, I just challenge you to settle down and rethink things, look for your humanity, stop talking and LISTEN to victims. If nothing else, maybe it'll bring some more dignity to the CPA profession. Y'all talk about wanting to be better accountants or get raises at your job or whatever else. Perhaps a bit more empathy might increase your chances.
TLDR, settle down.
Peace.
.